TOP TEN: Idol, Billy

He was born as William Michael Albert Broad in the Greater London, England, United Kingdom. While he was two years old his parents moved with him to New York, USA but came back 4 years later to the United Kingdom. His stage name is a play on words as his teachers called him ‚idle‘. In 1976 he joined the 60s retro rock band ‚Chelsea‘ as a guitarrist. After a few month the bass guitarrist and Idol quit and formed the band ‚Generation X‘. Idol now had switched from guitarrist to frontman/singer. The band released 3 albums, had a few singles in the UK Single Charts and then disbanded.

Idol moved to New York City and released his debut solo EP ‚Don’t Stop‘ in 1981. He released his debut album ‚Billy Idol‘ in 1982, which peaked at #45 in the USA. As part of the MTV-driven ‚Second British Invision‘ Idol got airtime on the channel with various videos and songs. In 1983 he released his 2nd album ‚Rebel Yell‘ which peaked at #6 in the USA, #2 in Germany and #36 in the UK among other countries. It has been certified 5x platinum in Canada and double platinum in the USA. The single ‚Eyes Without A Face‘ became his first Top 10 hit in the USA and Germany.

Re-releases of the singles ‚Rebel Yell‘ and ‚White Wedding‘ helped him reach the Top 10 in the UK for the first time, both peaked at #6. In 1985 he first released a remix album ‚Vital Idol‘ internationally before it also got released in the USA 2 years later. In 1986 his studio album ‚Whiplash Smile‘ got released and reached Top 10 across the globe, peaking at #6 in the USA and Australia, #8 in the UK and #9 in Germany. The single ‚Mony Mony (Live)‘ became his first and only charttopper – peaking at #1 in the US Hot 100 Billboard Single Charts for 1 week.

In 1990 Idol was involved in a serious motorcycle accident that almost cost him a leg. He released his next album ‚Charmed Life‘ that same year and peaked at #11 in the USA, #15 in the UK. The single ‚Cradle Of Love‘ peaked at #2 in the USA. Idol’s next album ‚Cyberpunk‘ was released in 1993 and peaked at #20 in the UK, #48 in the USA. It was his last album for over 10 years. His next album ‚Devil’s Playground‘ was released in 2005 and peaked at #46 in the UK. His next album was ‚Kings & Queens Of The Underground‘ which was released in 2014. In 2021 he reappeared with the single ‚Bitter Taste‘ and a week ago he released ‚The Roadside‘, his first studio album in 7 years.

Here now I present to you my favorite 10 songs of this rockstar, hope you enjoy! What are your favorites? Write in the comments and discuss this ranking but please keep it civil. Thank you!

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