This thread reminds me of a question I intended to ask, but forgot until now. Is Brian an "alchoholic"? I remember reading about Brian doing 40 shots of something(whiskey?) while the group was in Vegas around 1981. The reason I ask is I clearly remember in Rolling Stone during the BWPS promotion, Brian was interviewed, and the person who interviewed him noted that Brian was eating a big steak, and a glass of beer. I thought that was a little suspicious for somebody with a well known and documented substance abuse problem.
The famous Dutch singer Ramses Shaffy died last December. He'd always been such a heavy drinker that he ended up in a rest home with Korsakoff syndrome. But even when he was there, the staff allowed him to keep drinking wine. They'd just make sure that he'd drink it glass by glass and not bottle by bottle like he used to. So as long as you've got people to look after you, I guess its possible for (certain) recovered alcoholics to just have a drink every now and then.
Right. I was thinking about author Gerard Reve. In his best (worst?) times he guzzled strong booze, he had a real psychotic delirium tremens in 1966. Later in life he remained an enthousiastic wine drinker. His last years were also marked by Korsakoff(-like) symptoms.
As for Brian... I find it hard to assess his memory capacities. Does he use a teleprompter because he's not good at remembering lyrics? Or because he's shy and needs a fixed point to stare at much of the time? Since he's always been a keen eater, I'd say he never really lacked proper intake of Vitamine B; if one does not get this vitamin one develops Korsakoff (the core cause, more than the damaging effect of alcohol itself on nerve cells).
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