Andrew Lloyd Webber spoke to The Times about his alcohol addiction. In a profile published on Saturday, April 18, he said he began his journey to sobriety more than a year ago.
The 78-year-old composer, an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony winner), said that entering a rehabilitation clinic “didn’t work,” but attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings is something he has “loved.”
“I am a recovering alcoholic,” he told the publication. “Sixteen months ago, I decided I needed help, and it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Lloyd Webber, whose musical “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” is currently playing on Broadway, said he began “swimming downward, and about 18 months ago, the family was desperate. My wife felt she couldn’t go on.”
Regarding her attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, which she now attends daily, she commented: “People always told me, ‘Oh no, you wouldn’t like it!’ And you imagine it’s a bunch of drug addicts who come in off the street. Not at all. What I love is that you walk into a room and everyone is the same. I’ve made friends I never thought possible.”
