Billy Idol
Along with Duran
Duran, Billy Idol was one the first pop/rock artists to achieve
massive success in the early '80s due to a then brand-new U.S. television
network, MTV. Mixing his bad-boy good looks with an appealing blend of pop
hooks, punk attitude, and a dance beats, Idol quickly rocketed to stardom,
before hard living derailed his career and almost proved fatal. Born
William Michael Albert Broad on November 30, 1955, in Middlesex, England,
the youngster relocated with his family for a brief spell to New York,
before returning back to England. After a stint at Sussex University only
last a year, Broad found himself as part of a group of teen punk rockers
who befriended and followed the
Sex Pistols, known as "the Bromley Contingent" (a member of
this colorful group of characters was Siouxsie
Sioux, eventual leader of Siouxsie
& the Banshees).
It wasn't long before Broad realized that he too could be the frontman of
a punk band, and assumed the name Billy Idol shortly thereafter. After a
stint playing guitar in a group called Chelsea
didn't pan out (interestingly, the group featured future Clash
guitarist Mick
Jones and future Damned
guitarist Brian
James), Idol put down the guitar and picked up the mic, and recruited
bassist Tony
James, drummer John
Towe, and guitarist Bob
Andrews, forming Generation
X in 1976. Named after a 1960s paperback book, the band signed a
recording contract with Chrysalis shortly thereafter (Towe
was replaced with new skinsman Mark
Laff) — resulting in such releases as 1978's self-titled debut,
1979's Valley
of the Dolls, and 1981's Kiss
Me Deadly — before splitting up.
Disappointed with Generation
X's demise, Idol relocated to New York City, where he pursued a career
as a solo artist. Hooking up with Kiss
manager Bill
Aucoin, Idol issued the 1981 EP Don't
Stop (comprised of a cover of Tommy
James' '60s hit "Mony Mony" and a pair of remixed Generation
X tracks), which helped the singer score another record deal with his
former band's label, Chrysalis. Idol found the perfect collaborator and
partner in guitarist/Johnny
Thunders look-alike Steve
Stevens, and issued a self-titled debut in July of 1982. A pair of
eye-catching videos for the tracks "White Wedding" and
"Dancing With Myself" (the latter a remake of a Generation
X composition) scored major air time on MTV, with both clips focusing
in on Idol's spiky, peroxide blonde hair and Elvis-like
sneer. The debut eventually obtained gold certification, and set the stage
perfectly for Idol's big commercial breakthrough, 1984's Rebel
Yell.
Rebel
Yell became the singer's best-selling album of his career
(eventually going double platinum), spawning such big-time MTV/radio hits
as the album's anthemic title track, "Eyes Without a Face," and
"Flesh for Fantasy," establishing Idol as an arena headliner
stateside. But with massive success came its many distractions, which
prevented Idol from issuing a new studio album until three years after Rebel
Yell. 1987's Whiplash
Smile was another sizeable hit on the strength of such hits as
"To Be a Lover" and "Sweet Sixteen," but failed to
live up to the lofty expectations set by his previous releases. Stevens
jumped ship shortly thereafter to launch his own band, Steve
Stevens' Atomic Playboys (and eventually was a member of Mötley
Crüe singer Vince
Neil's solo band), leaving Idol to fend for himself.
An eight-track best-of set, Vital
Idol, was issued later the same year, spawning one of the year's
most heavily played MTV videos — a live version of the previously
recorded cover of "Mony Mony" — which helped keep Idol in the
spotlight. Idol spent the next few years working on his fourth studio
release, but reappeared in the summer of 1989 as part of an all-star
rendition of the
Who's Tommy,
with Idol playing the role of the sadistic character Cousin Kevin. Around
the time of Idol's next release, 1990's Charmed
Life, the singer was involved in a serious motorcycle accident (in
which he almost lost his leg), forcing the singer to walk with a cane for
a period of time; the video for the album's lead-off single, "Cradle
of Love," featured the singer filmed from the waist up. The ploy
worked, as the single (which was also used as the theme song in the failed
Andrew
"Dice" Clay movie, Ford Fairlane) was another smash
hit, making Charmed
Life the fourth Idol album in a row to achieve at least reach
platinum sales.
Expectedly, several years passed before the release of Idol's next album,
during which time he tried his hand at acting with a bit part in Oliver
Stone's motion picture The Doors. By the time 1993's Cyberpunk
surfaced, Idol had dropped his spiky peroxide hairstyle in place of
dreadlocks, and experimented with techno beats. The move proved to be an
unwise one, as the album tanked and sank from the charts. At the same
time, Idol was knee deep in drug addiction, resulting in another close
brush with death when he overdosed and had to be treated in a Los Angeles
hospital in 1994. Not much was heard from Idol until 1998, when he made a
cameo appearance (as himself) in the hit Adam
Sandler/Drew
Barrymore comedy The Wedding Singer, which resulted in renewed
interest. Idol teamed up once again with Stevens,
was the subject of a VH1: Behind the Music special (as well as a Storytellers
episode for the channel, which was ultimately issued as a CD), and issued
a more extensive Greatest
Hits set in 2001; the latter of which sold 500,000 copies in the
U.S. alone. Next up was his first studio album since Cyberpunk,
Devil's
Playground, released on Sanctuary in 2005.
