Billy Idol tickets & concert schedule

Billy Idol was born in Stanmore, Middlesex in 1955. His real name is William Michael Albert Broad. Two years after his birth, his parents went to Patchogue, New York, but returned to England in Dorking, Surrey four years later, together with Idol and his little sister Jane. They left again and settled down in Bromley. After leaving the University of Sussex, Idol became a member of a group of Sex Pistols' followers.

He kept the name Billy Idol, which came from a teacher's description and he started his career playing the guitar as a member of the punk rock band "Chelsea". He left the group early and along with Tony James they formed "Generation X", the band with which he became famous in the late 70's in the UK as a lead singer, recording three albums. The group disbanded in 1981, the year that Idol went to New York to start his solo career.

He worked with guitarist Steve Stevens and his first album "Billy Idol" came out in 1982. It was so successful, that the new channel MTV that was launched one year earlier, was showing very often Idol's music videos from singles "White Wedding" and "Dancing with Myself". "Rebel Yell", his second album was an even greater success, with the singles "Rebel Yell" and "Eyes Without a Face" making it double platinum in the USA. His third album "Whiplash Smile" came out in 1986, receiving mixed reviews from critics, with the songs " To Be a Lover" and "Sweet Sixteen" to separate. In 1988, after having 3 singles on the UK top 10 charts, he released " Idol Songs: 11 of the Best", an album with greatest hits which became platinum in the UK. The next two albums were "Charmed Life" in 1990, which included the hits "Cradle of Love", and "Cyberpunk. It was a different album from the previous since Idol used a Macintosh computer to record it in his home studio.

The second half of the 90''s, Idol was devoted to his personal life, but he returned with a new album called "Devil's Playground" in 2005, peaking at number forty-six on the US album charts. The Christmas album "Happy Holidays" came out one year later. It was followed by his 8th in 2014, under the name "Kings & Queens of the Underground".