Billy Idol (born William Michael Albert Broad, 30 November 1955 in Middlesex) is an English rock musician.
He first achieved fame in the punk rock era as a member of the band, " Generation X." He then embarked on a successful solo career, aided by a series of stylish music videos, making him one of the first stars on MTV. Billy continues to tour with guitarist, "Steve Stevens" and has a massive fan base all around the world.

Biography
William Broad chose the name, "Billy Idol" after remembering a comment a teacher had written on a report card. The teacher called William, "idle." It was a comment which would stay in William's mind for a long time. William realized he had to change the spelling of the word idle to idol for a few reasons. Eric Idle of Monty Python fame was quite popular at the time, and having the last name of "idle" would too closely resemble the comedians name. Billy chose to change, "idle" to, "idol" which implied that he was a, "rock idol." Many musicians during that time had a stage name. William admired people like Iggy Pop (James Newell Osterberg, Jr), David Bowie (David Robert Jones), Marc Bolan (Mark Feld), and "The Sex Pistols." John Lydon became, "Johnny Rotten" and John Simon Ritchie became, "Sid Vicious."
William progressed well with his studies and his family eventually moved to Bromley in Kent. In 1971, William transferred to the strict Ravensbourne Grammar school. He failed to achieve the necessary requirements for a place at University. His parents became quite upset and eventually enrolled him in a school that was more relaxed. William was allowed to re-take his placement exams at the Orpington College of Further Education. He could grow his hair out, and wouldn't have to wear a school uniform. He soon secured himself a place at Sussex University and took classes in English & Philosophy in Sept of 1975.
Punk rock erupted in England and William totally immersed himself in the scene. He became part of a Sex Pistols fan club called the Bromley Contingent. The club had a lot of admiration for the shocking & boundary breaking band, and wherever the Pistols went, so too did the Contingents.
In 1975, William decided to start his own band called, "The Rockettes." When William met Tony James, he decided to drop out of school to focus on music.
In the Summer of 1976 a fellow by the name of Gene October put an ad in the Melody Maker searching for guys who liked Television and the Ramones. William Broad soon joined Gene October (vocals), John Towe (drums) and Tony James (bass) to form the band, Chelsea. William would change his name to, "Billy Idol" and would be the bands guitar player.
In 1976, Billy and Tony James decided to leave Chelsea and form their own group. They formed a band with John Towe and started playing shows. Tony found a '60's paperback called, "Generation X, a romantic account of Mods and Rocker violence, under Billy's bed, and thought it would make a great name for the group.
Billy decided the band needed to find a guitarist so he could concentrate on being the groups lead singer. Billy spotted a young guitarist named, Bob "Derwood" Andrews from Fulham at a local youth club one night and asked him to join the group. John Towe eventually was kicked out of the band and the group replaced him with Mark Laff, who was playing with minimalist group Subway Sect.
The band became a big deal throughout London and eventually record caompanies started showing up at shows. Generation X was a very image-conscious band. They were more about the image than they were about the music. Tony even stated in an interview that he would never allow a fat person in the group.
Generation X signed to Chrysalis Records in 1977, and were on the rising to success when they crashed under the weight of it all. Generation X was the first punk band to appear on the BBC's "Top of the Pops" program. The band were on the rise, even touring in countries like Japan. The band went through many changes in personnel, and Billy and Tony also realised that their manager Stewart Joseph was mishandling their money.
Billy, Tony and new member Terry Chimes decided to carry on as a trio even though they needed a guitar player. Keith Forsey was brought in to help record and produce their third and final album. Steve Jones of Sex Pistols fame was brought in to play guitar on a few tracks. John McGeoch, guitar player from Siouxie & The Banshees was also brought in to help finish the album.
Dancing With Myself was released as a single in the UK but failed to become the big hit the band was waiting for. The band found new guitarist Steve Andrews and asked him to join the band. The new album was called, "Kiss Me Deadly" and in 1980, the band embarked on a short but successful tour.
Billy was also dating dancer, "Perri Lister" who became a major influence on his music. Perri was one of the original Blitz Kids along with Steve Strange. She had also been a dancer with Hot Gossip on the Kenny Everett show during the late 70's in England. Perri also starred in several music videos with Duran Duran and Def Leppard. Perri even started her own girl group called, "Boomerang." Even though Billy was never totally loyal to Perri, she would remain his girlfriend for close to nine years.

Early life and career
Like most bands, Generation X couldn't hold itself together and the members soon parted ways. Producer Keith Forsey and Manager Bill Aucoin, who was also managing Kiss at the time, took hold of Billy Idol's career and quickly moved him to New York in hopes of capturing an American audience.
The punk era had come and gone, and a lighter form of music called, ""New Wave"" was taking over. Radio stations wouldn't play a punk album, let alone an album with a spiky haired kid on the cover with peroxide dyed hair. Most music, even older punk acts were marketed as, "New Wave" so they would receive fair radio play.
A few of Billy's songs could be heard playing in the New York dance clubs. Dancing With Myself had been remixed, and Billy heard the song being played at a club one night. The idea was to capitalize on the songs popularity by re-releasing it on his own.
Keith Forsey and Billy Idol produced the, "Don't Stop" EP in 1980. (The EP was re-released in 1983 containing an interview with, "MTV" VJ, "Martha Quinn"). Billy became quite popular in the New York area and was building a name for himself. Since radio wouldn't play a, "punk" record Billy's single, "Mony Mony" was shipped to stations without his picture attached.
Billy was introduced to, "Steve Stevens" by manager Bill Aucoin. Steve was a guitarist who had been playing for a band called, "The Fine Malibus." They were also being managed by Bill Aucoin. Steve had recorded an album with the band that was due for release by Island Records, but the deal fell through and the album was shelved. Steve told Bill that he was quitting the band, but Bill talked him into putting together a new band. One name that kept popping up was, "Billy Idol." Bill Aucoin gave Steve some of Billy's music and setup a meeting between the two.
Billy's self titled LP was released in 1982. Billy was having a hard time getting played on the radio, and he knew he needed another outlet, and that outlet would be, a brand new music network called, "MTV." Billy became a household name when his videos for "White Wedding" and "Dancing with Myself" made their debut.
White Wedding sparked a bit of controversy over the wedding ring Billy places on Perri Lister's finger. The ring was intended to look sharp and cut Perri's finger as Billy slid it on. MTV wound up cutting that portion of the video out. Needless to say it no longer remains banned.
In 1983, "Dancing With Myself" was released in the U.S. in an effort to introduce Idol to American audiences not yet as familiar with him. The music-video (directed by Tobe Hooper, produced by Jeffrey Abelson, and conceptualized by Keith Williams - Texas Chainsaw Massacre) was played in heavy rotation on MTV for six months. The Dancing With Myself video sparked a whole new era of feature film directors that would try their hand at directing music videos.

Billy was featured in several MTV commercials saying, "I Want My MTV" which was MTV's main slogan in the early eighties. Most cable stations didn't include MTV when the network first got its start. People in rural parts of America didn't have the network available to them. These people were told to call to their cable providers telling them, "I Want My MTV."
"White Wedding" was rumored to be a "nasty put down" by Idol and then-girlfriend Perri Lister, directed at Idol's sister for thinking that getting married was the answer to getting pregnant. In the 2001 recording of VH1 Storytellers Idol refutes that, saying his sister's wedding was simply inspiration for the song, which quickly took on its own form. Years after the video, Idol's sister is still married with three children.
White Wedding is also a nickname for, "cocaine."
The video for, "Hot in the City" was also banned by MTV for it's use of imagery. The video featured Perri tied to a cross.
Billy appeared on MTV's New Years Eve special in 1983. He played, "Dancing With Myself."
It was about this time that Billy got his famous, "Octobarina" tattoo on his left arm. Octobarina is a Russian heroine, "The spirit of the October Revolution." Octobriana's mission was to fight for the Russian People, against the oppressive Soviet Government and all sorts of outlandish threats. The tattoo could be seen throught the Dancing With Myself video. New York
Idol's second LP, Rebel Yell (1984) was a blockbuster success, and established Idol's superstar status in the United States with hits like "Eyes Without a Face", "Flesh For Fantasy", and the title cut; Idol also became very popular in Europe thanks to this album and its singles, particularly in Germany, Italy, Switzerland and later in his native UK.
Billy got the idea for, "Rebel Yell" while he was at a party with the, "Rolling Stones." He saw one of the guys drinking some Kentucky straight burboun whisky called, "Rebel Yell" and thought it would be a great title for an album.
The band recorded the album at the, "Record Plant" in New York City. Billy, along with Stevens, bassist Steve Webster and producer Keith Forsey started laying down tracks but realized they needed to bring in a drummer. Thommy Price of the group, "Scandal" was playing in an adjacent studio. Forsey had Price drum on the, "Rebel Yell" album.

Perri Lister sings backup on, "Eyes Without a Face."
Steve Stevens also credits himself for coming up with the title and lyrics to, "Blue Highway."
Perri can be also be seen in the video for, "Rebel Yell." The song, "Rebel Yell" has been used in several movies and TV shows. The song appears in the first episode of Knight Rider called, "Dead of Knight (1984)." The song was also used in Sixteen Candles, The Wraith (1986), and Big (1988).
It was also during this period that Billy met Robin David Ludwig (The Hammer), the designer and creator of the famous Billy Idol jewelery collection. Most of the crucifixes you see Billy wear were designed by, "Robin the Hammer." The two of them are still close friends to this day.
Sesame Street parodied, "Rebel Yell" with a punk muppet singing, "Rebel L."
David Lee Roth has a Billy Idol lookalike in his video for, "Just a Gigolo." In the video Roth parodies the, "Dancing With Myself" video and pushes Idol into the reactors.
Billy appeared on the cover of, "Rolling Stone Magazine" issue number 440 in January of 1985. Rebel Yell
Billy released Whiplash Smile in 1986, which put him back on the charts. The album included the hits, "Don't Need A Gun" the country-flavored, "Sweet Sixteen and the William Bell and Booker T. Jones's Stax-era cover of, "To Be a Lover."
A remix album was released in 1987 called, "Vital Idol." The album had already been available in the UK two years prior to the US release. The album featured a live cover of Tommy James' "Mony Mony" (the studio. The single did well topping the US charts in 1987.
Billy has said in many interviews that, "Mony Mony" was the song he lost his virginity to. During Billy's live shows the crowd will usually chant, "Hey mother fucker, get laid get fucked" between each verse. You can catch a glimpse of Billy mouthing these words in the live video for, "Mony Mony."
Steve Stevens parted ways with Idol after Whiplash Smile. He claims that Billy's music was getting too synthesized and sequenced. Steve also thought that Billy was getting tense about all of the attenton he was getting as a guitar player. Stevens was offered a record deal through Warner Brothers that he couldn't refuse, so he decided it was time to split up with Idol.
Billy ran into trouble when he was busted by under cover police in New York City for carrying crack cocaine. A model by the name of, "Grace Hattersley" had been with him and held a press conference basically saying that she was involved with Billy Idol. Perri took the news quite bad, and decided to hold a press conference of her own, telling the world that she was Billy's girlfriend.
Perri and Billy wanted to get clean and start a new life. Billy had been addicted to heroin and cocaine, and the two decided it would be best to move from New York to LA. Billy got involved in the Hollywood nightlife, and Perri realized that Billy would never remain loyal.
Billy was involved in a relationship with a woman of the name Linda Mathis (born and raised in Pasadena, CA). Though there was a thirteen-year age difference, they began seeing each other regularly. At the age of 19, Linda became pregnant, and chose to move in with her mother to have her child. It was a girl named Bonnie Blue Broad, born August 21, 1989.

Weird Al Yankovic parodies, "Mony Mony" with his song, "Alimony," which appears on his album from 1988, "Even Worse." Whiplash Smile
When Billy and Perri moved to LA to start life over, Perri gave birth to their son, "Willem Wolfe Broad." Billy was still seeing other women, and even had a second house to go to for his affairs. Perri eventually left Billy in favor of a normal life.
In 1989, Following his breakup with Perri, Idol found his way to Thailand. Billy claimed that he could get any drug he wanted over there, and had many women at his disposal. Newspapers said that Idol left his suites at three deluxe hotels in Thailand in shambles during his visit, with damage estimated at more than $20,000. Idol first checked in at the Oriental Hotel in central Bangkok, where carpets and a television set were among the ruined items. He paid $3,200 in damages before moving on to another hotel. Billy was ejected from Bangkok with the help of the army after refusing to vacate a hotel penthouse where a three-week drug-and-sex spree had racked up a bill of about $250,000. It was reported that an important dignitary wanted his room and Billy refused to give it up.
Billy had been working on a new album for close to two years. In February of 1990, Billy was driving back to the studio to hear the final album, and was involved is a serious motorcycle accident. Billy had run a stop sign and collided with an oncoming vehicle. The accident almost cost Billy his leg. The doctor that first saw Billy was upset that someone had brought him down to look at a, "bum." It was explained to the doctor that the patient was, "Billy Idol." Billy's leg was cracked in three places and was suffering from a few broken ribs. His doctors managed to pull him through and save his leg.
The new album, "Charmed Life" was due for release and a video for the single, "Cradle of Love" had to be shot. The song had been featured in the Andrew Dice Clay film, "The Adventures of Ford Fairlane film)." Cradle of Love was going to be the title song for the movie.
Since Billy was unable to walk, director David Fincher decided to film Idol from the waist up. The video would feature footage of Billy singing in large frames throughout an apartment while the very young and beautiful Betsy Lynn George was trying to seduce a modest and mild mannered business-man. The video was a huge hit and was placed in heavy rotation on MTV. Billy and Betsy Lynn George recreated the opening of the video for the 1991 American Music Awards.
Billy had always been a huge Doors fan, and he was asked to take part in the new movie, "The Doors", directed by Oliver Stone. Billy was barely able to walk, therefore his part in the movie was trimmed down to a mere cameo, playing the role of, "Cat."
Against his doctors orders, Billy decided to tour behind the, "Charmed Life" album. Billy could be seen walking with a cane onstage. Billy got his personal jewelry maker, "Robin the Hammer" to customize a silver gauntlet for him. The gauntlet has, "La Vie Enchantee" etched in the wrist. Robin also designed a large cross/knife that can be seen in the, "Cradle of Love" video.
Billy's stage show was quite elaborate, Billy even had a new band featuring, Mark Younger-Smith as the new guitarist. A massive fist was designed to hang over the crowd. The words, "Rude Dude" were written across the fingers. During the show the fist would rotate and flip off the audience. The hand can be seen in the video for, "Prodigal Blues."

In 1991 Billy protested against motorcycle helmet laws in L.A.
Billy was also charged with assault after allegedly punching a woman in the face. In 1992, he pled guilty and paid a fine. Charmed Life
In 1993, Billy released Cyberpunk, which fell on deaf ears. Music had changed in 1993, and a lot of the bands that were popular in the eighties were now being pushed to the wayside in favor of the new, "Seattle" movement. Cyberpunk is considered to be ahead of its time by many people, and very experimental for that period. The album reportedly took 10 months to record.
Billy claims that punk rock journalists Legs McNeil interviewed him while he was in the hospital being treated for his leg. He called Billy a, "Cyberpunk" because of the muscle stimulator on his leg. He said it looked like man merging with machine. The critics slammed the album for many reasons, one being the over commercialization of the word, "Cyberpunk."
The album was recorded in a home studio using a Macintosh computer, which was a fairly new concept. Billy recorded the album with Mark Younger-Smith and producer Robin Hancock. Special editions of the album were issued with a floppy disc, which contained a screen saver.
Billy shot a concept video for, "Shock to the System." The video would feature Billy being attacked by several police for trying to videotape them beating up someone on the street. The idea of this goes back to the LA riots. Billy would then turn into a cyborg that scared away the police. A video EP was released to retail stores.
Billy had a lot of grand ideas for Cyberpunk and the short tour that followed. Billy changed his look during this period, growing a set of dreadlocks, and he had a lot of ideas about using, "Blendo" video footage during his show. This footage would be edited live on a computer to fit the music.
In 1994 Idol collapsed outside an LA nightclub overdosing on a drug called, GHB. GHB happened to be a legal drug at the time that weight-lifters used. The drug could bring you down, and would totally relax your body. Billy was into a lot of heavy drugs at the time and needed help.
After his overdose, Billy realized that his children would never forgive him for dying of a drug overdose, and he began to focus more on fatherhood. Idol never admits that he is totally off drugs, just that he has his habit under control. Idol claims to have first smoked marijuana at the age of 12, and he also says he took acid at the age of thirteen.

The album pays tribute to Lou Reed with Billy's cover of, "Heroin."
The Tour was called, "The No Religion Tour." Cyberpunk
Billy didn't want to release an album during this period because he was having a lot of problems with his record label. It was decided that he would wind up owing the record company money if he produced anything. EMI hired producer, Glenn Ballard to work with him on a new project, but Idol battled the label over creative differences and the album was put on hold.
In 1994 Billy and Steve Stevens contributed a song called, "Speed" to the soundtrack of the hit movie, "Speed." starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. Even though Billy and Steve worked together on this track, a reunion was not in the works.
In 1996 Billy appeared in a live version of the Who's Quadrophenia, playing the part of, "The Ace Face/Cousin Kevin." Billy also started getting involved in cross country motorcycle rides, some of which involved riding for charity.
Idol returned to the popular eye in 1998, when he played himself in The Wedding Singer, an Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore 80s romantic comedy, where "White Wedding" was used as the title track.
In 2001 Billy reunited with guitarist Steve Stevens to write and record a new album. Billy and Steve started touring, which generated a lot of attention. It wasn't long until VH1 got involved.
Another Greatest Hits CD was issued in 2001. Keith Forsey's Don't You (Forget About Me) appears on the compilation. Although Forsey originally wrote it with Idol in mind, Idol turned it down and eventually the song was given to Simple Minds who would go on to make it a worldwide hit in 1985.
The Greatest Hits album also includes a live acoustic version of "Rebel Yell" which is taken from a performance at L.A. station KROQ's 1993 Acoustic Christmas concert. EMI expected the Greatest Hits album to sell around 100,000 copies. But it's sold more than 940,000 so far, according to SoundScan.
Vh1 aired, "Billy Idol - Behind the Music" on April 15th, 2001. The Behind the Music series was very popular at the time, and each band or artist that was featured on that program usually gained a resurgence of interest after the show had aired. Billy Idol and Steve Stevens were no exception.
On April 19th, 2001, Billy and Steve took part in a VH1 Storytellers show. The reunited duo set out to play a series of acoustic/storytellers shows prior to recording the Vh1 special. The acoustic tour was a big success, and Billy eventually started adding new material into the show. The TV show was broadcast sometime later. A DVD and CD were issued.

"The Great Gonzo" of the, "Muppets" sang, "Dancing With Myself" in the third season (1997-1998) of the short lived, "Muppets Tonight" TV show that aired on the, "Disney Channel." Dennis Quaid was hosting.
Fans noticed that the character, "Spike (Buffyverse)" on the, "Buffy the Vampire" television series played by actor, "James Marsters resembles, "Billy Idol." In the television show, Spike's real name is, "William the Bloody." The show makes reference to the comparissons saying that, "Billy" stole his look from, "Spike."
In 2000, Idol was invited to be one of the guest vocalists on Tony Iommi's album. He contributed vocals on the song Into The Night, which he also co-wrote.
Billy lent his voice to an animated movie, starring as Odin, a mysterious alien character, in the animated fantasy film Heavy Metal 2000.
On August 1st, 2001 Billy and Steve were asked to take part in MTV's twentieth birthday bash. They played, "Rebel Yell."
Billy starred in an IKEA commercial rapping to a song called, "Start it Up." Ikea's sales pitch during the commercial was, "Try Something Different."
Idol played the 2002 National Rugby League Grand final, when a power problem resulted in no one being able to hear him singing.
"White Wedding" appeared on popular videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, playing on fictional Classic Rock radio station, K-DST.
Girl Group, "The Donnas" covered, "Dancing With Myself" for the, "Mean Girls" soundtrack (2004).
Todd McFarlane had a Billy Idol action figure listed on his website for release, but the figure never materialized. Todd is famous for creating the comic book character, "Spawn." He also has a successful toyline. The Devil's Playground

Discography

Don't Stop (EP) - 1981 #71 US
Billy Idol - 1982 #45 US
Rebel Yell - 1984 #2 UK / #6 US / #2 Germany / #40 Netherlands / #16 Switzerland
Vital Idol - 1987 #4 UK / #10 US (1987 release) / #8 Germany / #24 Switzerland
Whiplash Smile - 1986 #2 UK / #6 US / #9 Germany / #19 Netherlands / #4 Switzerland
Idol Songs: 11 of the Best - 1988 #2 UK / #14 Germany / #6 Switzerland
Charmed Life - 1990 #15 UK / #11 US / #5 Germany / #51 Netherlands / #4 Switzerland
Cyberpunk - 1993 #20 UK / #48 US / #13 Germany / #50 Netherlands / #15 Switzerland
Greatest Hits - 2001 #74 US / #12 Germany / #30 Switzerland
VH1's Storytellers: Billy Idol - 2002 #14 Germany / #76 Switzerland
Essential Billy Idol - 2003
Devil's Playground - 2005 #78 UK / #46 US / #15 Germany / #32 Switzerland
Happy Holidays - 2006 Albums
This was a video EP, containing the videos for, Prodigal Blues, Cradle of Love, LA Woman, and Hot in the City, and Mony Mony.

Vital Idol - The Videos - Released: April 27, 1988 (Not on DVD)
Billy Idol: The Charmed Life and Other Vital Videos - Released: July 1, 1991 (Not on DVD)
Billy Idol's Cyberpunk - Shock to the System - Released: June 29, 1993 (Not on DVD) - This was also a video EP VHS

Billy Idol - Vh1 Storytellers - Released: March 5, 2002 Singles

Coral Castle, a stone structure where Idol got his inspiration for his song "Sweet Sixteen".
Bromley Contingent