Billy Idol

Billy Idol (2012)

Billy Idol (born November 30, 1955 in Stanmore , London ; real name William Michael Albert Broad ) is a British rock musician .

In the 1980s, Idol was one of the most famous music stars and celebrated chart successes worldwide under his pseudonym . He derived his stage name from the fact that he was quite often idle ( English for sluggish) in school and a teacher noted this in an assessment; William Broad later made this "Idol". Together with "Billy", a nickname of his first name, Billy Idol was created.

From 1980 to 1989 Billy Idol was in a relationship with the dancer Perri Lister, with whom he has a son. The singer has another daughter with Linda Mathis, who is 13 years his junior.

Career

Early years

After dropping out of philosophy studies , Idol ended up in the early London punk scene . Together with Gene October (only remaining, permanent member of Chelsea), Brian James (later with The Damned ) and Tony James (later with Sigue Sigue Sputnik ) he founded the band Chelsea , which he soon left to found Generation X. , which successfully released three albums and several singles in the mid to late 1970s . As a child, Idol claims to have been bullied and excluded by his classmates because of his gaunt appearance. The motif of the loner can be found in many of his songs.

Career development

Billy Idol and Steve Stevens (2010)

After Generation X broke up, Idol went to the USA in 1981 to conquer the pop market with lavish productions and a tailor-made image as a “tough guy” with leather pants and a bleached spiky hairstyle. Here, musically, he strayed far from his origins, but landed commercially successful world hits, including z. B. Dancing with Myself , Rebel Yell , Flesh for Fantasy and White Wedding . He was discovered and promoted by the then very influential Kiss manager Bill Aucoin . Long-time producer was Keith Forsey , who wrote the song Don't You (Forget About Me) for Billy Idol . However, Idol refused to sing this title, which made the Simple Minds world famous with the song. Idol's musical partner, who also appeared almost on an equal footing with him in the video clips , was guitarist Steve Stevens .

Billy Idol ( Cradle of Love Tour, 1990)

With his globally successful albums Billy Idol (1982), Rebel Yell (1983) and Whiplash Smile (1986), the “hydrogen-bleached nightmare of a rocker” (according to the New Musical Express quote) became an icon and style-defining figure of identification for an entire generation. As a single release from the latter album, the ballad Sweet Sixteen in particular became a hit.

On February 7, 1990, Idol suffered severe leg injuries (fivefold, partly open debris fractures), a broken arm and several rib fractures in a motorcycle accident after driving over a stop sign and crashing into a truck. Thanks to a seven-hour operation, Idol avoided amputation of his right leg (five more operations followed) and he spent many weeks in bed.

The album Charmed Life , which had been completed shortly before the accident, was released several months late . Idol incorporated rock elements more than on previous works. An extensive world tour followed. The album, which includes the song Cradle of Love and The Doors cover LA Woman , still sold well and also reached considerable chart positions, but should be Idol's last commercially successful release for the time being.

In 1991 he was given a small guest role in Oliver Stone's film The Doors , in which he was originally supposed to play a leading role as Jim Morrison's best friend , but this was prevented by the motorcycle accident the year before, as was a possible role in the film Terminator 2 .

Temporary end

After the album Charmed Life , Idol's career faltered. Steve Stevens had previously ended the collaboration and recorded the album Atomic Playboys in 1987, before he became guitarist in Vince Neil's band in 1993 . Idol has been addicted to heroin since 1986. Several lawsuits for derailments and brawls while intoxicated brought him negative headlines as well as probation and fines. After an overdose from a drug and medication cocktail in early 1993, which resulted in a lengthy stay in hospital, Idol went into withdrawal (shortly before the impending physical and financial ruin) and has lived drug-free ever since.

He processed some of his drug experiences on the album Cyberpunk , which was published as a comeback attempt in the same year and which stands out stylistically from the rest of the works. Instead of handmade rock or punk sounds, the music consists of a mix of electrobeats, mixed with rock rhythms and psychedelic echoes, is musically and lyrically inspired by the works of William Gibson and is a self-contained concept album.

For the next eight years it became very quiet about the former superstar. In addition to some hardly noticed concerts a. a. in Las Vegas, one of his few signs of life was a brief appearance in the 1998 film A Wedding To Fall In Love With Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler , in which Idol played himself.

Late comeback

Billy Idol (2003)

After a new best-of album, released in the spring of 2001, had sold over a million copies, Idol thought about a comeback. First of all, he made a name for himself again with the CD and DVD Storytellers released in spring 2002 . He then performed acoustic versions of Generation X classics such as Kiss Me Deadly , Untouchables and Ready Steady Go as well as his songs from the 1980s and explained how the titles came about. The video version was originally broadcast by the music channel VH1 , later also by MTV . On this release for the first time since the album Whiplash Smile (1986) his partner on guitar, Steve Stevens , was back with the part.

Idol was still contractually bound to Chrysalis Records and therefore had little artistic freedom. In 2003 the record company released him from the contract after several legal disputes. Chrysalis had tried to influence the artistic design of his music, including a collaboration with Linda Perry , but was not put into practice.

Billy Idol and guitarist Steve Stevens (2003)

After a total of twelve years, Idol released the single Scream on March 7, 2005 via Noise Records (Sanctuary Group) and his comeback album Devil's Playground on March 22 of the same year . In June 2005 he performed at the Rock im Park and Rock am Ring festivals and gave a solo concert in Hamburg's Stadtpark. In November / December 2005, Idol gave seven concerts in Germany and others in Denmark, Finland, England, Ireland, Scotland, Holland, Austria and Switzerland as part of his Devil's Playground tour (which was previously limited to the USA). He celebrated his 50th birthday on November 30, 2005 in Leipzig on stage.

In July 2006 Idol gave open-air concerts in Berlin, Bonn and Hamburg, where he also presented his new singles Touch My Love and Cry . In the late summer of 2006 he again made stops in Finland, Great Britain, Austria and Switzerland as well as in Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Serbia, Hungary) and in Saint Petersburg, Russia. A concert that took place in Chicago on July 29, 2006 was also recorded for later release on DVD and Blu-Ray Disc and was released on November 16, 2009 under the title Super Overdrive Live . Just in time for the Christmas business, the Christmas album Happy Holidays was released on an independent label .

In July 2008 Idol again undertook a small tour of Germany with concerts in Leipzig, Hanover, Hamburg, Erfurt, Munich, Altusried and Düsseldorf. The CD Idolize Yourself was also released on June 24, 2008 - a best-of compilation including two new songs at the time ( John Wayne and New Future Weapon ). In July 2010, Idol performed in an open air concert in Potsdam, at the Twistringer Reload Festival and on July 6, 2010 at the Montreux Jazz Festival . His touring band consisted of Steve Stevens (guitar), Billy Morrison (rhythm guitar), Stephen McGrath (bass), Derek Sherinian (keyboards) and Jeremy Colson (drums).

On October 28, 2010, Idol appeared together with Evan Rachel Wood and Danny DeVito in a one-time charity performance of the Rocky Horror Show in Los Angeles.

For several years, Idol worked on his autobiography , which was initially published in English on October 7, 2014 under the title Dancing With Myself . On October 26, the book was ranked 13th on the New York Times bestseller list. In addition, Idol recorded the album Kings & Queens of the Underground , produced by Trevor Horn and released in Europe on October 17, 2014, together with Steve Stevens, Billy Morrison and other musicians . On August 26, 2014, the single Can't Break Me Down was released from it, which was voted "Song of the Week" by USA Today on September 16, 2014. A music video was also produced for this song.

Billy Idol lives in Los Angeles.

Discography

→ Main article : Billy Idol / Discography

Studio albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)					Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
1983	Billy Idol	-	-	-	-	US45 gold (104 weeks)US	First published: July 1982 Producer: Keith Forsey
	Rebel Yell	DE2 gold (49 weeks)DE	-	CH16 (13 weeks) CH	UK36 silver (11 weeks)UK	US6th × 2 Double platinum (82 weeks)US	First published: November 10, 1983 Producer: Keith Forsey
1986	Whiplash smile	DE9 gold (40 weeks)DE	AT18 (14 weeks) AT	CH4 (20 weeks) CH	UK8th gold (20 weeks)UK	US6th platinum (47 weeks)US	First published: September 1986 Producer: Keith Forsey
1990	Charmed Life	DE5 gold (27 weeks)DE	AT11 (6 weeks) AT	CH4 (15 weeks) CH	UK15th silver (8 weeks)UK	US11 platinum (39 weeks)US	First published: July 1990 Producer: Keith Forsey
1993	Cyberpunk	DE13 (20 weeks) DE	AT5 (14 weeks) AT	CH15 (12 weeks) CH	UK20 (2 weeks) UK	US48 (7 weeks) US	First published: June 1993 Producer: Robin Hancock
2005	Devil's Playground	DE15 (14 weeks) DE	AT34 (4 weeks) AT	CH32 (7 weeks) CH	UK78 (1 week) UK	US46 (5 weeks) US	First published: March 2005 Producer: Keith Forsey
2014	Kings & Queens of the Underground	DE8 (5 weeks) DE	AT17 (1 week) AT	CH10 (6 weeks) CH	UK35 (2 weeks) UK	US34 (2 weeks) US	First published: October 2014 Producers: Trevor Horn , Greg Kurstin

Filmography

Billy Idol (2006)

• 1991: The Doors
• 1996: Mad Dog Time
• 1998: A wedding to fall in love with ( cameo )
• 2000: Heavy Metal FAKK 2
• 2007: Viva La Bam
• 2010: Cat Tale

Film and game music

• 1989: Hot in the City - Theme song from the TV series Booker
• 1990: Cradle of Love - in The Adventures of Ford Fairlane
• 1994: Speed - new title for the film of the same name
• 1998: White Wedding - theme song by The Wedding Singer , also part of the music for the PC and console game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and part of the track selection for the Playstation portable game Rock Band Unplugged
• 2000: Buried Alive - new title for heavy metal music : FAKK²

literature

• Billy Idol: Dancing With Myself. The autobiography. Translated by Jan Schönherr and Harriet Fricke. Wilhelm Heyne, Munich 2014, ISBN 978-3-453-26776-3 .

swell

1. ↑ The eventful life of rock star Billy Idol . In: vip.de . ( vip.de [accessed on May 10, 2018]).
2. ↑ How Billy Idol And Lance Henriksen Were Nearly James Cameron's Terminators , MTV.com
3. ↑ release date "Scream"
4. ↑ release date "Devil's Playground"
5. ↑ Lovefilm.de, Billy Idol & Evan Rachel Wood in the "Rocky Horror Show" ( Memento from December 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
6. ↑ Official website , accessed September 17, 2014
7. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/2014-10-26/hardcover-nonfiction/list.html New York Times bestseller list October 26, 2014, accessed November 2, 2014
8. ↑ Song of the week: Billy Idol's 'Can't Break Me Down', accessed September 17, 2014
9. ↑ Tour promotion interview with US radio station KROQ from October 2018 on YouTube , accessed on January 30, 2019.
10. ↑ Chart sources: DE AT CH UK1 UK2 US

Web links

Wikiquote: Billy Idol  - Quotes

Commons : Billy Idol  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Official Billy Idol website
• Billy Idol at Allmusic (English)
• Billy Idol at Discogs (English)
• Billy Idol in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Database entry of the Montreux Jazz Festival