History Music / BillyIdol

* CoolOldGuy: Fills arenas even as he reaches his 60s.

* GameBreakingInjury: [[DefiedTrope Defied!]] A motorcycle accident left him off his feet for a long time, but he spent that time reading up on the {{Cyberpunk}} subgenre, buying an Apple computer, and working on new music based off that.

Billy Idol (born William Michael Albert Broad, 30 November 1955) is a rock musician most commonly associated with his heyday in TheEighties, where he was a huge star on Creator/{{MTV}}. He is most famous for the songs "White Wedding", "Rebel Yell" and "Dancing With Myself", which are radio staples to this day.

* CoverVersion: "Mony Mony" by Tommy James & The Shondells, "To Be A Lover" by William Bell, "L.A. Woman" by Music/TheDoors, and "Heroin" by Music/TheVelvetUnderground, "Dancing With Myself" by Billy's former band Generation X.

* CoverVersion: "Mony Mony" by Tommy James & The Shondells, "To Be A Lover" by William Bell, "L.A. Woman" by Music/TheDoors, and "Heroin" by Music/TheVelvetUnderground.

Billy took the opportunity to go solo, and teamed up with guitarist and new songwriting buddy (and {{Heterosexual Life Partner|s}}) Steve Stevens. As Billy likes to tell the story: he'd been given pictures of Music/RickSpringfield(!) by his manager, and told that maybe he'd become a star if he cleaned himself up a bit. Billy was ''not'' enthused by this feedback, yet after being the founder of a relatively popular punk rock band, he wondered who or what he was now, as an individual. His question was answered one night in a New York club, when most people were sitting on sofas and chairs until the DJ put on Generation X's "Dancing With Myself," at which point the crowd came unglued and fllled the dance floor. Suddenly realizing he was the only one left at the bar because of ''his own song,'' he had a EurekaMoment, and realized he could just be himself. And the rest is history.

* StageNames: Real name William Michael Albert Broad. He apparently chose it because his teachers described him as "idle."

* BodyHorror: The video for "Shock To The System" features a guy getting beaten up and his camera smashed (in an obvious allegory for the LA riots) and then stop-motion ''merging'' with his camera to form a weird cyborg-looking thing. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lx2fZU5USus It's kinda messed up.]]

!!!Studio Discography:

Billy took the opportunity to go solo, and teamed up with guitarist and new songwriting buddy (and {{Heterosexual Life Partner|s}}) Steve Stevens. As Billy likes to tell the story: he'd been given pictures of Rick Springfield(!) by his manager, and told that maybe he'd become a star if he cleaned himself up a bit. Billy was ''not'' enthused by this feedback, yet after being the founder of a relatively popular punk rock band, he wondered who or what he was now, as an individual. His question was answered one night in a New York club, when most people were sitting on sofas and chairs until the DJ put on Generation X's "Dancing With Myself," at which point the crowd came unglued and fllled the dance floor. Suddenly realizing he was the only one left at the bar because of ''his own song,'' he had a EurekaMoment, and realized he could just be himself. And the rest is history.

[[caption-width-right:300:]]

* IntercourseWithYou: "Rebel Yell" and "Soul Standing By". And ''especially'' "Flesh For Fantasy."

To coincide with his 2014 album ''Kings & Queens Of The Underground,'' Billy put out an autobiography, titled, of course, ''Dancing With Myself.'' Billy continues to tour to this day, still with longtime collaborator Steve Stevens.

%%%%%* ConceptAlbum: The infamous ''Cyberpunk.''

%%%%* PerformanceVideo: "Rebel Yell."

%%%%* ZombieApocalypse: The "Dancing With Myself" video again.

* HiddenDepths: Wrote his own autobiography without a ghostwriter, which is pretty impressive considering the sheer amounts of drugs he was on at various points in his life.
%%%%* IntercourseWithYou: "Rebel Yell" and "Soul Standing By". And ''especially'' "Flesh For Fantasy."

* AwesomeMcCoolname: ''That's'' a classic rock star name.
* BadassGrandpa / CoolOldGuy: Fills arenas even as he reaches his 60s.

* BreakupSong: "Eyes Without a Face", which also takes some cues from the eponymous film.
* ConceptAlbum: The infamous ''Cyberpunk.''

* IntercourseWithYou: "Rebel Yell" and "Soul Standing By". And ''especially'' "Flesh For Fantasy."

* PerformanceVideo: "Rebel Yell."

* SomethingSomethingLeonardBernstein: Just what the hell are those backup singers saying during "Mony Mony"?
** AudienceParticipationSong: They're actually yelling "HEY MOTHERFUCKER GET LAID GET FUCKED". The song is a live performance, after all.

* ZombieApocalypse: The "Dancing With Myself" video again.

After surviving a drug overdose, Billy cleaned himself up, but didn't release another album during the decade due to label disputes, though he and Steve Stevens reunited to put out the single "Speed" from the soundtrack to [[Film/{{Speed}} the movie of the same name]]. Billy got back in the public eye once again with a memorable cameo in ''TheWeddingSinger'' ("You don't talk to Billy Idol that way!!!") Finally, in 2005, Billy made his comeback with ''Devil's Playground,'' which was an undeniable return to form, musically. A Christmas album soon followed (produced as an old vocal pop album) simply titled ''Happy Holidays.''

* BreakupBreakout: Man, did he ever.

Billy Idol is a rock musician most commonly associated with his heyday in TheEighties, where he was a huge star on Creator/{{MTV}}. He is most famous for the songs "White Wedding", "Rebel Yell" and "Dancing With Myself", which are radio staples to this day.

Born on 30 November 1955, William Michael Albert Broad grew up in England (with a few years living in New York as a kid), and went to Sussex University for an English degree. He dropped out after a year, and instead focused on punk rock. He joined the band Chelsea as a guitar player, but he and Tony James left the band to form Generation X. This band differed from some punk rock bands, being more openly influenced by 1960s rock and pop, setting a precedent for Billy's career. Signing with Creator/ChrysalisRecords, Billy transitioned from guitar to lead singer, an easy sell thanks to his good looks and charm. The band lasted for three albums, but after getting dropped from Chrysalis, they collapsed at the dawn of the 80s in a mess of drugs.

William Michael Albert Broad, better known as Billy Idol, is a rock musician most commonly associated with his heyday in TheEighties, where he was a huge star on Creator/{{MTV}}. He is most famous for the songs "White Wedding", "Rebel Yell" and "Dancing With Myself", which are radio staples to this day.

William Michael Albert Broad grew up in England (with a few years living in New York as a kid), and went to Sussex University for an English degree. He dropped out after a year, and instead focused on punk rock. He joined the band Chelsea as a guitar player, but he and Tony James left the band to form Generation X. This band differed from some punk rock bands, being more openly influenced by 1960s rock and pop, setting a precedent for Billy's career. Signing with Creator/ChrysalisRecords, Billy transitioned from guitar to lead singer, an easy sell thanks to his good looks and charm. The band lasted for three albums, but after getting dropped from Chrysalis, they collapsed at the dawn of the 80s in a mess of drugs.

Billy took the opportunity to pursue a solo career, and teamed up with guitarist and new songwriting buddy (and {{Heterosexual Life Partner|s}}) Steve Stevens. As Billy likes to tell the story: he'd been given pictures of Rick Springfield(!) by his manager, and told that maybe he'd become a star if he cleaned himself up a bit. Billy was ''not'' enthused by this feedback, yet after being the founder of a relatively popular punk rock band, he wondered who or what he was now, as an individual. His question was answered one night in a New York club, when most people were sitting on sofas and chairs until the DJ put on Generation X's "Dancing With Myself," at which point the crowd came unglued and fllled the dance floor. Suddenly realizing he was the only one left at the bar because of ''his own song,'' he had a EurekaMoment, and realized he could just be himself. And the rest is history.

[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bi_6829.gif]] William Michael Albert Broad, better known as '''Billy Idol,''' is a rock musician most commonly associated with his heyday in TheEighties, where he was a huge star on Creator/{{MTV}}. He is most famous for the songs "White Wedding", "Rebel Yell" and "Dancing With Myself", which are radio staples to this day.

* PopPunk: More inclined towards {{New Wave|Music}}, but still.
* TheQuincyPunk: His signature aethetic!

After surviving a drug overdose, Billy cleaned himself up, but didn't release another album during the decade due to label disputes, though he and Steve Stevens reunited to put out the single "Speed" from the soundtrack to [[Film/{{Speed}} the movie of the same name]]. Billy got back the public eye once again with a memorable cameo in ''TheWeddingSinger'' ("You don't talk to Billy Idol that way!!!") Finally, in 2005, Billy made his comeback with ''Devil's Playground,'' which was an undeniable return to form, musically. A Christmas album soon followed (produced as an old vocal pop album) simply titled ''Happy Holidays.''