Billy Joel has blamed three highly-publicised car accidents on depression brought on by the Sept 11 terror attacks on his home city of New York, rather than on his well-known problems with alcohol.
The pop star went into rehab for his drinking habit in 2005 but in a wide-ranging interview insisted that the spate of accidents in two preceding years was not caused by his heavy consumption of vodka, his alcohol of choice.
The pop star went into rehab for his drinking habit in 2005 but in a wide-ranging interview insisted that the spate of accidents in two preceding years was not caused by his heavy consumption of vodka, his alcohol of choice.
"I was kind of in a mental fog, and it had nothing to do with the booze," he told The New York Times.
"My mind wasn't right. I wasn't focused. I went into a deep, deep depression after 9/11.
"9/11 just knocked the wind out of me, and I don't know even now if I've recovered from it. It really, really hurt that man could do that to man.
"And then there was a break-up with somebody, and it took me a while to get me back on my feet again ... I used booze as medication."
Joel said that he still drinks "a glass of wine once in a while" and does not "subscribe to" the 12-step anti-addiction programme of Alcoholics Anonymous.
The star whose hits include "Uptown Girl", "Piano Man" and "Only the Good Die Young" also revealed why he has not written a pop song in 20 years. read more
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