In 1990, Billy Idol suffered a motorcycle accident that nearly cost him his leg. This traumatic event is the subject of his new song "Bitter Taste," but according to Idol, it was also responsible for the beginning of his recovery from substance abuse.
In a recent conversation with Zane Lowe , Billy Idol spoke about his addiction and admitted he wasn't "100% sober" even after all these years, saying he stopped doing "the heavier stuff" and reduced his alcohol consumption.
“Drug addicts, we’re very clever,” the artist said. “We won’t let you know; we’ll hide it. We’ll lie to you. We won’t tell the truth. That’s the problem with addiction: we’re not honest about it. We hide it, we do it in secret, and we try to get away with it.”
“I’m not 100%. I stopped doing heavy things and I don’t drink much, things like that,” he continued. “I’ve always taken care of myself physically and everything else, so I had to think about where I was going. I had to solve the problem of my substance abuse, and that’s what was happening to me in the hospital bed. I realized I needed to face what had taken over my life for 10 years. And for the next 10 years I managed to gradually develop some kind of discipline.”
One of the things that helped Idol in his recovery was the MusiCares , which offers support to musicians struggling with substance abuse, and the artist said he hopes there will be other similar organizations "for other people."
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