Barbara Bach: Star beat dangerous addiction with Ringo Starr – ‘We used to get deranged’

As well as being famous for playing Anya Amasova in tonight’s Bond film, she is also known for her eventful marriage to The Beatles drummer Ringo Starr – who she has been in a relationship with since 1981. In the foreword to a 1992 book by Derek Taylor – the band’s press officer – called Getting Sober, Starr depicted their relationship as riddled with alcoholism.

Starr, who met Bach in 1980 on the set of the film Caveman, wrote: “We used to go on long plane journeys, rent huge villas, stock up the bars, hide and get deranged.

“I came to one Friday afternoon and was told by the staff that I’d trashed the house so badly they thought there had been burglars, and I’d trashed Barbara so badly they thought she was dead.”

At the time of their alcoholic antics, their two children sought refuge at boarding school. Daughter Francesca Gregorini, even said in 1989 that she had become a “better academic”.  “It was their drugs heyday… I was always hidden away in a room reading because Mum and Dad were out of it,” said Gregorini.

After years of precarious events, including blackouts and violence, the couple had enough of their ways and decided to start trying to quit in 1998.

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Alcoholism is rife among the British population – among 602,391 are predicted to be dependent on drink, according to Alcohol Change UK.

For many people, including celebrities like Starr and Bach, the habit is a hard one to kick and may require support from organisations. 

Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach sought help at a rehab clinic in Tuscan, Arizona. Since their treatment, the pair have stayed sober.

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At the rehab in Arizona they shared a room and were treated together.

In the UK, support for alcoholism is also available. Through the NHS, you can receive a “brief intervention” session.

The health body states: “If you are worried about your drinking or have had an alcohol-related accident or injury, you may be offered a short counselling session known as a brief intervention.”

Those with addiction may also choose to participate in self-help groups, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, get additional counselling or cognitive behavioural (talk therapy).

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Some people may even decide to quit alcohol completely.

As the NHS states, “the choice is yours”, but it may be wise if you have serious liver damage or other health issues.

Conditions like heart disease, for example, can be made worse by drinking.