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Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash celebrated 15 years of sobriety this past July 4th, according to Blabbermouth.
His longtime girlfriend, Megan Hodges, posted photo of Slash and punk fashion icon Jimmy Webb on Instagram, along with a message that read:
“Baby, Congratulations on your 15 YEARS of SOBRIETY! ‘An addict who achieves recovery is capable of achieving anything.’ (wise words someone said) I am so very proud of you every day but today I am so very extra proud of you. I love you to the moon and back! #recovery #youaresexyandsober #strength #bestmanyoucanbe #slash #happy4thofjuly”.
Blabbermouth reported that 20 years ago, Slash “was diagnosed with a form of congestive heart failure known as cardiomyopathy as a result of years of chronic and heavy alcohol abuse.”
Slash spoke frankly about his decision to get clean in his 2007 memoir, Slash, “I wasn’t fine. But I was almost ready to admit it. I knew that my debauchery needed to end. . . This time rehab turned out to be really good for me, because this time I surrendered. First I kicked the drugs, then I cleared my head and did some work on figuring out why I liked to put myself in the same position over and over again. Early in the morning of July 3, 2006, I checked into rehab. I did a full thirty days, I fully surrendered. . . I learned more about myself than I ever thought was possible. And I’ve been sober ever since.”
When we last caught up with Slash, he looked back at his days and nights spent reeling out of control as a dismal memory: “It was a pretty hard, fast-paced life that we’ve all been through. And there are certain aspects of it that just get a little bit boring, a little bit tedious. . . Some of the, kind of, circles that you surround yourself in to be able to, sort of, keep your high going — or whatever the. . . It just gets old after a while and, y’know, the underlying thing that’s always, been, sort of, maintained, was just, ‘as long as you can play’. . . And it just — everything, sort of, fell by the wayside.”
Guns N’ Roses kicks off its summer stadium run with special guest Mammoth WVH on August 3rd at Boston’s, Fenway Park.