1976–1981: Generation X The
stage name "Billy Idol" was coined after a chemistry teacher, Bill Price, described Idol as "idle" on his school report card. Idol has stated that he had hated chemistry and underachieved in it. In another interview for
BBC Breakfast in October 2014, he said that he wanted to use the name "Billy Idle", but thought the name would be unavailable due to its similarity to the name of
Monty Python star
Eric Idle and chose Billy Idol instead. In late 1976, Idol joined the newly formed West London 1960s
retro-rock band
Chelsea as a guitarist. The act's singer/frontman
Gene October styled Idol's image, advising him to use
contact lenses instead of
eyeglasses for his short sight, and dye his hair blonde with a
crew cut for a retro-1950s rocker look. After a few weeks performing with Chelsea, Idol and
Tony James, the band's bass guitarist, quit and co-founded
Generation X, with Idol switching from guitarist to the role of singer/frontman. Generation X was one of the first punk bands to appear on the BBC Television music programme
Top of the Pops. Although a punk rock band, they were inspired by mid-1960s British pop, in sharp contrast to their more militant peers, with Idol stating, "We were saying the opposite to
the Clash and the Pistols. They were singing 'No
Elvis,
Beatles or
the Rolling Stones', but we were honest about what we liked. The truth was we were all building our music on the Beatles and the Stones."
1981–1985: Solo career and breakthrough Idol moved to New York City in 1981 and became a solo artist, working with former
Kiss manager Bill Aucoin. Idol's punk-like image worked well with the glam rock style of his new partner on guitar,
Steve Stevens. Together they worked with bassist Phil Feit and drummer Gregg Gerson. Idol's solo career began with the Chrysalis Records EP titled ''
Don't Stop in 1981, which included the Generation X song "Dancing with Myself", originally recorded for their last album Kiss Me Deadly'', and a cover of
Tommy James and the Shondells' song "
Mony Mony". Idol's debut solo album
Billy Idol was released in July 1982. The album debuted at number 45 on the
Billboard 200 and number 5 in
New Zealand. Part of the
MTV-driven "
Second British Invasion" of the US in 1982, Idol became an MTV staple with "
White Wedding" and "Dancing with Myself". The music video for "White Wedding" was filmed by the British director
David Mallet and played frequently on MTV. The motorcycle smashing through the church window stunt was carried out by John Wilson, a London motorcycle courier. In 1983, Idol's label released "Dancing with Myself" in the US in conjunction with a music video directed by
Tobe Hooper, which played on MTV for six months.
Rebel Yell (1983), Idol's second LP, was a major success peaking at number 2 in both
Germany and New Zealand, while also establishing Idol in the United States with hits such as "
Rebel Yell", "
Eyes Without a Face", and "
Flesh for Fantasy". "Eyes Without a Face" peaked at number four on the US
Billboard Hot 100, and "Rebel Yell" reached number six in the
UK Singles Chart. “Rebel Yell” also garnered Idol his first Grammy nomination for
Best Male Rock Vocal Performance at the
27th Annual Grammy Awards. The record has since been
certified platinum by the
RIAA,
RMNZ,
Music Canada and
Pro-Música Brasil.
1986–1992: Whiplash Smile and Charmed Life Idol released
Whiplash Smile in 1986, which sold well, charting in the top ten in 9 countries with the highest spot being number 3 in Finland. The album included the hits "
To Be a Lover", "
Don't Need a Gun" and "
Sweet Sixteen". Idol filmed a video for the song "Sweet Sixteen" in Florida's
Coral Castle. “To Be a Lover” peaked at number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 3 in both
Australia and
Finland and number 2 in New Zealand. The song also garnered him another nomination for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance at the
29th Annual Grammy Awards. On 6 February 1990 in Hollywood, Idol was involved in a serious motorcycle accident that nearly cost him a leg. He was hit by a car when he ran a stop sign while riding home from the studio one night, requiring a steel rod to be placed in his leg. While he was hospitalised, he vowed to stop wearing clothing featuring the
Confederate flag, after a black employee tending to him explained his feelings on it. Prior to the accident, film director
Oliver Stone had chosen Idol for the role of
Jim Morrison's drinking pal Cat in his film
The Doors (1991), but it prevented him from participating in a major way and Idol's role was reduced to a small part. He was
James Cameron's first choice for the role of the villainous
T-1000 in
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991); the role was recast as a result of the accident.
Charmed Life was released in 1990, and continued the commercial success seen in his previous albums, charting in the Top 10 in nine countries along with topping the charts in Finland. The album's first single "
Cradle of Love" reached number 2 on the
Billboard Hot 100 and was featured in the
Andrew Dice Clay film
The Adventures of Ford Fairlane. A video for the single was commissioned, but because Idol was unable to walk due to injuries he sustained in a motorcycle accident, director
David Fincher shot him from the waist up. The video featured footage of Idol singing in large frames throughout an apartment while a young woman (played by Betsy Lynn George) was trying to seduce a businessman. The video was placed in rotation on MTV and won an award for Best Video from a Film at the
1990 MTV Video Music Awards. "Cradle of Love" also earned Idol a third Grammy nomination for
Best Male Rock Vocal Performance. The album has since been certified platinum in the US and Canada.
1993–2004: Cyberpunk, decline, and resurgence in Buckinghamshire, 1993 In 1993, Idol released
Cyberpunk. Regarded as experimental, it was recorded in a home studio using a
Macintosh computer. Idol used Studiovision and
Pro Tools to record the album. The album took ten months to make. The album did not perform well in the United States and the lead single "
Shock to the System" did not chart in the
Billboard Hot 100. In comparison, the lead single from Idol's previous album, "
Cradle of Love", peaked at No. 2. In Europe, the album fared slightly better, achieving moderate chart success and peaking within the top 20 in 7 countries, along with getting into the top 10 in Austria and Finland. Idol toured in Europe and played a Generation X reunion show in 1993. He recorded and released the single "
Speed" in 1994; the song was featured as the first track in the
film soundtrack album. Idol appeared in a 1996 live version of
the Who's
Quadrophenia. Idol played Lee Turner in the 1996 film
Mad Dog Time, he also made a cameo appearance as himself in the 1998 film
The Wedding Singer with
Adam Sandler, in which Idol played a pivotal role in the plot. The film featured "White Wedding" on its soundtrack. In 2000, he was invited to be a guest vocalist on
Tony Iommi's debut solo album. His contribution was on the song "Into the Night", which he co-wrote. That year, he voice acted the role of Odin, a mysterious alien character, in the adult animated science fiction film
Heavy Metal 2000, also providing a song for the soundtrack.
VH1 aired
Billy Idol – Behind the Music on 16 April 2001. Idol and Stevens took part in a
VH1 Storytellers show three days later. The reunited duo set out to play a series of acoustic/storytellers shows before recording the VH1 special. Another
Greatest Hits CD was issued in 2001, with
Keith Forsey and
Simple Minds' "
Don't You (Forget About Me)" appearing on the compilation. The LP includes a live acoustic version of "Rebel Yell", taken from a performance at Los Angeles station
KROQ's 1993 Acoustic Christmas concert. The
Greatest Hits album sold 1 million copies in the United States alone. In the
2002 NRL Grand Final in Sydney, Idol entered the playing field for the half-time entertainment on a
hovercraft to the intro of "White Wedding", of which he managed to sing only two words before a power failure ended the performance.
2005–2009: ''Devil's Playground'' in London, 2005 ''
Devil's Playground'', which came out in March 2005, was Idol's first new studio album in nearly 12 years. The album reached No. 46 on the
Billboard 200 and charted the highest in Germany at number 15. The album included a cover of "
Plastic Jesus". Idol played a handful of dates on the 2005
Warped Tour and appeared at the
Download Festival at
Donington Park, the
Voodoo Music Experience in
New Orleans, and
Rock am Ring. Idol was awarded the comeback of the year at the inaugural
Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards. In 2006 Idol released a Christmas album titled
Happy Holidays it included renditions of many traditional
Christmas songs along with 2 original songs. In 2008, "Rebel Yell" appeared as a playable track on the video game
Guitar Hero World Tour and "White Wedding" on
Rock Band 2. The
Rock Band 2 platform later gained "Mony Mony" and "Rebel Yell" as downloadable tracks. On 24 June 2008, Idol released the greatest hits album
The Very Best of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself. He embarked on a worldwide tour, co-headlining with
Def Leppard. In June 2006, Idol performed at the
Congress Theater, Chicago, for the United States television series
Soundstage. This performance was recorded and then released on DVD/Blu-ray as
In Super Overdrive Live, on 17 November 2009.
2010–2021: Kings & Queens of the Underground in
Manchester, Tennessee, 2013 On 16 February 2010, Idol was announced as one of the acts to play at the
Download Festival in Donington Park, England. He stated, "With all of these great heavyweight and cool bands playing Download this year, I'm going to have to come armed with my punk rock attitude, Steve Stevens, and all of my classic songs plus a couple of way out covers. Should be fun!" In March 2010, Idol added
Camp Freddy guitarist Billy Morrison and drummer Jeremy Colson to his touring line-up. in Washington, D.C. In 2013, Idol appeared on the third episode of the
BBC Four series
How the Brits Rocked America. Idol also lent his voice as Spikey Hair Bot to
Disney XD's
Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja episode "McSatchle" In October 2014, Idol released his eighth studio album
Kings & Queens of the Underground. It debuted at number 34 on the Billboard 200, and charted in multiple countries in Europe including number 8 in Germany. While recording the album between 2010 and 2014, he worked with producer
Trevor Horn, Horn's former
Buggles and
Yes bandmate
Geoff Downes and
Greg Kurstin. Idol's autobiography,
Dancing with Myself, was published on 7 October 2014 and became a
New York Times bestseller. Idol embarked on a worldwide tour in support of his new album. The tour started on 5 November 2014 and ended 4 April 2015. Over the 40-date tour, Idol with his band performed in Europe, North America and Australia. He continued touring North America in 2016 and 2017. On 30 October 2018, former Generation X members Idol and
Tony James joined with
Steve Jones and
Paul Cook, former members of another first wave English punk rock band, the
Sex Pistols, to perform a free gig at
the Roxy in Hollywood, Los Angeles, under the name Generation Sex, playing a combined set of the two former bands' material. In 2019, Idol went on a co headlining tour alongside
Bryan Adams. In late February 2020, Idol starred in a public service campaign with the
New York City Department of Environmental Protection Police titled "Billy Never Idles", intended to fight the unnecessary idling of automobile engines in New York City, to reduce air pollution. Idol teamed with New York Mayor
Bill de Blasio to open the campaign, which features Idol saying, "If you're not driving, shut your damn engine off!" and other strong advice. He was a guest vocalist on the song "Night Crawling" from
Miley Cyrus' album
Plastic Hearts, released in November 2020. In 2016, Idol and Cyrus performed "Rebel Yell" at the iHeartRadio Festival in Las Vegas. On 12 August 2021, Idol's music video "Bitter Taste", directed by Stephen Sebring, was uploaded to YouTube. Idol announced his new EP
The Roadside, which was released on 17 September.
2022–present: Dream Into It In March 2022, Idol was diagnosed with
MRSA, which forced him to cancel a co-headlining tour with
Journey. In September that year, he embarked on the postponed Roadside Tour with
Killing Joke and
Toyah as his UK
opening acts in October. American rock band The Foxies opened for him during the EU leg of the tour. Another EP,
The Cage, was released on 23 September 2022. A video for the title track, also directed by Sebring, premiered on YouTube 17 August. On 6 January 2023, Idol was honoured with a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame. On 24 January, he announced a North American tour from late March through mid-May: the tour was to begin in
Scottsdale on 30 March and conclude with a concert at the
Cruel World Festival on 20 May in
Pasadena. In April that year, Idol played the first concert in history at the
Hoover Dam. Idol is a member of Generation Sex who are on tour and performed at Glastonbury in 2023. In 2025, Idol was nominated for induction into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the first time. Idol said
Steve Stevens is nominated with him, and they will both be inducted into the Hall should Idol be selected for induction. On 26 February, Idol announced his first studio album in nearly 11 years,
Dream Into It, along with its first single, "
Still Dancing". The album charted at number 5 in Austria, 3 in Switzerland and number 2 in Germany. The album featured guest appearances from
Avril Lavigne,
Alison Mosshart and
Joan Jett, it received generally positive reception. In April 2025 Idol started his "It's a Nice Day to Tour again" North American tour alongside
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. The European leg of the tour saw him play venues such as
Königsplatz The film, titled "Billy Idol Should Be Dead," chronicles Idol's rise to fame from his early days with Chelsea and Generation X, his struggles with drug addiction, and his family life from childhood through the present. In November 2025, ending his Latin-American tour, Idol celebrated his 70th birthday in
Mexico City. Dany Villarreal (from
The Warning) was invited to the stage for a joint performance of "
Dancing With Myself", and later also a
mariachi band joined to sing
"Las Mañanitas" and "Happy Birthday" dedicated to Idol. On March 1, 2026 it was announced Idol had received his second nomination for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. ==Artistry==