BILLY IDOL - REBEL YELL
“I'm on a bus on a psychedelic trip reading murder books tryin' to stay hip.” - Billy Idol
Billy Idol is one of the few true stars of Punk Rock who carried the sneer, the dangerous energy, the nervous tension, the very Elan of Punk Rock past the traps of subcultural conformity, narrowly dodging the high-speed self-destruction that accompanies the high-voltage energy of fame & fortune & lived to tell the tale. I would include Adam Ant & Siouxsie Sioux & GOBLINKO in the short list of people who were able to keep going in the true spirit of Punk. As so many people are quick to throw away Punk Stars like Sid Vicious - you can see in Billy Idol that he recognized the same thing that so many of us saw in Sid - THE THING - & while it might not have accompanied talent or longevity - in many ways it doesn't matter - Sid went from being a nobody to becoming a vessel for the pure expression of Punk Rock&Roll & he will be honored forever for that. Billy Idol managed to become the same thing - but gave it so many more avenues including knocking out some hit tunes & classic videos that could be at home on the Quiet Storm or Alternative Rock stations.
"When I started out, everyone seemed to be adopting these names... Johnny Rotten, Sid Vicious. I wasn't really Rotten or Vicious or Nasty, so I wanted something a bit more funny - yet something that seemed real Rock&Roll... something that acknowledged my ambition." - Billy Idol
Billy Idol/Generation X Interview - 1977 with Molly Australia
"I am quite a romantic person, really, & I should have put that into my music earlier, but I was probably denying it... I didn't want to be soft because I felt I had to be so hard to get people to believe in me." - Billy Idol
How much did Billy Idol get it? His biggest video was directed by Tobe Hooper who you know as the director of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre - the original Punk Rock movie. As a kid "Dancing With Myself" was on the MTV all the time & it never got boring, in fact, it only got better. Experience this for yourself.
Billy Idol Interview from 1984
“Never be in thrall to anyone but your own wants & desires, because only you can make yourself happy. Fly your own flag, & be true to it. Your soul is the true captain.” - Billy Idol
Billy Idol - New Zealand Interview - 1984 - The Spirit of Rock&Roll
“You are going to be who you are. Might as well embrace it or forever be at the mercy of the human fears & trepidations of life that can devastate & drag us down.” - Billy Idol
Billy Idol on Night Flight - 1983
“The punk credo was to stand up for your own beliefs & tastes, not bow down to yet another new set of rules. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss, indeed.” - Billy Idol
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