Ronnie Wood’s life is "better" now he’s sober.
The Rolling Stones rocker quit drugs and alcohol a decade ago and he insisted he still has as much of a "great time" now as he did when he was known for his wild partying.
He said: "I got clean! My life’s better now. [Was I ready to get clean?] Yes I was. I don’t have any bitterness or anger. I’m wiser now; I had a great time and I still do, but in a different way."
The 73-year-old guitarist – who has six children from three marriages – praised his bandmates, Sir Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts for being supportive towards his sobriety.
He said: "Mick asked me if I wanted to help myself, and was there anything he could do to help. I appreciated that, they’ve been very caring around me."
And Ronnie finds it easier to stay sober because he isn’t surrounded by people drinking and taking drugs.
He told Daily Telegraph magazine: "There was a time when everyone I was around was doing drugs and drink, it was everywhere. It’s not like that now, I focus on my recovery books, I speak to other ex addicts. I’m happy how I am and glad I’m around for my family now."
The veteran musician admitted he had a lot of "close calls" with his drink and drug abuse and thinks they could all have been avoided.
He said: "I know there were times when I could have been a bit more careful. There were close calls and I suppose if I’d been using my brain properly they wouldn’t have been so close.
"There were times over the years when Jimmy White [the snooker player] and I were up all night partying in London when I had to go straight into being Dad at breakfast."
Meanwhile, Ronnie expressed regret for not using his famous name to be able to visit the late Elvis Presley in hospital.
He said: "Elvis, one time he was ill in hospital, in Memphis I think, and they wouldn’t let me in to see him. Turns out Robert Plant and Jimmy Page were in there with him. If I’d known that I’d have gone, ‘I’m Ronnie Wood from The Rolling Stones.’ "