Laurie Wright Singing for Addiction: The ex addict helping others get to rehab

By ITV Central Producer, Charlotte Horner

Singer songwriter and recovering addict Laurie Wright is raising money to help others who are struggling with addiction.

The 28-year old told us how he battled with drugs and alcohol for years before finally admitting that he wasn't in control.

Laurie explains how he had his first drink at a family party when he was just 11 years old.

He says as he entered his teens his unhealthy relationship with alcohol became apparent and things spiraled out of control, leading to "14 years of chaos".

But since going to rehab at the end of last year Laurie has managed to stay sober.

He's now using his talent as a singer-songwriter to raise money to help others.

Laurie says that- because of the lengthy waiting lists for free treatments- people can often change their minds or pass away in the time it takes for them to get help.

24/07/20 Laurie Wright Singing for Addiction Credit: ITV News Central

He says he started the campaign Singing for Addiction to try and combat this problem.

He wants to raise enough money so that anybody who needs urgent treatment can ask him for help to pay for it.

Laurie stresses that he isn't forcing anyone to go to rehab.

Speaking from experience he says when you suggest to someone that they need to go then they will usually deny it.

However he wants people to know that if they do want treatment then it's available.

Laurie had his first gig just after his 16th birthday.

He remembers playing in pubs and music venues where he was paid in beer, or where he was encouraged to drink, despite him being under age.

He said: "You're always either paid in beer or it's just encouraged, even though I was underage, that was just what you do."

"And also I suppose it being in the rock and roll handbook to just be a bit mental. It was an excuse to get a bit amongst it because it's 'rock and roll'."

"But is it really? Being too drunk to get up on stage and sing? I was quite often throwing up on stage."

Laurie says he was even paid a couple of times in cocaine for his gigs.

He doesn't blame his job for why things went wrong. He says him having an addictive personality and then working in an environment where he was surrounded by alcohol and drugs just "wasn't a good mix."

Laurie says people could become difficult when he told them that he wanted to quit.

He says, even though he knew he had to quit, people expected him to drink and that made it more difficult for him to stop.

He recalls one experience when he was in a bar when he was on tour in Germany.

"I was asking for alcohol free beers and the staff behind the bar were screwing their faces up in disappointment."

"Then they stitched me up" he says. "I asked for six non-alcoholic beers to be put on the stage and she put one normal one in the mix."

"Obviously that triggered what ended up being a pretty chaotic tour because it went from that to 'I'll just have a shandy', from that to 'I'll just have a beer', from that to 'I'll just have a shot'."

"For some it might sound like a holiday but when I got back I had to gig again, so you're just never off the carousel, you're never off the conveyor belt of... Chaotic crap."

Laurie tells us that one of the hardest parts of his recovery was realising that stopping the drugs wasn't enough, he also had to completely stop drinking.

He says that because alcohol is "normalised by society" it was hard to accept that he "wasn't like everyone else" and "couldn't have a few drinks."

Laurie wants people to know that there is a way out and there is a support network in place.

He says that rehab saved his life and the meetings that followed are what kept him clean.

He says by opening up and sharing what he was feeling was the start of his recovery and the end of the "chaos."

"There will be tears" Laurie says "but they're good tears."

"It's good to cry and get it all out. As it all comes out it all just lifts."

Laurie says he tried and failed for years to try and get sober on his own. He's encouraging people who think they might need help to reach out for it.

Laurie describes addiction as a "progressive illness" meaning that without treatment it doesn't get better, it only gets worse.

He says that addicts will find other things to replace what they give up- Things like food, love, sex or something else entirely different.

Laurie explains that after rehab his addictive behaviour began to manifest in other ways and areas of his life.

He says he got attached to someone that he shouldn't have.

"I latched on to a girl in a very 'you're going to fix me kind of way' and I just kind of needed her."

He adds: "But then it's no longer what you thought it was. It's something completely different. Something addictive."

Laurie has now released a new song called "Easy Street" about his experience of addiction and recovery which he hopes to use to raise more for Singing for Addiction.

He also says he's going to release a Christmas single titled "Cold Turkey at Christmas" about his time in rehab over the festive period.

He points out "If I don't get it this year then I can always try again next year because you can always try every year with Christmas can't you!"