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Quick Facts
- NAME: Billy Idol
- OCCUPATION: Guitarist, Singer
- BIRTH DATE: November 30, 1955 (Age: 57)
- EDUCATION: Sussex University
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Middlesex, England, United Kingdom
- Full Name: William Albert Michael Broad
- AKA: William Broad
- AKA: Billy Idol
- ZODIAC SIGN: Sagittarius
Best Known For
In 1981, punk rock musician Billy Idol launched his solo career with the release of Don't Stop, then formed a new band that released four successful records.
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Play NowBilly Idol. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 12:58, Jun 20, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/billy-idol-9542533.
Billy Idol. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/billy-idol-9542533 [Accessed 20 Jun 2013].
"Billy Idol." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Jun 20 2013, 12:58 http://www.biography.com/people/billy-idol-9542533.
"Billy Idol," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/billy-idol-9542533 [accessed Jun 20, 2013].
"Billy Idol," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/billy-idol-9542533 (accessed Jun 20, 2013).
Billy Idol [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 Jun 20] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/billy-idol-9542533.
Billy Idol, http://www.biography.com/people/billy-idol-9542533 (last visited Jun 20, 2013).
Billy Idol. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/billy-idol-9542533. Accessed Jun 20, 2013.
Synopsis
Famed punk rock musician Billy Idol was born on November 30, 1955, in Middlesex, England. He joined the punk band Chelsea in 1976 and later left to form Generation X. In 1980, they had a hit U.S. single, Dancing with Myself. The following year, Idol launched his solo career in New York City with the release of Don't Stop. Afterward, he pulled together a new team that went on to release four successful records.
Quotes
"If your world doesn't allow you to dream, move to one where you can."
"I rocked the cradle of love."
"Everyone should idolize themselves, shouldn't they?"
Early Life and Career
Billy Idol was born William Albert Michael Broad on November 30, 1955, in Middlesex, England. While studying English literature at Sussex University, Broad became a member of the Bromley Contingent, a group of Sex Pistols followers that included members of the Clash and Siouxsie and the Banshees. He changed his name to Idol after a schoolteacher returned a paper proclaiming him "idle" in class.
Idol teamed with lyricist and bass guitarist Tony James, and together they joined the punk band Chelsea in 1976. Idol and James subsequently left and formed Generation X—a name they took from a book about 1960s youth rock culture. Though the band never toured the United States, they did take the nation by storm in 1980 with the single "Dancing with Myself." A break-up followed their second release, Kiss Me Deadly, due to managerial problems.
Solo Career
In 1981, Billy Idol launched his solo career in New York City with the release of Don't Stop, which included two GENX remixes and a cover of Tommy James's "Mony Mony." He then pulled together a new team, including producer Keith Forsey, ex-KISS manager Bill Aucoin and raven-haired New York guitarist Steve Stevens. The group released four successful records together: Billy Idol, Rebel Yell, Whiplash Smile and Vital Idol.
Despite his legendary excessive lifestyle, Idol participated in several charity shows. He took part in Neil Young's Bridge School Benefit concert in 1988, and appeared in a charity performance of the Who's Tommy in London the following year. A motorcycle crash in February 1990 seriously damaged his leg, but he recovered quickly to release Cradle Of Love (taken from the Andrew Dice Clay movie The Adventures Of Ford Fairlaine).
Idol attempted to rebrand his image with 1993's computer-driven Cyberpunk, but the recording was a commercial and critical failure. The following year, he narrowly escaped death for a second time when he suffered a drug overdose. Idol remained out of the public eye until the end of the decade, when he made a cameo appearance in the Adam Sandler comedy The Wedding Singer.
In Recent Years
In 2005, Idol released his first studio album since Cyberpunk more than a decade earlier: Devil's Playground, featuring such songs as "World Comin' Down," "Scream" and "Romeo's Waiting." The following year, the musician released Happy Holidays, including a number of traditional Christmas songs as well as a few original singles. The Very Best Of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself, career-spanning collection, followed in 2008. "Everyone should idolize themselves, shouldn't they?" Idol said with a laugh when asked about the album's title, according to his website.
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