Billy Idol's career has been pretty mixed. There are about a dozen Billy Idol songs that I endlessly love and the rest of his discography is pretty forgettable, cheesy and/or downright bad. I've read a bit about him and seen a few interviews so I thought I'd share with the class.
After a few brief stints Idol formed a somewhat cheesy early pop-punk band called Generation X. They were one of the first to really bridge the gap between punk music and pop.
According to Wikipedia 'Although a punk rock band, they were inspired by mid-1960s British pop, in sharp contrast to their more militant peers, with Idol stating; "We were saying the opposite to the Clash and the Pistols. They were singing 'No Elvis, Beatles or the Rolling Stones', but we were honest about what we liked. The truth was, we were all building our music on the Beatles and the Stones"'
A few of Billy Idol's most known songs actually come from his time in Generation X but were re-released when he went solo. In fact if you've heard all of Billy Idol's solo career then the only amazing songs you'd miss out on from Generation X are 'Heaven's Inside' and 'Untouchables'.
After 3 albums with Generation X Billy Idol went solo and became even more successful.
His first two albums ("Billy Idol" and "Rebel Yell") are both really fantastic. They have aged better than most pop-punk, glam or rock music from the early 80s. But after that Idol released three really bad albums and eventually called it quits for about twelve years.
His last album before retirement was a concept album called "Cyberpunk" (1993). Idol had broken his leg in a motorcyle accident and he had to use an electronic muscle stimulator on his leg for a while. He became interested in cyberpunk and started reading William Gibson's Neuromancer and a few other cyberpunk classics of the mid to late 80s. Idol was inspired by cyberpunk which is why he made the album. I love cyberpunk movies, shows and music but Billy Idol's concept album 'Cyberpunk' really doesn't do it for me. It's ambitious but it also feels really forced and strange. It's a real departure from his more melodic and fun sound in his early albums. A lot of people accused Idol of being a phony but Idol and a few of his friends insist Idol's interest in cyberpunk is genuine. Another fun fact: Before Idol's motorcycle accident he was up for the role as the T-1000 Terminator in T2 but due to the accident they had to go with someone else. Man, I would have loved to see that!
Idol made a 'comeback album' in 2005 called 'Devils Playground'. It has a much edgier sound than his old stuff and I really didn't like it but it did reasonable well on the charts. The next year he released 'Happy Holidays' which is a pretty funny Christmas album. It seems like the later half of his career was more about making money than anything else. He had some drug problems but I don't know if he's still wild now or not.
Billy always marketed himself as a rebel but he wasn't afraid to show that he had a soft side too. He seems like a fun loving guy with a good sense of humor who just wants to put on a good show. His later career may have been bad but some of his songs will live on forever because they're so irresistibly melodic and fun.
If you don't feel like listening to Idol's entire discography here is a list of my top 12 Billy Idol songs. Really these are the only ones I listen to but they're really great. You can skip the rest of his career if you've heard these.
Rebel Yell
Heaven's Inside (Generation X)
Dancing With Myself (From Gen X era but I prefer the Billy Idol solo recording)
Nobody's Business
White Wedding
Blue Highway
Shooting Stars
Come on Come on
Untouchables (Generation X)
Catch My Fall
Eyes Without a Face
Dead on Arrival
After a few brief stints Idol formed a somewhat cheesy early pop-punk band called Generation X. They were one of the first to really bridge the gap between punk music and pop.
According to Wikipedia 'Although a punk rock band, they were inspired by mid-1960s British pop, in sharp contrast to their more militant peers, with Idol stating; "We were saying the opposite to the Clash and the Pistols. They were singing 'No Elvis, Beatles or the Rolling Stones', but we were honest about what we liked. The truth was, we were all building our music on the Beatles and the Stones"'
A few of Billy Idol's most known songs actually come from his time in Generation X but were re-released when he went solo. In fact if you've heard all of Billy Idol's solo career then the only amazing songs you'd miss out on from Generation X are 'Heaven's Inside' and 'Untouchables'.
After 3 albums with Generation X Billy Idol went solo and became even more successful.
His first two albums ("Billy Idol" and "Rebel Yell") are both really fantastic. They have aged better than most pop-punk, glam or rock music from the early 80s. But after that Idol released three really bad albums and eventually called it quits for about twelve years.
His last album before retirement was a concept album called "Cyberpunk" (1993). Idol had broken his leg in a motorcyle accident and he had to use an electronic muscle stimulator on his leg for a while. He became interested in cyberpunk and started reading William Gibson's Neuromancer and a few other cyberpunk classics of the mid to late 80s. Idol was inspired by cyberpunk which is why he made the album. I love cyberpunk movies, shows and music but Billy Idol's concept album 'Cyberpunk' really doesn't do it for me. It's ambitious but it also feels really forced and strange. It's a real departure from his more melodic and fun sound in his early albums. A lot of people accused Idol of being a phony but Idol and a few of his friends insist Idol's interest in cyberpunk is genuine. Another fun fact: Before Idol's motorcycle accident he was up for the role as the T-1000 Terminator in T2 but due to the accident they had to go with someone else. Man, I would have loved to see that!
Idol made a 'comeback album' in 2005 called 'Devils Playground'. It has a much edgier sound than his old stuff and I really didn't like it but it did reasonable well on the charts. The next year he released 'Happy Holidays' which is a pretty funny Christmas album. It seems like the later half of his career was more about making money than anything else. He had some drug problems but I don't know if he's still wild now or not.
Billy always marketed himself as a rebel but he wasn't afraid to show that he had a soft side too. He seems like a fun loving guy with a good sense of humor who just wants to put on a good show. His later career may have been bad but some of his songs will live on forever because they're so irresistibly melodic and fun.
If you don't feel like listening to Idol's entire discography here is a list of my top 12 Billy Idol songs. Really these are the only ones I listen to but they're really great. You can skip the rest of his career if you've heard these.
Rebel Yell
Heaven's Inside (Generation X)
Dancing With Myself (From Gen X era but I prefer the Billy Idol solo recording)
Nobody's Business
White Wedding
Blue Highway
Shooting Stars
Come on Come on
Untouchables (Generation X)
Catch My Fall
Eyes Without a Face
Dead on Arrival