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.
