“It worked. It worked,” the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominee shared in an interview with Bill Maher.

Billy Idol says smoking crack helped him kick heroin

"It worked. It worked," the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominee shared in an interview with Bill Maher.

By Sharareh Drury

March 4, 2026 2:14 p.m. ET

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Billy Idol on Bill Maher's 'Club Random' podcast. Credit:

Club Random Podcast/YouTube

Billy Idol has revealed the rather unusual way he stopped using heroin.

While appearing on Bill Maher's *Club Random With Bill Maher* podcast on March 2, the 70-year-old rock legend said the way he stopped using the opioid drug was by switching to crack.

"Once you're trying to get off heroin, what do you go to?" Idol asked Maher.

"You go to something else," the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominee continued. "I started smoking crack to get off heroin."

When Bill Maher asked if that method truly worked for the "White Wedding" singer, Idol confirmed, "It worked. It worked."**

Billy Idol in 2025.

Scott Dudelson/Getty

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Idol's new documentary, *Billy Idol Should Be Dead,* also details the punk rock legend's challenges with drug addiction and explores his rise to stardom, including never-before-seen archival and personal interviews with Idol as well as his family, collaborators, and peers. One of the revelations from the doc, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival last year and was directed by Grammy winner Jonas Åkerlund, was that Idol suffered a near-fatal overdose in London in 1984.

"There was a moment there where, you know, I’d done what I set out to do," Idol shared in the documentary, reflecting on the success of his second album, *Rebel Yell*,* *and gaining massive popularity with American audiences. "I was coming back to England in triumph, and I nearly ruined it."

Idol shared in the documentary that upon his return to the UK, he and his friends took "some of the strongest heroin" together — which quickly turned into a nearly deadly scenario for the rocker. "I was basically dying. I was turning blue," Idol shared. "So they put me in an ice-cold bath, and I remember them walking me around on the top of the building, you know, on the roof."**

Billy Idol performing in 1987.

Ross Marino/Getty

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Speaking with PEOPLE in 2024, Idol opened up about being "California sober" as he neared 70, and how a 1990 motorcycle accident that nearly resulted in him losing his leg was the driving force to pursue sobriety.

"I really started to think I should try and go forward and not be a drug addict anymore and stuff like that," Idol said of the accident. "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."

Watch Idol's full interview with Maher in the video above.**

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

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