BILLY IDOL:

The 80s would not have been the same without Billy Idol, one of the first pop/punk artists to reach massive success due to a new television network known to teenagers as “MTV.” With nothing but punk in his bloodstream and an engaging mix of pop hooks and dance beats Idol’s music career surged until an intense lifestyle affected his career and almost proved fatal.

William Michael Albert Broad was born in Middlesex, England in 1955 and moved to New York with his family briefly before returning to England and studying at Sussex University for a year. He became part of a group of young punk rockers known as “the Bromley Contingent” who closely followed the Sex Pistols. It wasn’t long before he realized he also be part of a punk brand.

Having first joined a band called Chelsea as a guitarist, Idol quit and formed Generation X and took up the mic instead. The band signed to Chrysalis Records in 1977 and released two albums before breaking up. It was then that Billy Idol took on the task of going solo and released his first solo EP “Don’t Stop” in 1981 under his former band’s label. After collaborating with Steve Stevens, Idol release his first self-titled LP in July of 1982 and released the mega-hits “White Wedding” and “Dancing With Myself” – both tracks extremely popular on MTV. This debut set the platform for Idol’s biggest commercial hit: 1984’s “Rebel Yell.”