Billy Idol has revealed he doesn't consider himself "to be a drug addict anymore."
The White Wedding singer, who was at the height of his drug and alcohol addiction in the 1980s, has revealed he decided to become sober after nearly losing a leg in a motorbike accident in the 1990s.
"I really started to think I should try and go forward and not be a drug addict anymore and stuff like that,” the 68-year-old told People magazine.
“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.”
He now defines himself as “California sober”, where he no longer drinks or does hard drugs, but consumes marijuana.
“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.”
He added, “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 having other people around him on the same path has made a big difference.
“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."
