Billy Idol nearly died from heroin overdose
Billy Idol almost died from a heroin overdose.
The 69-year-old rocker had returned to London in 1984 to celebrate his success in the US but his partying with friends got out of hand and the group had to revive the Rebel Yell hitmaker when he "turned blue" and collapsed.
Speaking on documentary Billy Idol Should Be Dead, which premiered at the Tribeca Festival on Tuesday (10.06.25), he said: 'I was coming back in triumph and I nearly ruined it.
'We flew to London where we met a load of our pals that we knew. They had some of the strongest heroin. Everybody did a line or so and they all nodded out except for me and this mate of mine.'
As the rest of the group passed out, Billy and his friend kept taking the drug.
He continued: 'I was basically dying. I was turning blue. So they put me in an ice cold bath and I remember them walking me around on the top of the building, on the roof.'
Billy insisted he and his peers never considered the dangers of heroin and it was a drug the music scene had "embraced" at the time.
He said: 'A number of people were on it. But you know, you're wide open for it. A lot of the people we loved were all heroin addicts.
'Lou Reed wrote the song 'Heroin.' You weren't thinking how dangerous it was. In fact, you're thinking quite the opposite. Maybe this could unleash something.'
The White Wedding rocker ultimately gave up the drug for good when he and a friend caused $75,000 damages to a hotel in Bangkok at a time when his son Willem, now 36, was a baby.
At one point, he recalled passing out in an elevator with the doors opening and closing him, while police were called when he threw a log through a glass window.
He said: 'Mel Gibson was there with his family on holiday, horrified.
'The silver lining was I did put heroin behind me. It was too horrible, the whole experience. It actually really put me off.
'Getting off heroin is one of the most awfulest experiences in the world. Boy George said it right when he said it's like your skeleton trying to get out of your body. There's no quick fix. It's such a long time. You're just counting the days, the seconds, the hours. Even after six months, you still feel lousy.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
a day ago
- Perth Now
Billy Idol nearly died from heroin overdose
Billy Idol almost died from a heroin overdose. The 69-year-old rocker had returned to London in 1984 to celebrate his success in the US but his partying with friends got out of hand and the group had to revive the Rebel Yell hitmaker when he "turned blue" and collapsed. Speaking on documentary Billy Idol Should Be Dead, which premiered at the Tribeca Festival on Tuesday (10.06.25), he said: 'I was coming back in triumph and I nearly ruined it. 'We flew to London where we met a load of our pals that we knew. They had some of the strongest heroin. Everybody did a line or so and they all nodded out except for me and this mate of mine.' As the rest of the group passed out, Billy and his friend kept taking the drug. He continued: 'I was basically dying. I was turning blue. So they put me in an ice cold bath and I remember them walking me around on the top of the building, on the roof.' Billy insisted he and his peers never considered the dangers of heroin and it was a drug the music scene had "embraced" at the time. He said: 'A number of people were on it. But you know, you're wide open for it. A lot of the people we loved were all heroin addicts. 'Lou Reed wrote the song 'Heroin.' You weren't thinking how dangerous it was. In fact, you're thinking quite the opposite. Maybe this could unleash something.' The White Wedding rocker ultimately gave up the drug for good when he and a friend caused $75,000 damages to a hotel in Bangkok at a time when his son Willem, now 36, was a baby. At one point, he recalled passing out in an elevator with the doors opening and closing him, while police were called when he threw a log through a glass window. He said: 'Mel Gibson was there with his family on holiday, horrified. 'The silver lining was I did put heroin behind me. It was too horrible, the whole experience. It actually really put me off. 'Getting off heroin is one of the most awfulest experiences in the world. Boy George said it right when he said it's like your skeleton trying to get out of your body. There's no quick fix. It's such a long time. You're just counting the days, the seconds, the hours. Even after six months, you still feel lousy.'
Perth Now
3 days ago
- Perth Now
Kyra Sedgwick recalls shooting 'emotional' scene with Kevin Bacon
Kyra Sedgwick felt "emotional" while shooting a break-up scene with Kevin Bacon for The Best You Can. The loved-up couple - who have been married for 36 years - star in the new rom-com movie, and Kyra admits that one scene proved to be particularly difficult to shoot. Kyra, 59, said at the Tribeca Festival in New York: "There was a moment in the break-up scene where I could not — I was very emotional. I knew [my character] would be emotional, but I had a little crossover of like, 'Oh my God, what if this had happened [in real life]?' "Instead of what happened, which is that we're still together, but 'What if this had happened?' And I got very emotional about it." Kevin recently admitted that he relished the experience of working with his wife. The 66-year-old actor told People: "As soon as you get into a into a scene, you have a responsibility to your partner to make that scene work, and we've had a partnership for 37 years. "To be able to take some of that time that we've had together and put it up on the screen is just really fun." Meanwhile, Kevin revealed earlier this year that he's tried to shield his children from fame. The Hollywood star - who has son Travis, 35, and daughter Sosie, 33, with his wife - never took his kids to movie premieres during their younger years and he's always tried to shield them from the pressures of fame. Speaking on Mythical Kitchen's 'Last Meals', Kevin shared: "We really avoided it. I think we really felt like it would be nice for them to have some … we knew how weird this life was. "When you realise that you will always … that there's always a chance that you're gonna walk out of the house and somebody is going to know who you are or look at you or have some kind of point of you about you from a piece of work that you've done, you start to go, 'Okay, it's great. This is what I always wanted, but it's a weird way to live. 99 percent good, but a little weird.'"
Perth Now
6 days ago
- Perth Now
Miley Cyrus goes braless in completely sheer dress
Miley Cyrus turned heads when she stepped out in New York in a completely sheer dress on Wednesday. In true Miley fashion, the 32-year-old singer kept things risque, going braless in the sheer black Ludovic de Saint Sernin gown and wearing nothing but black underwear underneath as she greeted fans outside Rockefeller Centre. She paired the look with some chunky, black sunglasses and a plain gold necklace. She paired the look with some chunky, black sunglasses and a plain gold necklace. Credit: MEGA / GC Images Ms Cyrus has had a big week of interviews promoting her new album Something Beautiful. During an interview on the Every Single Album podcast, Ms Cyrus spoke about having a 'sexual instinct' at a young age, revealing her parents thought she would end up working at Hooters. 'My mum is a mumager because she's a mumager because she wasn't like 'Get out there...', she was like 'This is what she wants to do, this is a lot better than what a lot of teenager want to be',' My Cyrus said. Ms Cyrus has had a big week of interviews promoting her new album Something Beautiful. Credit: MEGA / GC Images 'I think my parents always thought I was going to work at Hooters. I actually know for a fact they thought I was going to work at Hooters because of the way I acted as a child. I was f****** out of it! 'I can say this, but I always had a very sexual instinct, even as a kid. I was always just trying to get naked in Cracker Barrel. 'Literally, I was trying to get naked at Cracker Barrel.' Something Beautiful will premiere on June 6 at the Tribeca Festival. She wore black underwear with the dress. Credit: Patricia Schlein/Star Max / GC Images
