Big Brother star Rex Newmark, 24, decided to bring out the party animal in Gazza, 41, after spotting the sad star sitting alone, mumbling into his drink in a London bar.
Rex's pal Jack Bone, 28, has revealed how Gazza ended up greedily SNORTING cocaine from the top of a cistern in the gents and then SKIPPING around the bar hand-in-hand with Rex.
Salesman Jack said: "He was stumbling around the bar, skipping like a kid and dancing. He was totally gone, having a whale of a time.
"Gazza and Rex were arm-in- arm, both on drugs, and knocking back drinks, just letting go."
Jack met up with Rex and his girlfriend Nicole Cammack, 19, in November, two months after Gazza returned from rehab in Arizona.
Jack said: "We noticed Gazza sat a few tables away on his own, just sitting there drinking and mumbling to himself. He looked completely lost."
After a while, Rex invited the soccer hero to join them.
Jack said: "Rex loves to kick off a party, and as soon as he saw Gazza he got him involved.
"It was almost like a game to him. He wanted to see if Gazza would do a few lines with us. It turned into a very heavy night."
Before long, Jack, Rex and Gazza were crushed into a toilet cubicle snorting cocaine through a rolled- up £20 note. "Gazza was as eager as the rest of us, and just leant over and snorted it up," said Jack.
Gazza then joined the party for champagne in the private VIP bar. "He was stumbling around, sometimes singing along, sometimes trying to talk to people," said Jack. The soccer legend ended up draped over a slim blonde.
Jack said: "He was clearly up for some fun but you could tell Gazza was in danger of going too far.
"I just hope now he's put his dark days behind him."