Cocker happy with new slower lifestyle

DELTA, Colo., June 15 (UPI) -- British musician-singer Joe Cocker says he thoroughly enjoys his relaxing days living at a ranch in Crawford, Colo., compared to his former rock star days.

The 64-year-old rocker said since he relocated with his wife to the small Colorado town 14 years ago, he has enjoyed a lifestyle far away from the trappings of musical stardom, The Denver Post reported Sunday.

"It has been nice. I don't get any kind of show-business pressure on me at all here," Cocker told the newspaper.

Crawford resident Melinda Forster said the "Sheffield Steel" rocker and his wife Pam fit right in among the rural town's citizens.

"There are some new people around here who are not used to the ways of a rural area," Forster said. "But not the Cockers."

For Cocker, his drug- and alcohol-filled rock lifestyle is all in the past.

"When I look back, I didn't take care of myself at all," he told the Post.

"When I look at the old footage, I can't quite deal with it."