Billy Idol Once Racked Up Such a Massive Hotel Bill That the Thai Military Had to Tranquillize Him
· Vice
In only a few more days, Billy Idol will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His career, spanning more than 50 years, dates back to when he was briefly the guitarist in a punk rock band called Chelsea. He joined the group in 1976, but soon left to form a new band called Generation X.
Born as William Michael Albert Broad, he took on the name Billy Idol shortly after forming the group. They were part of the raucous punk rock movement in London during the late 1970s. This is why it’s no surprise that ten years later, Billy Idol would find himself with a $250,000 hotel bill in Thailand. Though Idol became a rock star in the 1980s, abandoning his punk edge musically, he didn’t shake the punk mentality just yet.
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After a string of massively successful hits in the 1980s, Billy Idol was among the most defining solo artists of the decade. But at the same time, the artist was struggling with a drug issue that pushed him too far in 1989. At Bangkok’s Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Idol went on a three-week drug and partying bender in a penthouse suite. Much of this incident is covered in an episode of Behind The Music from 2001. Idol explained that after extreme burnout from his success in the 80s, he also underwent a recent breakup. The combination, mixed with his lingering drug issues, turned his visit to the hotel into a chaotic three-week stay.
In Comes the Thai Military
During this time, he caused roughly $140,000 to $250,000 in damage to the suite. He experienced intense outbursts due to withdrawal in the suite. Needless to say, it’s remarkable that the rock icon lived through this to see his own induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. When Billy Idol refused to leave the suite, hotel staff took drastic measures.
Reportedly, they called on the Royal Thai Armed Forces to assist in his removal. To do so, they supposedly used a tranquilizer to subdue the rock star. Following this, they strapped him to a stretcher and put him on the next flight out of the country. I’ve heard of artists being bounced out of clubs, but Billy Idol was bounced straight out of the country.
Nowadays, the rock star is proudly “California sober”. He reportedly enjoys marijuana, with a few drinks during dinner from time to time. He revealed this in an interview with People in 2024.
In the interview, he recalls how a motorcycle accident in 1990, in which he almost lost his leg, changed his way of thinking. But he also avoids a regular 12-step program. He said, “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 added, “I’m ‘California sober.’ 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.”
Photo by Ross Marino/Getty Images
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