History YMMV / BillyIdol

* CultClassic: ''Cyberpunk''. It has a small fanbase, as well as an ''absurdly'' informative entry at [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberpunk_%28album%29 That Other Wiki]].

* WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs: ''Cyberpunk'' was actually the first album he had made sober since his Generation X days.

* WereStillRelevantDammit: In 2018, Billy put out a remix album, ''Vital Idol: Revitalized.'' Whereas the original ''Vital Idol'' from the 80s was more extensions and 12" versions of the original songs (such as an 8 minute "White Wedding"), many of the the remixes on ''Revitalized'' put Billy squarely into the 2010s dance music scene, with trap music, huge drops and even a bit of synth-wave. YMMV on the quality, but it definitely has an air of this trope. Especially the Tropkillaz remix of "Eyes Without A Face." (That being said, there are a few old hands in [=EDM=] contributing, such as Music/{{Moby}} and Paul Oakenfold.)

** "Mony Mony," originally by Tommy James & The Shondells, from 1968.

** "L.A. Woman," originally by Music/TheDoors from their album ''Music/LAWoman''.

* SoOkayItsAverage: ''Whiplash Smile'' and ''Charmed Life'' both wound up getting this reception, which is why Billy decided to change things up in the early 90s. Unfortunately, that's when things ''really'' went sideways.

* VindicatedByHistory: ''Cyberpunk'' received harsh criticism back in the day for its massive change in direction - it still does! - but nowadays it's looked back on a bit more fondly, and some consider it one of Idol's more underrated albums. Notably, it was the first album to have multimedia features (on floppy disk), which wound up becoming a standard in the 2000s. WebVideo/ToddInTheShadows took a look at the album for his ''Trainwreckords'' show in October of 2018, and even after taking Billy to task for his misguided approach, he admitted that in some ways, ''Cyberpunk'' really was ahead of its time.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: The "Heroin" cover could be considered this. Billy singing so fervently about drugs takes on a darker tone when you know that the year after the song, and album, was released, Billy was found outside a Los Angeles nightclub, unconscious and nearly dead from a drug overdose, and rushed to a hospital.

* DorkAge: He went through one of these in the early '90s. Faced with waning popularity and flagging album sales, he attempted to reinvent his image (and cash in on the emergent hacker/cyberpunk subculture) in 1993 by replacing his bleached-blonde spiky haircut with bleached-blonde dreadlocks and releasing the album ''Cyberpunk'', a fusion of glam rock and electronic dance music. With the exception of the single "Shock to the System" (which was closer in style to his earlier work), the album's songs consisted of overwrought synthesizer riffs, pretentious monologues, and lines lifted directly from Creator/WilliamGibson novels. The album flopped hard: critics universally panned it, Billy's old fans were left feeling betrayed, and real cyberpunk fans saw him as a hopeless poser, spamming him with hate mail. Even though the album has managed to acquire a cult following in the following years, it's still universally agreed that the cover of Music/TheVelvetUnderground's "Heroin" that appeared on this album is the absolute worst version of the song ever recorded. [[MagnumOpusDissonance Idol himself still says he's proud of the album, but he got utterly devastated by the reception it got]].

* DorkAge: He went through one of these in the early '90s. Faced with waning popularity and flagging album sales, he attempted to reinvent his image (and cash in on the emergent hacker/cyberpunk subculture) in 1993 by replacing his bleached-blonde spiky haircut with bleached-blonde dreadlocks and releasing the album ''Cyberpunk'', a fusion of glam rock and electronic dance music. With the exception of the single "Shock to the System" (which was closer in style to his earlier work), the album's songs consisted of overwrought synthesizer riffs, pretentious monologues, and lines lifted directly from Creator/WilliamGibson novels. The album flopped hard: critics universally panned it, Billy's old fans were left feeling betrayed, and real cyberpunk fans saw him as a hopeless poser, spamming him with hate mail. Even though the album has managed to acquire a cult following in the following years, it's still universally agreed that the cover of Music/TheVelvetUnderground's "Heroin" that appeared on this album is the absolute worst version of the song ever recorded. Idol himself still says he's proud of the album, but he got utterly devastated by the reception it got.

* DorkAge: He went through one of these in the early '90s. Faced with waning popularity and flagging album sales, he attempted to reinvent his image (and cash in on the emergent hacker/cyberpunk subculture) in 1993 by replacing his bleached-blonde spiky haircut with bleached-blonde dreadlocks and releasing the album ''Cyberpunk'', a fusion of glam rock and electronic dance music. With the exception of the single "Shock to the System" (which was closer in style to his earlier work), the album's songs consisted of overwrought synthesizer riffs, pretentious monologues, and lines lifted directly from Creator/WilliamGibson novels. The album flopped hard: critics universally panned it, Billy's old fans were left feeling betrayed, and real cyberpunk fans saw him as a hopeless poser, spamming him with hate mail. Even though the album has managed to acquire a cult following in the following years, it's still universally agreed that the cover of Music/TheVelvetUnderground's "Heroin" that appeared on this album is the absolute worst version of the song ever recorded.
** Idol himself still says he's proud of the album, but he got utterly devastated by the reception it got.

* NarmCharm: Is Billy a bit over-the-top in his ''rawk'' vocals? Of course, but that's part of what makes his music so much fun.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic[=/=]EarWorm: Pick up any of his compilations and take your pick. Billy was a hell of a singles artist.

* EndingFatigue: His infamous cover of "Heroin" goes on for seven minutes.