Beth Hart’s booze battle continues

Beth Hart has opened up about her battle against binge-drinking.

The blues singer-songwriter has her drug issues under control, but admits that alcohol still sometimes gets the best of her.

Hart tells Classic Rock’s Dave Ling: “Happily, for the last 15 years I’ve been drug-free. Binge drinking still happens though.

“I’ll go six or nine months, and despite my best intentions, I’ll slip. Or at least I did.”

But she feels better now than she’s done in a long time. “There’s a difference between surviving and living,” she says. “Now I’ve gotten past my demons, which makes me feel blessed and grateful.

“That’s where my writing comes from these days. I’ve been given this gift of how to live with addiction and being bipolar.”

Hart recently launched eighth album Better Than Home, which includes material inspired by the most difficult moments she’s ever experienced. She says of her approach: “Laying my life so bare isn’t always a good thing, especially for my family, but I’ve always been a very open person. So get used to it – this is part of what I do.”

And as she prepares to work on a third collaboration with Joe Bonamassa next year, she shares the biggest lesson learned from the guitarist.

“Joe’s so driven,” says Hart. “He made me understand that the more you work at something, the stronger you will become. He made me change my focus away from recording to touring. You’ve got to hit the pavement.”

The full interview appears in the current edition of Classic Rock, on sale now in print, digital and via TeamRock+. Hart plays her first-ever UK solo show at London’s Union Chapel on December 14.

Beth Hart:

Not only is one-time online news editor Martin an established rock journalist and drummer, but he’s also penned several books on music history, including SAHB Story: The Tale of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, a band he once managed, and the best-selling Apollo Memories about the history of the legendary and infamous Glasgow Apollo. Martin has written for Classic Rock and Prog and at one time had written more articles for Louder than anyone else (we think he's second now). He’s appeared on TV and when not delving intro all things music, can be found travelling along the UK’s vast canal network.