The singer and legend Billy Idol was archiving a massive success in the ‘80s of the pop/rock genres. His look is known for being dark with black appealing tones, a bad boy and punk attitude. His name established in the London punk rock era and got famous with hits like “White Wedding,” “Rebel Yell,” and “Dancing with Myself.” An almost fatal motorcycle accident kept him away for a while from the spotlight in the 90s, but he had in the 2000s a comeback with albums like Kings & Queens of the Underground, Devil’s Playground, and his newest EP Roadside in 2021.
William Michael Albert Broad was born in Middlesex (England) on November 30, 1955. He moved with his family to New York for some time before going back to England. He studied at the Sussex University which only lasted for one year and became a member of a punk rockers group that were huge fans of the Sex Pistols. Broad realized a long time ago that he could also imagine himself being a frontman of a band, shortly his artist’s name Billy Idol was born. At the beginning, he played the guitar in a band called Chelsea, that featured popular guitarists like Mick Jones and Brian James. Once he started to sing and put the guitar down, he also recruited other band members. The band has signed its first recording contract with Chrysalis and released the single “Your Generation” in 1977. The band brought out some albums before splitting up.
Idol moved to New York City to begin his own solo career. He produced his first solo album Don’t Stop with the manager Bill Aucoin, who was also the manager of the band Kiss. He signed another record deal with his former label, Chrysalis. The right person was found in the collaborator and guitarist Johnny Thunders. Eye-catching music videos that caught the attention of the audience were “Dancing with Myself” and “White Wedding” that put his peroxide-blonde hair and Elvis wave into the spotlight. His outstanding performance and look set a commercial breakthrough with 1984s album Rebel Yell.
It was his best-selling album that was nominated with double platinum and many songs were shown during that time in MTV hits. His massive success led to distractions, which prevented him to produce a new album three years after the last one. 1987 a new hit “Whiplash Smile” came out and failed because it didn’t live up to the expectations in comparison with his latest hits.
Another eight tracks that were released after the flop were “Mony Mony” for example that put Idol back on track. He spends some years in work on his fourth album that reappeared in 1989. In the 90s his studio release Charmed Life came out which contains parts of his motorcycle accident. In his single “Cradle of love” he was filmed from the waist up. Other hits of the album were a smash hit that reached platinum sales.
1993 his album Cyberpunk surfaced and showed a different style of Idol with dreadlocks and experimenting with techno beats. The new move turned out to be unwise and sank in the charts. In these years, he was suffering with personal issues and got back in 1998 with a cameo experience in a comedy and teamed up with Stevens on the VH1: Behind the Music special.
In 2008, the album The Very best of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself came out with two unreleased tracks: “New Future Weapon” and “John Wayne”. He gave a world tour and was playing at famous festivals in 2010. In 2014 New York Times bestselling albums Dancing with Myself and Kings & Queens of the underground appeared. In 2020, he was teaming up with singer Miley Cyrus to record the song “Night Crawling” which appeared on her album Plastic Hearts. 2021 he released his first new single in several years called “Bitter Taste”. In November 2021, it was announced that Idol would be a part of the Freedom Tour 2022 supporting other artists. He had to cancel the tour because he got a sinus infection. It’s the last thing he ever wanted to do, and he’s also upset about the current situation and hopes to be part of another festival in the future.
Nowadays, everything is easier with technology and digitization that makes the access for everyone uncomplicated. You can stream Billy Idol’s music on diverse streaming platforms like Spotify, Amazon Music and Apple Music. If you are not sure which albums or songs to listen to, have a look at Amazon reviews and rankings. You can be sure to find the best recommendation or comment that led you to the right decision. People always look at reviews in all certain areas, so that they can make the right choice. It’s the same with movie and TV shows, video gaming and online casinos. The latter is based on the help of trusted experts because it's important to have a look at online casinos reviews that have a fantastic reputation. Also, like other streaming platforms you can play games on PC and various mobile devices that include iOS, Android, Windows tablets etc. They are programmed with HTML5 technology, which means that they fit in any size of screen.
However, we are lucky to live in a modern world where we can just stream music wherever and whenever we want without any complications. It seems strange to some people, but the best way is to go with the flow sometimes and get inspired by it.
All in all, Billy Idol is a legend, and his music is moving because it reflects his own experiences in life. His autobiography Dancing With Myself is a hell of a roller coaster ride that is recommended for fans.
