Billy Idol
Billy Idol
William Michael Albert Broad, known professionally by his stage name Billy Idol, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor. He first achieved fame in the 1970s as a member of the punk rock band Generation X. Subsequently, he embarked on a solo career which led to an international recognition and made Idol one of the lead artists during the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" in the United States...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionPunk Singer
Date of Birth30 November 1955
CityStanmore, England
The biggest misconception people have about me is that I'm stupid.
There was a time when my whole life was in chaos, really, and I didn't help myself sort it out. But one day I came to my senses, and I think I was lucky because a lot of people don't.
I am quite a romantic person, really, and 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.
Rock isn't art, it's the way ordinary people talk.
Such a human waste, your eyes without a face.
Part of the punk attitude was that you should project your music through your whole body... show your personality as much as possible.
I'm not talking with an American accent. I haven't gone off and become Sammy Hagar.
My hair used to be real long, and my parents were encouraged when I cut it. They thought I was going 'straight,' but I was just getting weirder - at least in their eyes. I was getting into the punk thing.
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 'n' roll... something that acknowledged my ambition.
I rocked the cradle of love.
Let's sink another drink, cause it will give me time to think.
When the other man has none, you don't need a gun.
Your empty eyes seem to pass me by and leave me dancing with myself.
We want flesh, flesh for fantasy.