1970s music star shocked fans with drug confession
RadarOnline.com can reveal Billy Idol has stunned fans by revealing that he only managed to break his heroin addiction by turning to crack cocaine – a shocking admission that the veteran rocker says ultimately helped him escape one of the darkest chapters of his life.
Idol, 70, the British-born punk and rock icon, best known for hits like Rebels shout And White weddingopened up about his long struggle with heroin during an appearance on the channel Club Random with Bill Maher podcast.
Billy Idol has spoken candidly about the desperate and unconventional path that ultimately helped him ditch heroin after years of heavy drug use during the height of his fame.
His struggle with addiction is explored in the documentary Billy Idol should be deadin which the singer reflects on the chaotic lifestyle that surrounded his rise in the rock world.
Speaking about his attempts to quit heroin, Idol said: “Once you try to get off heroin, where do you go? You go to something else. I started smoking crack to get off heroin.”
During a conversation with Bill Maher on his podcast, the host seemed surprised by the confession.
Maher asked, “Really?”
Idol responded with a laugh before doubling down on the claim.
He said: “It worked. It worked. This is probably the worst commercial, but it worked. It’s a bit gross… I liked taking drugs at the time. It took me a long time to put them in the rear-view mirror. At some point I realized that’s what you had to do.”
The revelation has sparked debate among music industry figures about the intense drug culture that surrounded many rock stars in the 1970s and 1980s.
An insider said the Idol experience reflects the chaotic environment young musicians often faced after sudden global fame.
They said: “Billy Idol emerged at a time when drugs were deeply embedded in the rock scene, and many artists were trying to survive in an environment where excess had been normalized.”
Another source added that the singer’s honesty highlights how complicated recovery from addiction can be for artists surrounded by that lifestyle.
They said: “The fact that he is openly talking about how messed up the process was shows how difficult recovery really is.”
Idol has also spoken about a near-fatal overdose during the height of his fame in the early 1980s.
In the documentary he described the terrifying incident shortly before he was due to appear on British television program Top of the Pops after returning to the UK following his breakthrough success in the United States.
Idol said: “I ODed and almost died. I went to America in March 1981 and came back to Britain triumphantly in 1984, after Rebel Yell. I was going to appear on Top of the Pops. I almost blew it and no one knew.”
He recalled how he and his friends used heroin after returning to London.
Idol said, “Everyone did a line and they all nodded except me and a friend, and we did a few more lines. I was basically dying. I turned blue.”
“So they put me in an ice bath and made me walk around on the roof of the building.”
Reflecting on the struggle to quit heroin, Idol described the withdrawal as brutal.
He added: “Coming off heroin is one of the most horrible experiences in the world. Boy George put it well when he said it’s like your skeleton trying to get out of your body.”
“There’s no quick fix. It takes so long. You’re just counting the days, the seconds, the hours. Even after six months, you still feel bad.”
