Who is Billy Idol? Everything You Need to Know

He began his musical career as a member of the punk rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees in 1976. After a short stint he quit to join Chelsea as a guitarist in 1977. Here he met Tony James.

Idol co-founded the band Generation X in which he became the lead singer. Tony James played the bass while John Towe and Bob Andrews played the drums and guitar respectively. The band’s first single ‘Your Generation’ was released in 1977.

The band released its self-titled album ‘Generation X’ in 1978. It contained the singles ‘Ready Steady Go’, ‘Listen’ and ‘From the Heart’. It was followed by the release of their second album ‘Valley of the Dolls’ in 1979 which had the hit single ‘King Rocker’. The band broke up in 1980.

Idol went to New York City in 1981 to pursue a solo career. By now he had created a “bad boy image” for himself which was much loved by the rock fans. He found a new partner in Steve Stevens who played the guitar.

He released an Extended Play (EP) titled ‘Don’t Stop’ in 1981. It featured a cover of Tommy James and the Shondells’ song ‘Mony Mony’. The popularity of the EP prompted him to release his full length album, ‘Billy Idol’ in 1982.

His next album ‘Rebel Yell’ was released in 1983. He collaborated with Steve Stevens and Keith Forsey to make this highly successful album. The album spawned four singles which reached the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts.

In 1986, his next album ‘Whiplash Smile’ was released. It had the singles ‘To Be a Lover’, ‘Sweet Sixteen’, and ‘Don’t Need a Gun’. He also filmed a video for ‘Sweet Sixteen’.

During the 1990s he released only two albums, ‘Charmed Life’ (1990) and ‘Cyberpunk’ (1993). The latter was an experimental move and was recorded in a home studio. It was however a flop and received negative reviews.

He suffered from several personal and health problems during the 1990s because of which he could not concentrate much on his career. After a long time, he released his album, ‘Devil’s Playground’ in 2005. He embarked on a world tour of rock festival appearances in 2005 and 2006 in support of this album.

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His last album till date is ‘Happy Holidays’ which was a Christmas album released in 2006. It included several popular traditional Christmas songs and some original compositions.

Major Works

His album ‘Rebel Yell’ is his biggest success so far. The album peaked at No.6 on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart and had the highly popular singles ‘Rebel Yell’, ‘Eyes Without a Face’, and ‘Flesh for Fantasy’. The album went multi platinum in Canada and the U.S.

The album ‘Whiplash Smile’ also went multi platinum in Canada and Platinum in the U.S. The single ‘To Be a Lover’ was a big hit and reached No.6 in the U.S.

Awards & Achievements

He won the MTV Video Music Awards for Best Video from a Film for the video ‘Cradle of Love’ in 1990.

He also won the BRIT Award for Best British Video for the same video in 1991.

Quotes: Money, Yourself, Alone

Personal Life & Legacy

He was in a long term relationship with Perri Lister with whom he has a son. He was involved with another woman Linda Mathis with whom he has a daughter.

Trivia

This singer is known for his trademark spiky platinum blonde hair and sneer.

1990	Best Video from a Film	Billy Idol: Cradle of Love (1990)
1990	Best Video from a Film	The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990)

Billy Idol Biography