Ozzy’s ex-keyboard player gives advice to Lanarkshire addicts

Sep 6 2007 By Caireen Kelly

JOHN Sinclair lived the archetypal rock and roll lifestyle. The 53-year-old was a keyboard player with Ozzy Osbourne’s band and also a member of Uriah Heep.

He used drugs and at one point was knocking back up to two bottles of vodka a day.

John insists his days of excess are behind him and last week he was in Lanarkshire to address a conference organised by the county’s Alcohol and Drug Action Team.

He talked about his own experience of drug and alcohol misuse and he urged the county’s addicts to seek help early before their habit spirals out of control.

John’s musical career spans 35 years, 17 of which were spent playing for the former Black Sabbath frontman.

He has also performed with Status Quo and played on the pilot movie soundtrack for the rock spoof movie Spinal Tap in 1980.

John toured for five years with Uriah Heep and recorded three albums. It was this experience that led him to enjoying a brief stint with The Cult which lasted about a year.

His recording and co-writing credits with Ozzy include “No Rest for the Wicked”, “No More Tears” and the recent “Live at the Budokan” in 2002. Talking of the Black Sabbath frontman, John said: “Ozzy is great. He is exactly as he is on the TV show. He really is that funny and that much of a character. I have not been in touch with him in about a year but Sharon sent me an e-mail about six months ago as she likes to hope I am doing something useful.”

John, from London, told how he didn’t start using drugs until he was 24.

He said: “I originally got started on speed and then in the ‘60s, everyone got more involved with acid. It was not until the punk era of the 1980s that I started drinking heavily and mixing it with handfuls of tranquillisers like diazepam or temazepan but it was drink that became my biggest problem.”

John said he would regularly consume EVERY DAY either two bottles of spirits, usually vodka, whisky or cognac, seven to 10 bottles of wine, or 12-16 cans of super lager.

He was spending up to £300 per week, mostly on drink, but that figure rose when he was taking cocaine.

Once he realised he was drinking too much, John sought help from Buddhism. Although he did not actively participate in the faith, he did believe in its core principles and used them to gain control of his life.

John has been clear of drugs and off drink for 10 years and now works as a trained hypnotherapist.

He uses music to help get the anti-addiction message across. He lives in Inverness where he enjoys a much quieter pace of life in a home he terms a “sanctuary”.

John passed on advice for people struggling with their addiction, saying: “Many people drink and take drugs to feel confident or relaxed and it works, but it’s dead easy to become reliant. Seek help while you’re still young if you have problems in these areas. Please don’t wait for 30 years like I did.

“Excessive use of booze and drugs is a short-term solution to a much longer-term problem and they definitely don’t fix anything.”

At the Lanarkshire event, the organisers showcased the amount of services that are currently available to help people fight their addictions.

Dr Gary Tanner, lead clinician for NHS Lanarkshire’s Alcohol and Drugs Service, said: “It has been recognised over the last few years that we need to do more than just give people medical treatment.

“It is not enough now to suggest a methadone programme and let patients go. You need to offer people support that will help them to rebuild their relationships and their lives and we have not done this in the past. Within the next 10 to 15 years, we will see an upsurge in the number of alcohol-related brain injuries. Alcohol for me has to be the next big target. It’s endemic in our society. “