[Red Moon]

BARRYMORE'S NEW BOOZE & DRUG MADNESS

SHAMED TV star Michael Barrymore has plunged into a new spiral of booze and drug madness, The People can reveal.

Barrymore, 54, invited four stunned strangers into his home and gave them whiskey and "party pills".

And yesterday the entertainer - on bail after being quizzed by police for two days on suspicion of the rape and murder of party guest Stuart Lubbock - lurched out of a nightclub looking hopelessly drunk.

A witness said: "He was in a badway. He could barely stand and looked completely out of it."

Hours earlier Barrymore told The People in a slurred voice: "I have been through a lot recently. I have not got a problem with where I am or what I am in life."

Mr Lubbock, 31, was found dead in a swimming pool with alcohol, ecstasy and cocaine in his body at Barrymore's Essex mansion in March 2001.

Almost six years later to the day the entertainer invited four young men into his luxury waterside apartment in New Zealand where he...

OFFERED them Jack Daniel's whiskey and legal "party pills".

BEGGED them to get cannabis for him.

OFFERED to let them move in with him.

FLARED UP when jokingly asked if he had a swimming pool.

ADMITTED to living a sad and lonely existence.

One of the group, Vish Mehta, 31, from north London, told The People: "He was constantly shaking and very agitated.

"He was desperate for something to calm him down so he kept asking me to get him some drugs." Vish, who was teaching in New Zealand, was invited to the star's penthouse home at Auckland harbour after his mates got chatting to Barrymore at Wellington airport.

Vish said: "My friends were having trouble arranging a hire car when Barrymore offered to help.

"He must have recognised their British accents because he was very friendly.

"They instantly knew who he was and they swapped numbers."

A few days later the pals texted Barrymore to see if he could help them hire a car.

He replied that he couldn't but then invited them round for drinks.

Vish said: "We all laughed thinking it was a bit strange. We didn't fancy it at first because of everything that is associated with having a party at Barrymore's.

"My friends and I are all straight, and although we are not homophobic, you have to be careful.

"But we decided to go for it, simply because it would be a great tale from our travels round the world.

"When he opened the door he was really friendly but I immediately noticed that he seemed very edgy and shaky. He looked pale and skinny like a recovering addict and his eyes were watery.

"He said 'Make yourself comfortable boys, what's mine is yours'. He offered to go to the shop to buy some beers because he only had one big bottle of Jack Daniel's but we said that was fine.

"One of my pals asked him if hewas back drinking after his problems with alcohol and he just shrugged his shoulders and said 'Obviously'.

"It was slightly awkward. He seemed very lonely. He was constantly chain-smoking cigarettes."

After a few drinks the star became more animated.

Vish said: "He kept going on about all the years he had been in showbusiness but when we asked who his showbiz palswere all he could come up with was Zoe Lucker from Footballers' Wives.

"He even tried to call her to prove it. It was a bit embarrassing."

Barrymore turned the conversation to drugs.

Vish said: "He asked me to get him some marijuana because his 'man wasn't available'. He said 'Vish, you look like a worldly guy, cannot you get me any puff? Can you get me anything else? Get on the phone and see what you can do for me'.

"I knew someone who might be able to help so I sent him a text but then every five minutes after that Barrymore would ask 'Has he called back yet', gradually getting more and more desperate.

"When I explained that I couldn't get anything he said he had some party pills and pulled two black and white capsules out of his pocket.

"He put one on the table offering it to any of us. He said 'These are all right'."

Party pills are legal in New Zealand although the government there is trying to ban them after a number of deaths.

Usually containing Benzylpiperazine (BZP), they give a feeling of euphoria but can also be hallucinogenic and can cause convulsions, anxiety, stomach pain and even death.

The pills are also legal in Britain but the EU authorities are considering banning them because of their potentially lethal effects.

Vish said: "He took a pill and downed it with Jack Daniel's and Coke. I picked the other pill up and pretended to take it but I sneaked it into my pocket."

The party took a turn for the worse when Vish made a joke about the Lubbock tragedy.

He said: "I asked Barry more if he had a swimming pool. He didn't seem to take it too well at first.

"He said 'That's *******ing insensitive of you isn't it?' I apologised profusely and he calmed down and said 'Forget it, I shouldn't be so sensitive about it myself'.

"He then said 'I don't really want to talk about it for legal reasons' and we quickly changed the subject."

When the lads told how six of them were crammed into a small flat Barrymore offered them rooms in his apartment.

He said: "This place is too big for me on my own. You guys can stay here, I've got three rooms."

But the pals politely declined and left after two hours.

Vish added: "I've grown up watching Barrymore making everyone laugh on TV.

"But when I met him I felt sorry for him. He seemed very sad and lonely."

But the fallen star had no shortage of company when he turned up at London's Soho Revue bar at 2.30am yesterday with a man and blonde woman.

Clearly drunk, he had to persuade the bouncers to let him in before ordering several rounds of Jack Daniel's with Coke and Baileys.

He danced closely with his male friend and they were seen rubbing each other's legs.

Barrymore had to be supported by the blonde when they left around 4am.

He was mobbed by homeless people outside the bar and reacted angrily when someone shouted at him before he slumped in the back of a car which sped off.

When asked about the fallen star's drinking and use of party pills, a source close to Barrymore said: "I don't see that he has broken any laws.

"He is not going to deny having a drink. If he has been drinking, I wouldn't blame him because he has been through a lot recently."

Source: Sunday People

[spacebandit]

"Mobbed by homeless people"