Chico Slimani, the former X Factor star who shot to fame with his 2006 chart-topper, has been convicted of drink-driving after being found at nearly one-and-a-half times the legal limit.
The singer, 55, whose real name is Yousseph Slimani, was found guilty at Willesden Magistrates’ Court on Thursday. The court heard he was pulled over by police in a Vauxhall Astra on Chase Way, Southgate, north London, at around 6.30pm on 13 December last year.
“Going out of my mind” with grief
In his defence, Slimani explained to District Judge Mark Jabbitt that he had broken a long period of sobriety following the devastating loss of a third close friend to cancer. “On that fateful day – I’m teetotal, I don’t drink – and it felt like I was going out of my mind, I couldn’t take it, so I drank,” he said, according to PA Media reports of the proceedings.
The court was told he had consumed Famous Grouse whisky for approximately six hours, from 1am to 7am that day. Slimani, who rose to fame on the 2005 series of The X Factor and later released the number one single ‘It’s Chico Time’, said he had not drunk alcohol since the incident.
His account was complicated by his use of medication. Slimani stated he had taken the cold and flu remedy NyQuil at around 5.30pm for what he described as “a flu which you may call long Covid”. A toxicologist, Sarah Morley, calculated for the court that the NyQuil could have contributed 2mg per 100ml of alcohol to his breath reading. However, she noted she could not verify the accuracy of the information provided by Slimani’s solicitors.
The arresting officer, Pc Yuksel, noted that Slimani initially had “quite vivid” and “almost joyful” facial expressions before becoming defensive when questioned about alcohol. A breath test later revealed he had 40 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, exceeding the legal limit of 35mg.
Slimani, who had pleaded not guilty, painted a picture of a man whose actions were at odds with his character and work. “When I got to the police station all I could think of was the implications of me being arrested for something that goes completely against what I am and what I do,” he told the court, citing his previous sobriety and charity work.
This charitable work includes founding the Rainbow Child Foundation for underprivileged children and collaborating with the British Eating Disorders Association. His personal life, however, has seen significant turmoil, including the loss of his life savings in a collapsed Dubai scheme in 2014 and a “near-death” stroke in 2018, from which he made a full recovery and later developed a fitness programme called ‘BlockFit’. During his court evidence, he even had with him a book he was writing titled ‘The Secret 19 Cancer Questions Worth Asking’.
Sentence and “catastrophe” for reputation
Passing sentence, District Judge Jabbitt said he was “generally sympathetic” to Slimani’s bereavements but not to excessive drinking or taking medication without checking its effect on driving.
Slimani was disqualified from driving for 12 months and ordered to pay a £600 fine, a £240 surcharge, and £620 in costs. He was offered a place on a drink-drivers’ rehabilitation scheme; completing it would reduce his disqualification period by a quarter.
The court also heard that Slimani had been heavily in debt and faced county court proceedings as a result. The singer called the incident “a catastrophe” that had led to the “loss of my reputation, the loss of work”.
