Billy Idol

He was in a long term relationship with Perri Lister with whom he has a son. He was involved with another woman Linda Mathis with whom he has a daughter.

He was born as the eldest child of Bill and Joan Broad. He has one younger sister, Jane.

He attended the Ravensbourne School for Boys before moving to the Worthing High School for Boys.

He went to the Sussex University in 1975 to pursue a degree in English. But he left after a year as he had no academic ambitions.

He began his musical career as a member of the punk rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees in 1976. After a short stint he quit to join Chelsea as a guitarist in 1977. Here he met Tony James.

Idol co-founded the band Generation X in which he became the lead singer. Tony James played the bass while John Towe and Bob Andrews played the drums and guitar respectively. The band’s first single ‘Your Generation’ was released in 1977.

The band released its self-titled album ‘Generation X’ in 1978. It contained the singles ‘Ready Steady Go’, ‘Listen’ and ‘From the Heart’. It was followed by the release of their second album ‘Valley of the Dolls’ in 1979 which had the hit single ‘King Rocker’. The band broke up in 1980.

Idol went to New York City in 1981 to pursue a solo career. By now he had created a “bad boy image” for himself which was much loved by the rock fans. He found a new partner in Steve Stevens who played the guitar.

He released an Extended Play (EP) titled ‘Don’t Stop’ in 1981. It featured a cover of Tommy James and the Shondells’ song ‘Mony Mony’. The popularity of the EP prompted him to release his full length album, ‘Billy Idol’ in 1982.

His album ‘Rebel Yell’ is his biggest success so far. The album peaked at No.6 on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart and had the highly popular singles ‘Rebel Yell’, ‘Eyes Without a Face’, and ‘Flesh for Fantasy’. The album went multi platinum in Canada and the U.S.

The album ‘Whiplash Smile’ also went multi platinum in Canada and Platinum in the U.S. The single ‘To Be a Lover’ was a big hit and reached No.6 in the U.S.