'I'm California sober': Billy Idol celebrates sobriety after overcoming years of substance abuse

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: In a recent interview, Billy Idol expressed his joy over his "California sobriety" journey, emphasizing that he's a far cry from the drug-addicted person he was back in the '80s.

During a revealing interview with People magazine, the Generation X frontman opened up about his prolonged struggle with substance abuse.

The 68-year-old singer, who has battled addiction for long, has now come to a position where he can proudly say he is not a “drug addict anymore.”

Billy Idol opens up about his addiction-free journey

The ‘Eyes Without a Face’ singer proclaimed himself to be a “California sober” at this phase and reminisced about the incident that made him make up his decision to "not be a drug addict anymore.”

Following years of battling drug addiction throughout the '70s and '80s, Idol had a significant turning point when he was involved in a motorcycle accident in 1990 that nearly cost him his leg.

The accident served as a wake-up call for Idol, prompting him to reflect on his life. He shared with the outlet, "I really started to think I should try and go forward and not be a drug addict anymore and stuff like that."

Idol reflected on his journey, noting, "It took a long time, but gradually I did achieve some sort of discipline where I'm not really the same kind of guy I was in the '80s. I'm not the same drug-addicted person."

The 'Cradle of Love' singer elaborated, saying, "I mean, AA would say, 'You're always a drug addict.' And that may be true, but I don't do anything that much anymore. I got over it somehow. I was really lucky that I could get over it because a lot of people can't."

He revealed that he has reached a point in his life where he can enjoy an occasional glass of wine without any trouble.

"I can have a glass of wine every now and again," shared the veteran musician before adding, "I don't have to do nothing.”

The ‘White Wedding’ star boasted of his achievement as he added, “But at the same time, I'm not the drug addict that I was in the peak '70s, '80s."

While acknowledging the significant role of personal determination in choosing a sober path, the 'Sweet Sixteen' star emphasized the impact of his friends and colleagues in supporting him on his journey to being "California sober."

He shared, "A lot of my friends from the old days are sober. [My guitarist] Steve Stevens is sober, and [guitarist/singer] Billy Morrison in my band is sober. There are people around me who are sober. That helps a lot."

Admitting he considers himself "really lucky," Idol added, "I'm, I suppose, 'California sober.' I just tell myself I can do what I want, but then I don't do it. If I tell myself I can't do anything, I want to do it. So I tell myself, 'You can do anything you like.' But I don't actually do it."

Billy Idol revealed he overcame drug addiction by developing discipline

Idol's honest revelation marks a moment of celebration. Back in 2021, he admitted during an interview with Zane Low on Apple Music 1 that if he hadn't stopped doing drugs, he would have likely ended up dead.

Sharing that he had to "develop some kind of discipline" like avoiding hard drugs, the rocker shared, "Drug addicts, we're very clever. We're not going to let you know; we're going to hide it. We're going to lie to you. We're not going to tell you the truth," per Loudwire.

He went on, “That's the problem with drug addiction: We're not being honest about it. Hiding it and doing it in secret, trying to get away with it."

"I'm not a hundred percent. I stopped the hard stuff and I don't drink much, things like that. I mean, I always cared about myself physically and everything,” continued Idol.

The ‘Flesh for Fantasy’ crooner added, “So yeah, I did have to think about where I was going. I had to solve this problem about myself with the drug addiction and that's what was happening to me in hospital bed.”

“I was kind of realizing I was going to face up to the thing that I hadn't quite faced up that had been kind of ruling my life for about 10 years. And then yeah, over the next 10 years I was able to gradually, I don't know, develop some kind of discipline,” concluded the star.