“He’s not the same drug addict anymore”

Billy Idol, one of the featured performers at SunFest, which kicks off Friday, May 3, at the music and arts festival, is speaking candidly about being a “California sober man” rather than a traditional abstinent man.

The idol, who emerged from the London punk rock scene in the 1970s and achieved great success with hits such as “Rebel Yell”, “White Wedding” and “Eyes Without a Face”, spoke in an interview with People magazine published on 1 May that after “a long period of time,” he gradually “achieved some discipline” when it came to substances.

“I’m actually not the same guy I was in the 80s. “I’m not the same drug addict,” the 68-year-old said, noting that he began his journey to sobriety after nearly losing control. leg in a motorcycle accident in 1990.

Idol said that AA programs have always described addiction as a lifelong disease. “And that may be true, but I don’t really do anything else. I somehow dealt with it. I’m very lucky that I was able to handle it because a lot of people can’t.”

“I might have a glass of wine every now and then,” the former Generation X frontman continued. “I guess I’m the ‘Lord of California.’ I just tell myself that I can do what I want, but then I don’t. If I tell myself I can’t do something, I want to do it.” But I don’t really do that.”

“California Sovereign” is a controversial and somewhat fluid colloquial expression that describes people who abstain from most substances.

Idol noted that it “helps” that “a lot of my friends from back in the day are great,” as well as his bandmates Steve Stevens and Billy Morrison.

Demi Lovato explored ‘Sober California’ in 2021 docuseries

Demi Lovato is among other celebrities who have openly declared that they are “gorgeous in California.”

In her YouTube docuseries “Dancing with the Devil,” she revealed that she still drinks alcohol and uses marijuana in moderation after a near-fatal overdose in 2018.

“I know I’m done with whatever is going to kill me,” she said. “But giving up alcohol and marijuana completely is just setting yourself up for failure.”

More: Remember when these women destroyed the Super Bowl?

➤Super Cup 2020: Demi Lovato: From apparent drug overdose to anthem singer: I’m a fighter

However, several months after the documentary series aired, the singer announced on her Instagram Story: “I am no longer maintaining my ‘California sober’ lifestyle.”

“Sober sovereignty is the only way to live,” said Lovato, who played the then-Cruzan Amphitheater in 2014 with the Jonas Brothers.

In the docuseries, some people in Lovato’s support system said they understood her desire to explore boundaries, while others were concerned about her approach. Elton John, an ardent proponent of AA’s abstinence-emphasized model, expressed outright disapproval.

“Moderation doesn’t work,” John said. “If you drink, you will drink more; if you take a pill, you’ll take another one. You either do it or you don’t.”

U.S. reporters Edward Segarra and Alia E. Dastagir contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared in the Palm Beach Post: Rebel Yell and White Wedding’s Billy Idol is sober in California.