Nile Rodgers admits an embarrassing on-stage performance convinced him to give up drink and drugs.
The 66-year-old musician – who rose to prominence as a member of the band Chic – has revealed he decided to kick his self-destructive habits after he listened back to a performance he’d given while he was drunk.
Appearing on ‘Desert Island Discs’, Nile shared: "My performance said I was pretty lousy. The difference between the reality and the imagined reality was just too strong for me to take. And I knew that the only thing responsible for that was me doing drugs.
"My drugs made me think it was amazing. The people freaking out made me think it was amazing. My beautiful date made me think it was amazing.
"But the tapes don’t lie. It was not amazing. And that’s the last time I ever had a drink or drugs and it was 24 years."
Meanwhile, Nile recently admitted he feels like the "luckiest man in the world" after beating cancer for a second time.
Chic have just released their first new album in more than two decades, and Nile – who had his second cancer scare in 2017 – admitted he feels fortunate to still be alive.
The musician – who had a "mysterious growth" discovered on his right kidney last year – said: "One of the songs we wrote was called ‘Get Lucky’, and, you know, I feel like the luckiest man in the world because I have now beaten cancer twice, as I stand here before you I’m cancer free!"
Nile Rodgers says woeful performance led to sobriety
