By Aaron Tinney, OK! Magazine | OK! can reveal Billy Idol has revealed he nearly died from a heroin overdose at the height of his fame, with the 70-year-old rocker admitting the incident came just days before a major solo career milestone.
The “Rebel Yell” singer, 70, opens up about the near-fatal episode in the new documentary Billy Idol Should Be Dead, which charts his rise from London’s punk scene to international stardom.
Born in 1955 in Middlesex and raised in Bromley, Idol first found success with Generation X before moving to New York as the punk movement faded.
By 1983, he had broken through in the United States with “Rebel Yell,” setting the stage for a high-profile return to the U.K. in 1984 – a moment almost derailed by his escalating drug use.
Idol said: “I did OD and nearly died. I came back to the U.K. in triumph in 1984. I was due on Top of the Pops. We met some pals, and they had some of the strongest heroin. Everybody did a line, and they all nodded out except me and a mate, and we did a few more. I was basically dying. I was turning blue. So they put me in an ice bath and walked me around on the roof.”
A music industry insider said the revelation underscores how precarious Idol’s position was at the time. “From the outside, it looked like everything was falling into place for Billy Idol – international success, chart dominance, a defining image,” the source said. “But behind the scenes, there was a level of excess that was spiraling to a point where it genuinely threatened his life.”
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Read more here:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/news/80s-music-star-billy-idol-admits-he-almost-died-from-snorting-heroin-after-launching-solo-career/
