BILLY JOEL - BILLY JOEL: `BETTY FORD WAS LIKE A CONCENTRATION CAMP'

Mets press conference for 'The Last Play at Shea, From the Beatles to Billy.' Billy Joel will play the last concert at Shea Stadium on the 16th of July 2008.
Queens, New York ....
Rocker BILLY JOEL hated his 2005 stint at the Betty Ford Center in California - because the clinic was like a "concentration camp".
The Piano Man singer checked into the famous Rancho Mirage rehabilitation clinic in a bid to kick his alcohol dependency and admits the experience was a tough one.
He tells Details magazine, "I hated it. It was like a concentration camp - well, I can't say that, I've never been in a concentration camp. But, for me, it was.
"There's a lot of dogma that goes with it, and there's the whole AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) thing, and for a lot of people that works. I didn't necessarily follow that."
It might not have been the best experience but it helped Joel battle his demons: "It was good. I dried out. And it was probably one of the best things I ever did, because I realised I was just drinking too much, and I really don't need to do that.
"Once in a blue moon, I'll have a glass of wine. But I'm very afraid of going beyond that. I don't want to be out of control."
07/18/2008 01:56:05 AM
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