Billy was originally in a punk band called Generation X with bassist Tony James, who went on to play bass in Sigue Sigue Spuntnik and Sisters of Mercy. They were both members of what is known as the Bromley Contingent (a town in South London where I grew up), Billy was living in Orpington at the time another member was Siouxsie Sioux from Chislehurst who fronted punk band Sioxsie and the Banshees.
Billy Idol was and still is phenomenal. You should check out 'Hot In The City,' 'Dancing With Myself,' 'White Wedding,' 'Come On, Come On,' and 'Eyes Without A Face.'
If you like baritones you might also like Peter Murphy, but admittedly he doesn't have the same grit and grunge in his voice that Billy can capture. Rebel Yell was an absolute revelation when it came out and started clearing away all the calcified remains of stale classic rock littering the radio. Billy still had lingering nods to rockabilly and metal but with a hugely welcomed heaping helping of punk. Plus, no one looked this good on stage.
ICONIC SONG. oldie but goodie here. Old school classic. Cool video too. . Great lyrics. Great guitar work and guitar sound. . CRANK IT UP LOUD. HORNS UP. 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻
Billy is easily one of the coolest dudes any of us has ever seen, and the guitar on this track is absolutely out of this world from beginning to end. This is approaching Mark Knopfler level composition. I can't have this song on in the car, or there will be a speeding ticket.
The energy in their music is like a shot of pure adrenaline. Btw Nick Thurl Mavromatis has done it again! His new song is a masterpiece. React to it now!
I was high school in the '80s and WE HAD IT ALL! The music was just phenomenal. My Uncle was a '70s kid so he had all the great arena rock acts and took me to concerts with him (unbeknownst to my mom!) and turned me on to music. We in the '80s had Hard Rock, New Wave, Punk, Real Hip Hop, Psychedelic, Emo, Rock, Glam Metal, Hair Metal, Soft Rock, the continuation of Southern Rock and so many others I know I am missing! What a time to live, then the 90's came with Grunge and killed it all! LOL
The epitome of "BAD BOY ROCK" in the 80s. He was all over MTV. I would recommend for further listening **WHITE WEDDING** **DANCING WITH MYSELF** and **ROCK THE CRADLE OF LOVE** Cheers!!!
As someone who played in bands full time throughout the 80’s, and into the 90’s, the whole idea was DO NOT DRESS LIKE THE BOY NEXT DOOR. Always look like a rock star on stage. Be larger than life. The grunge movement changed that.
Billy Idol was/is one of the MOST unique voices around! If you want to hear some great guitar, PLEASE check out THE POWER STATION, STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN & 80s PRINCE💯🤘❤
If you are going to continue with Billy Idol, watch the Storytellers videos. They are live and some are acoustic versions. Was done in 2002 and is absolutely amazing it covers all his hits
Billy was a huge Elvis fan and it shows (despite being a Bromley Contingent alumni). King Rocker by Generation X, his band before he went solo is basically a love letter to the career of Elvis. His career is quite front loaded, but his recent stuff seems very good indeed, check out "Bitter Taste". Fun fact, you gender swap Billy Idol, you get Wendy James... Oh my could both of them could growl. Check out Transvision Vamp, "I Want Your Love" and "Baby I Don't Care" to see what I mean.
Nothing says "I don't know who this guy is" more than calling him "them" 😂 That's ik, Aileen. .now you know. The guitarist, Steve Stevens played with Michael Jackson, did the love theme from "Top Gun" and played on Ozzy's latest single as well as solo stuff.
Hey Aileen. First time commenting. Just caught this one. Gotta love Billy. Steve Stevens is great, right? Do yourself a favor and give Fatal Charm a spin. Hope so. Also, Hole in the Wall and Pumping on Steel and The Loveless!!!
Have you reacted to The Warning yet? Three hard rock sisters from Mexico? They are amazing and a the Warning Army will arrive in force and increase your subscriber count. If you like excellent musicianship, hard driving rock, very good stage presence, well crafted songs with great lyrics then you need to hear The Warning
We are so happy living i the 80s. It is funny to see how you millenials only can imagine what is living full in life, no internet, no video, no cell phones, just pure human nature sense and feelings. Duh,
This, and throw in some dark synth to his sound. Billy was ahead of his time, as well as one of the first big stars of 1st gen MTV. It wasn't the 1st, but I think Dancing With Myself was one of the earliest MTV videos.
Is there a version of it that is good quality with the lyrics that people in clubs used? The first time I heard Mony Mony was in a club and hearing the packed out club yelling at the top of their lungs the additional lyrics.
@@louv9431 I rarely ever think the live version of a song is better than the recorded version, but the live version of this he released as a single is a massive improvement on the studio version.
@@stanleymyrick4068 The original 1981 studio version was a massive club hit but not a chart hit, so that is probably the one you are talking about. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-VPwMsu63PUU.html
Sounds like a rapid-fire laser because he actually uses a toy laser gun on the pick ups at the end of the solo. Doesn't show it in this video because it's staged but if you watch the live videos, you can see him using it. Also saw an interview with him where he talks about it and trying to find the right toy laser to get the sound
Yeah Billy and his band are cool! The guitarist Steve Stevens is exceptionally good for a punk rocker! Billy has a pretty deep rabbit hole. Check out: White Wedding and Mony Mony!! Great reaction Aileen!
I give you the counter argument of Wendy James, lead singer of Transvision Vamp, specific example "Baby I don't care". OK more I think about it, she's what you get if you gender swapped Billy Idol.
I see you Billy Idol and yes Rock scream sure Then there Metal scream. Rob Halford Judas Priest frontman. I would be hard pressed to top Bruce Dickerson Iron Maiden.
'Rebel Yell' surely is Billy's most iconic song, so it is a perfect place to start into his work. My favourite tune of his is 'Dancing With Myself', it is his most groovy, and I am sure that you will love it.
I see a few people saying White Wedding, and that is definitely a must. The guitarist Steve Stevens is super underrated and is exceptional. My old guitar tutor was in a Billy Idol tribute band, and Steve was his guitar hero, I mean he played it with a ray gun!
Billy Idol is a British artist who started out during the '70s in the Punk band 'Generation X', he went solo in 1981. Songs which I recommend from him are: "White Wedding", "Flesh For Fantasy", "Eyes Without a Face", "Hot in the City", "Catch My Fall", "Mony Mony", "Sweet Sixteen", "Dancing with Myself", "Cradle of Love", "Shock to the System", "Wasteland", "Concrete Kingdom", "Shangri-la". There are many more but these are great ones to continue with.
As someone who grew up in the 80s, I was a huge fan of Billy Idol. I was fortunate to see him in concert many years ago. I have the opportunity to relive my youth this September when I get to see him in concert again. So looking forward to it!
You won’t be disappointed! I’ve been a fan since 1982 or thereabouts and saw him live in Australia in January 2020, just before the world went crazy! Front row and VIP so I got to briefly meet him and Steve and get photos. Tell a teen girl living in Queensland watching Billy Idol on TV that she’d see him live and meet him one day and she'd think you’re crazy! 😝
Steve Stevens, his guitar player, just happens to be one of the best on the planet with a well established solo career and compilations with other artists.
I remember when I was watching a Billy Idol video on TV with my sister when I was a kid, and my mom said "that guy is a lot like Elvis!" and you definitely see some influence there!
William Broad, aka, Billy Idol! Wow, what an era. He became popular in pop-culture near the end of the punk rock era. The intention was to create his own punk sound with a twist of sassy sweetness…with a sharp raw edge. He created the persona when a teacher graded one of his papers and wrote that he was “idle” on the paper. He thought, no, I’m gonna be an “idol”. What a great era for rock music!
I’m glad you reacted to Billy Idol. So many more songs for you to explore. In the 1980s-1990s there was a group of friends in Western Australia called The 7-11 All Stars. They performed as their idols but lip syncing. My Uncle was Billy Idol. He was the spitting image of him. He used to dress up and a friend would drive him around in a stretch limo with the rear window open a fraction. The girls and even some guys would chase the limo screaming. He performed at my high school in the late 80s. The girls were all drooling. One made a comment and I said that’s my uncle. He looked so much like Billy Idol. The leathers. Spiked blonde hair. The punk look. The curled lip when he was performing. No one believed me until he had finished performing and came backstage and hugged me and said hello. He appeared in our newspaper too. Such a great memory.
Billy came out of the 70's punk scene. When he went solo in the early 80's, he combined parts of punk, rock, electronic/dance. His videos were huge staples of MTV in the 80's and 90's.
