BILLY JOEL - JOEL REALISED HE HAD BOOZE PROBLEMS AFTER 'CHUGGING' WINE

Rocker BILLY JOEL turned his back on drinking when he realised he was no longer sipping and enjoying his favourite red wine. The UPTOWN GIRL hitmaker, who has recently fought alcoholism, discovered good Bordeaux in his youth, but realised he'd developed a problem when he started "chugging" it. He says, "I wasn't really sipping it and tasting it and appreciating it. I was just chugging it... I wasn't drinking out of the bottle, the bottle was drinking out of me." Joel, who has been sober for a year, eventually faced up to his boozing problems by checking into a rehab centre. He adds, "I said, 'I've just gotta get a cold splash of water in my face,' and I'm glad I did it. "It happens to everybody - if you do it long enough you just get to that place."