Despite being a commercially successful artist during the 80’s with tunes including,
“White Wedding” and “Rebel Yell”. Billy Idol was always a punk and rebel at heart and nothing
showed this better than during a stop in Thailand that ended with a pretty amazing arrest in 1989.
That’s what we’re going to explore in today’s video.
Trashing hotel rooms is a cliche of being a rockstar, at least it used to be.
I feel like these days you don’t really hear about rockstars trashing hotel rooms anymore. The 80’s,
which were a commercial high for Billy Idol’s career was also full of hedonstic behavior with
the musician indulging in copious amounts of sex and drugs admitting in VH1’s behind the music that
he had died at least three times. In 1988 Idol was in a relationship with a woman named Perri Lister.
They would have a son in 1989 and it was during the same year they split. The straw that broke
the camel’s back was when Lister overhead Idol over the baby monitor talking to his mistress.
The same year Idol was in the studio working on his fourth studio album Charmed Life.
Wanting a break from the recording process and to forget about his failed relationship
Idol and a friend named Harry Johnson flew to Bangkok Thailand.
The first week saw Idol and Johnson stay at the
Oriental Hotel in Bangkok taking up residence in the presidential suite.
The original idea according to Idol who spoke to Loudersound was for them to
just drink and have sex, but not do any drugs. But things quickly came apart.
Idol would tell Loudersound We were just going to drink and not take any drugs. After about a week,
drinking all the time was getting really heavy so we asked this cab driver if he could get us
some blow..” It would turn out that what the cab driver came back with was heroin. Idol by this
point hadn’t used in 2 years and the next three weeks he would ingest copious amounts of drugs.
The staff at the orient hotel grew upset at all the escorts coming in and out of the hotel. At
one point the hotel staff requested the rocker to vacate the presidential suite
to make room for the president of columbia who was visiting and requested the suite.
Idol refused. It was during his stay at the Orient the rocker ran into Mel Gibson,
even if he was unconscious for the meeting. Gibson and his family who were staying at the same hotel
found Billy passed out in the elevator with the door opening and closing on him.
Mel really didn’t say anything to the rocker except ‘excuse me’. Reports in the media have
varied widely about how much damage was caused at the orient. I’ve seen estimates ranging from $10K
as reported by the chicago tribune at the time of the incident going all the way up to $250K. Now
perhaps the $250K figure was a cumulative total of all the destruction and mayhem he caused.
After two weeks the plan was to head home to LA, but their partying as Idol and Johnson headed
south to a seaside resort called Royal Cliff Hotel in Pattaya. There destruction only continued.
Fueled by drugs the pair rented jet skies from a local family which they proceeded to play
chicken with resulting in one of the ski’s getting damaged and sinking. Idol would have to pay hush
money to the family in the order of $25,000.00 The Chicago Tribune would interview staff at the hotel
shortly after the incident with the manager of the Ryal Cliff Hotel telling the paper.
''We could hear the destruction going on in the room. It made a terrible noise,'' The paper would
go on to write and i quote Employees tried to intervene but were dissuaded by a friend
who assured them that Idol ''would pay for the damages in full.''
Sure enough, the 33-year-old Boy Under later shelled out $11,200 for smashing a television,
shattering sliding windows and hacking teakwood furniture.
The pair headed back north to Bangkok this time staying at the Royal Orchid Sheraton hotel
and their room was met with the same respect as their two previous residences.
The Tribune would report that he caused another $6,000 in damages at the Sheraton.
The Thal military would have to be called to deal with Idol and his guest
and a nurse would shoott the musician with a tranquilizer dart and strapped
to a gurney surrounded by armed soldiers and taken to the airport.
He would take the 14 hour flight back to LA to finish up his album Charmed
Life. But his problems wouldn’t there. Idol would recall in VH1’s behind the music
“I was very lucky,” “I expect they could’ve put me in prison.”
.Charmed Life would be released in 1990 and be Idol’s last album of his
career to be a hit going platinum and producing the hit. Idol would
tell the West australian when promoting his autobiography "It takes a long time for drug
addicts to see," "There's a honeymoon period and then it wears off. It takes you forever,
10 to 15 years really to see the honeymoon was over a long time ago."