Ringo Starr Makes Rare Comment on His 37-Year Sobriety

Ringo Starr is reflecting on 37 years of sobriety.

In an interview with reporters at Ringo Starr’s Annual “Peace & Love” Birthday Celebration in Beverly Hills, Calif., the former Beatles drummer opened up about how his life has shifted in the years since he stopped drinking alcohol.

“Well, I ended up in a rehab because I was not treating myself or anyone around me with any respect,” Starr — who turned 85 on Monday, July 7 — says of his decision to get sober.

He added: “It was all about me, and I came out, and I haven’t had a drink since. Thank the Lord.”

Over the years, Starr has opened up about his alcoholism, revealing to the Times of London in 2015 that the 1970s and 1980s were a blur.

“I was drunk,” he told the publication. “Some of those years are absolutely gone.”

Furthermore, Starr recalled how greatly the Beatles’ split impacted him.

“I was mad,” he said. “For 20 years. I had breaks in between of not being.”

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In 1989, Starr reflected on entering treatment for alcohol addiction with his wife, Barbara Bach for five weeks, years after they wed in 1981.

“Eight days in, I decided, ‘I’m here to get help because I know I’m sick,'” he told PEOPLE at the time. “I just did whatever they asked me and, thank god, it pulled me through.”

On Wednesday, July 2, Starr opened up to The New York Times about his milestone birthday.

“It blows me away,” he told the outlet, adding: “I look in the mirror and I’m 24. I never got older than 24.”

Starr also revealed that he maintains his vitality because he loves what he’s doing.

“I live in the now,” the “Gonna Need Someone” artist said. “I didn’t plan any of it. I love that life I’m allowed to live.”