Whether it be waking up on the 18th hole of a country golf course at 7am or booking £300 Enrique Iglesias tickets, don’t we all love a “There was one time, I was drunk…” anecdote? – Here’s a Top 10.

Ozzy Osbourne

One evening during a Black Sabbath/Van Halen tour, Ozzy went missing after a notorious heavy drinking session – a few hours before they were meant to go on stage. Both bands went looking for him. Then the press and police got involved. Rumours were coming in that he had been kidnapped by a cult and whisked away. The concert had to be cancelled and refunds were issued. It turned out that the Prince of Darkness went to a totally different hotel. He checked his key card from the hotel he was meant to be staying at, went to the room number and found room service tidying the room. He scared the maid out of the room and crashed out for the whole evening.

Andre The Giant

Andre was a big guy. He was noted at being seven-foot four-inches tall. He was also noted to be a BIG drinker, gaining the nickname, “The Greatest Drinker In History”. On one particular evening, he consumed around 120 beers. This formidable amount finally managed to take affect on Andre and he stumbled back to his hotel. However, he didn’t manage to make it to his room. He fell asleep in the middle of the hallway instead. Supposedly the staff couldn’t wake him – and they definitely couldn’t lift him – so they had to hide him underneath a piano cover for the rest of the night.

Ernest Hemingway

Most famous drinkers have their particular idiosyncrasies. Hemingway liked his drinks served icy cold. We’re talking, real chilly. He would often not only just freeze cocktail glasses but also Spanish cocktail onions. He claimed that it made the coldest martini in the world. He described it as being: “so cold you couldn’t hold it in your hand. It sticks to your fingers.”

 W.C. Fields

Field’s had a fairly simple yet famous morning hangover cure. He suggested that: “One should just have another drink – but stronger than last night’s.”

Paul Gascoigne

On 12 January 2002 while playing a game for Everton against Sunderland, Gazza had spent the evening before drinking the night away. He drank three and a half bottles of wine, went to sleep, woke up at 6am and finished off the rest of the bottle. He went back to sleep but woke up three hours later, had a treble brandy and then went off to the game. In a terrible state, he then had yet another treble brandy and somehow managed to play a blinder. He eventually found himself finally at home and asleep. He woke up the following day and asked his friend how the match went. His mate pointed to a bottle of champagne on the table and said: “You won man of the match.”

Frank Sinatra

Jack Daniel’s was recognised as Sinatra’s signature drink. The signal for party time at Twin Palms was similar to the shining of the bat signal during times of danger in Gotham City. Sinatra would raise a flag adorned with the Jack Daniel’s logo above his mansion. This would cause the crowds to flock. It has also been stated that Sinatra was buried with a bottle of Jack Daniel’s too.

Judy Garland

 Not only did Garland gain notoriety because of her illustrious career, she was also popular for being quite the drinker. She even has a drink named after her, simply entitled ‘The Judy Garland’. It consists of cherry vodka, sprite or 7up soda and grenadine syrup. 

Edgar Allan Poe

Poe was partial to an absinthe. He was also quite partial to turning up at the army recruitment office drunk, attempting to enlist. When he did eventually get into the academy he was later kicked out for being too hung over. Many suspect that it was premeditated, as he wanted to get court-martialled out of the army.

Winston Churchill

Churchill was pretty much renowned for enjoying a tipple. Supposedly when he arrived at the Whitehouse once he exclaimed to the butler: “I must have a tumbler of sherry in my room before breakfast, a couple of glasses of scotch and soda before lunch, and champagne and 90-year-old brandies before I go to sleep at night.” Easy buddy.

John Barrymore

In 1906 there was reported to have been a huge earthquake affecting San Francisco. Barrymore took the uproar that the earthquake caused as an opportunity to dedicate the next couple of days to get his head down to some heavy drinking. When he eventually finished his session, he came outside and pretended to be a news reporter. He was rumoured to have stumbled through reports and made everything he knew up on the spot. Drunk or sober, the guy was a talented thespian.

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This article was first published here

Like this? Here’s a hangover cure – Korean ice cream!