Richard Jupp – who was drummer with Elbow for over 25 years – has been talking about his battles with addiction and the reason why he quit the band in 2016.
In an extensive interview on the BBC website, Jupp said of his decision: “From the outside, I had everything you’re supposed to want. I was travelling the world, making records and living a life I’d dreamed about since I was a kid. We were at an extraordinary point in the band’s career.
“But I asked myself ‘What is any of that worth if I’m heading in a direction that was no longer working for me’?”
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Elbow formed in 1990 and so Jupp spent a long time immersed in a culture that until comparatively recently was soaked in drugs and alcohol. “I can only speak for my own experience – but it was kind of de rigueur. Less so now, but back in those days it was seen as some kind of rite of passage, it was normalised, and I did personally participate in that culture.”
“I’ve witnessed within the industry, people who are still partaking – outside of the band – people who are still perpetuating that myth of rock’n’ roll.”
Jupp said that he had reached the age of 40 and then quit the booze. For a year he remained in the band whilst sober but then realised he couldn’t do that and left the group.
“It was starting to get to a point where I could see that there was a problem,” he said. “Choosing sobriety and choosing recovery meant being prepared to walk away from a life that had given me fame, success and financial security. That was not a small decision. It meant stepping away from an identity I’d carried for most of my adult life and accepting that my health, my family and my future had to come first.”
Jupp hasn’t retired though. He’s put his skills to good use by teaching – he holds sessions at his Manchester Drum Studio and has worked at Liverpool’s Institute for Performing Arts and dB’s Institute Manchester.
“Since leaving the band, recovery has been one of the defining focuses of my life, and drumming has played a huge role in that,” he said. “Rhythm, repetition, movement and focus help bring me back into the moment. It is about sharing something that has genuinely helped me stay grounded and well.
Ten years on from his decision, he says he has no regrets. “I know how significant that decision to choose recovery can be. Addiction is a disease and it’s terrifying. And I was lucky enough to be able to make the decision of sobriety and be able to stand by it.”
