Billy Idol Says Smoking Crack Helped Him Quit Heroin

Billy Idol revealed that he traded one vice for another during the height of his addiction struggles in the 1980s.

The hitmaker, 70, said that smoking crack helped him quit heroin during a Monday, March 2, appearance on Club Random with Bill Maher. Idol admitted that it was “so terrible” getting off heroin, which is why he would never do the drug again.

Idol echoed Boy George’s comments that it feels like “your skeleton is trying to get out of your body,” adding, “That’s how uncomfortable [it is.]”

During his candid interview, Idol reflected on a time when he was returning to England on the heels of his Rebel Yell album success, noting he snorted heroin and started turning blue.

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Miraculously, he lived to tell the tale, revealing that he was put in an ice cold bath and rushed to a rooftop for fresh air.

Maher, 70, was surprised to hear that he didn’t take the drug via an injection, to which Idol said he “didn’t like the idea.”

The music icon shared that his mom, Joan Broad, was a nurse, so the concept of shooting heroin was off-putting. In his case, snorting the drug “knocked” him out, which he described as its appeal.

As for how he was able to kick the habit, Idol admitted he opted for an unconventional and dangerous method. “Once you’re trying to get off heroin, what do you go to? You go to something else,” he said. “I started smoking crack to get off heroin.”

“It worked,” Idol added.

The music icon previously revealed that it was hard to avoid the drug scene in his 2025 documentary, Billy Idol Should Be Dead, noting that it was very much “embraced” by the culture during his heyday.

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Idol also reflected on a costly trip to Bangkok, during which he and a hard-partying pal caused an estimated $75,000 in damages to a hotel, noting that pushed him to make a change.

During a May 2024 interview with People, Idol said he ultimately decided “not be a drug addict anymore” after a 1990 motorcycle accident nearly cost him his leg.

“I mean, AA [Alcoholics Anonymous] would say, ‘You’re always a drug addict.’ And that may be true, but I don’t do anything that much anymore,” he said. “I got over it somehow. I was really lucky that I could get over it because a lot of people can’t.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.