Rock star Billy Idol is opening up about his long and historic career. That includes some moments that he's not extremely proud of.
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The singer revealed that he often got high or drunk to perform on stage.
"I don't go on stage high or anything like that," the rock star told People. "There was a time when I used to go on stage a little high, or I would drink a massive glass of a screwdriver halfway through."
But these days, Idol confirmed that is all in the past. He is now sober for the most part, only indulging in marijuana. "Nowadays... I go on completely normal and completely straight, and I think that's the way to do it because the music itself is a high," he said. "You can get that anytime you play. That is the high."
The rock star decided to get sober after almost losing his leg in a motorcycle accident. It made him reevaluate his life.
Rock Star Talks Sobriety
"I really started to think I should try and go forward and not be a drug addict anymore and stuff like that," he said of the incident. "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."
"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," he also added. "I was really lucky that I could get over it because a lot of people can't."
The rock star also says that he tries to surround himself with others who are also sober. It has helped a lot when it comes to his sobriety.
"I can have a glass of wine every now and again," he said. "I don't have to do nothing. But at the same time, I'm not the drug addict that I was in the peak '70s, '80s."
