Many moons ago I fired up Billy Idol's 1981 EP, Don't Stop. While I praised it for being a great album, I never really got around to any further material from him, despite owning it all way back in 2019. Well, it's time to wipe all that dust off of them, and finally dig deep into the 1980's work of rock's rebel, Mr. William Michael Albert Broad.
Broad would come up with his stage name back in high school, when his chemistry teacher made a note on his report card of being, "idle". In the words of Billy, it was, "a bit of a goof, but part of the old English school of rock. It was a 'double thing', not just a poke at the superstar-like people... It was fun, you know?"
In 1976, he would join the band Chelsea, as their guitarist. It was under the guidance of singer, Gene October, that he would replace his glasses with contact lenses, dye his hair blond, and get a crew cut. After performing just a few weeks, he and bassist Tony James would leave, and co-found Generation X.
The band would release three albums before disbanding, their 1978 self titled debut, 1979's Valley Of The Dolls, and 1981's Kiss Me Deadly. The latter would be noteworthy for including the first iteration of Dancing With Myself. Though a fourth album would be released in 1998 (Sweet Revenge), it was completed utilizing recorded, but abandoned demos when the band first broke up. Chronologically, it would have been the group's third album, had they stayed together.
Idol would move to New York, and begin working on a solo career, which encompassed recording the aforementioned EP. His popularity was boosted with the aid of MTV who were ushering in the second British invasion. This era of music included the likes of Culture Club, Duran Duran, The Police, and more.
His videos would see steady rotation on the channel. Coupled with his inability to stay out of trouble, which kept him on the news, Billy would become the poster child of 80's punk and rebellion, which was ironic because he's typically always been branded as a rock / new wave artist.
Upon release of his self titled debut, it spawned the hits, Hot In The City, and White Wedding (Pt. 1). However, neither would crack the top ten. In fact, in his storied career, he's only had one number one (Mony Mony), and four top tens, Mony Mony (1), Cradle Of Love (2), Eyes Without A Face (4), and To Be A Lover (6). Hot In The City would peek at 23, and White Wedding at 36.
Undeterred by numbers, I dove headlong into his debut. What I got out of it was a solid rock album, with a lot of hidden gems. I wouldn't say every song was perfect, but what I will note is that, as a whole, it seems crafted with an intension and purpose. Meaning, nothing was designed to be filler. Every song is there for a purpose.
When selecting the version of the album I was after, I honed in specifically on the first pressings of the CD. Later pressings removed the short Congo Man, and replaced it with Dancing With Myself. For me, this was a song I already had on the EP, and further, I simply wanted to have the album as it was initially intended to be heard. Now, with that said, Congo Man is no hit by any means. In fact, it's not even really a song. So if you're after quality, you may prefer latter releases with Dancing.
Overall, I enjoyed hearing this record, and I'm really looking forward to jumping into 1983's Rebel Yell, and 1986's Whiplash Smile. I also may end up tracking down Generation X's 1981 album, just to add it to ye old collection. We'll see. It's kind of expensive.
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| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS June 13, 1981 |
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| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS June 13, 1987 |
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