BILLY IDOL
STILL VITAL

The term ‘legend’ seems to get tossed out quite a bit these days, but few artists can truly fit into that tag as snugly as Billy Idol. Alongside Prince and Madonna, Idol helped usher in the concept of the ‘video breakthrough’ for much of the Eighties, offering forth an almost inhuman amount of hits including “Rebel Yell”, “Flesh For Fantasy”, “Eyes Without A Face” and the new wave classic anthem “White Wedding”.

Born William Michael Albert Broad, the man who would be Idol cut his teeth in the emerging British punk scene of the late Seventies. Running with the Sex Pistols and sharing bands with such powerhouses as Clash guitarist Mick Jones and the Damned’s Brian James, Idol eventually established himself as the vocalist for the now classic outfit Generation X. The band had a number of hits in their own right, including the staples “Dancing With Myself” and “Ready, Steady, Go”, before their premature demise in 1981.
Relocating to New York City, Idol found a musical soulmate in the form of guitar slinger Steve Stevens. A veritable prodigy, Stevens perfectly complimented Idol’s peroxide-and-sneer-laden frontman image. Together, the pair dominated MTV and FM radio for close to a decade, selling out arenas and indulging in all of the excesses such a lifestyle allows. Idol and Stevens would go their separate ways in 1987, with each more or less shrinking from the public spotlight for the years to come.
Reuniting for the recent release Devil’s Playground has proven a creatively profitable affair – the album is vintage Billy Idol, full of sexual innuendo, contagious energy and Stevens’ epic guitar blasts. Currently taking a breather after spending virtually all of 2005 on the road, Billy spoke to Altercation about his recent transformation from ‘idle’ to Idol. Photos by Donna Habersaat. Interview by JT.

Altercation: Congrats on a fantastic new album. After all of these years, is it still gratifying to have your work so well received by fans and critics alike?

Billy: Sure, yeah. I think I connect with everybody. Music goes across time, borders, peoples and religions. I imagine that’s what these young people see - a person like themselves who in his own way is rockin’, someone who has got a groove. He’s got a groove…he’s grooving on himself! He can throw down and start rocking NOW.
Before I started Devil’s Playground I thought, "I’ve been a part of the music for thirty years and now I’m going to make my biggest statement." I don’t know, I just think we made a really good record that kicks some people’s asses. I knew my fans were going love this fucking record. That’s who I made it for, the few people who hung in there, and I thought if it had any other residual affects, I’d be very happy. I think I can still rock. That’s the problem.

A: I know it was a long stretch in between the last two albums. Did you spend much of that time working on Devil's Playground, or did it come together pretty quickly?
B: Actually, once we started Devil’s Playground only took about a year. But it was over ten years since I quit, after my label Chrysalis was bought by SBK and they were bought by Capitol/EMI. The whole thing went from being the independent label I liked to this big corporate machine. I hated it. It had nothing to do with the music; it was all to do with the record company and the fact that there was no one who believed in me inside the record companies. My music wasn’t that badly off, it just needed to regenerate itself, but it didn’t need to be regenerated by a bunch of idiots who didn’t understand it or weren’t in love with Billy Idol. That’s what I was coming up against. Corporate America was someone who had no love for someone like myself. I was just someone who made a lot of money, not someone who could mean something after twenty years. They’d been telling me I couldn’t do that. “You can’t be Billy Idol anymore, you have to be Billy Idol light.”
I knew that my instinct was gone. I figured, let’s just put the brakes on until I get it back. Then I realized I was stopping for all the right reasons. It was freeing. I didn’t take a break because I was over. I took myself off the market. I could have gone on making records…I had a big contract. I knew MTV was gone for me, but I could have made $1 million dollars a record just out of the money they give you to make a record, but in the end I would have ended up owing the record companies millions of dollars because those records wouldn’t have gone anywhere.
So I did right by waiting, living my life, getting the right situation, the right band. The thing that saved me, in a way, was finding out that the things I love do have value to me. Maybe not to someone else. Because I do love music. Because I love riding motorcycles. The two go together. I believe in the past and believe in the future. Now, I can tell everybody I did made an album for the right reasons.
Merck at Sanctuary asked me to make this record. He didn’t ask me to make a record that will sell ten million units. He just said, ‘Billy, will you make me a great Billy Idol record?” I said, ‘yes’, and I think I’ve done it.

A: How much do you feel the return of Steve contributed to the songs on the new album?
B: Steve knows music and history. It's amazing. He can create like crazy, not just what you'd expect. Sure, he has that signature sonic hard rock sound, but he also has such great flamenco technique that he does a solo of it in our show. Steve's knowledge crosses all genres.
I was writing a song in the studio one day and Steve said to me, “that sounds like this song 'Plastic Jesus.'” I said, “What’s that?” He got the lyrics off the internet, so I took the lyrics and I wrote my own song. I took it back to Steve and there you are. I’ve always liked country and western music. I used to listen to Johnny Cash and Tex Ritter on the radio and I always thought my voice was good for that type of music. So, that's what we delivered, a kind of country and western version of 'Plastic Jesus.'
Now with my drummer Brian Tichy writing with me, who did a lot of songs with me on Devil’s Playground, the creative options of the band have grown. Tichy wrote "Scream," and said, “look I can write a Billy Idol song.” And fuck yeah, he could. It’s great. I thought he was right and went along with what he wrote and I finished the second half of the song. When I collaborate with Tichy or Steve Stevens, it’s always in different ways.

A: You and Steve have a seamless chemistry on stage. Did you miss that on previous outings?
B; Yeah. We just know each other so well. And now with my mate Stephen McGrath on bass, and Tichy on drums, it's a band. A real band. The Billy Idol band.

A: I caught you at several club shows recently and you seem to be having a blast. Despite the long length on the road, is touring still as fun for you as it was in the past?
B: I’m just having a laugh and seriously trying to have fun. But now, I focus my whole day on the show. I have a routine, work out in the gym for two or three hours, eat well, take care. After all I'm a million years old. I gotta put on a two hour show and it's gotta be fun for me, and fun for the fans.

A: How was your experience on the Warped Tour? Was it strange adjusting to that type of traveling carnival vibe?
B: Well, it was nice to know all the young turks were still carrying the punk rock torch. I was there representing for the Class of '76.

A: I was thrilled to hear you play some of the old Generation X songs at a recent show. Did you find that the crowd at Warped was enthusiastic for that material, or were they simply too young?
B: Actually, we were doing about six songs, including two Gen X songs, and we were asked to add ‘White Wedding’. I was surprised.

A: You've played some larger festivals on this tour as well, including the revamped Lollapalooza. I'm curious if you prefer large-scale productions over intimate club gigs?
B: (Laughs) Hey, as long as I'm on the lip of a stage, I'm happy!

A: (Laughs) As one of the biggest rock stars of the Eighties, was there a specific moment where you looked around and felt like 'I've made it'?
B: There were a few things. I was actually touring so much when it happened, day after day, on the bus…I could say just getting a tour bus. Seeing "White Wedding" on MTV, which happened before it went on the radio because radio wouldn't play the song. They were scared of the punk rock, you know? All that was really secondary to the shows, the crowds, the fans. Playing in clubs, then colleges, then arenas. Touring and getting to play shows all around the world, that's what does it for me.

A: I've heard rumors that the song “Rebel Yell” was taken from a brand bottle of whiskey passed to you by the Rolling Stones. Truth or rumor?
B: Yeah, true. I asked 'em if they were going to use the name for a song title, and they said no, so I did.

A: Given that your past videos have consistentently dominated on MTV, I'm wondering how much you're pursuing videos for the new album?
B: I made one for "Scream," directed by Jeff Stein, who also did my “Rebel Yell" live video a long time ago. We used images from guerilla artist Shepard Fairey, best known for his Andre the Giant mug shot with orders to ‘Obey’. Shepard is amazing, his sensibilities match mine. And he created posters for some of the songs on Devil’s Playground too.
We might do other videos, but I think it's best to think of alternative venues these days rather than MTV or videos. Like satellite radio, internet, etc. That's where I'm looking for creative opportunities now rather than just making videos.

A: The single 'Scream' certainly had the ladies doing just that at the shows I witnessed. Is it gratifying to still be viewed as a sex symbol at this point in your career?
B: (Laughs) Why yes, yes it is.

A: Almost every punk rock book on the market features at least one Billy Idol shot during the heyday of the Sex Pistols and the Ramones. What are some of your best memories of that period of time?
B: Well, that's a little too big of a question to answer here. Let's just say, I broke the rules. They told me I couldn’t do this.
When I was a student I had this Christmas job, and I was sorting through these letters and I was singing “Teddy Bear” to myself. “I just wanna be your teddy bear…” This guy came by and said to me, “Don’t try and sing for a living.” That did it. I went, “Right, I’m going to do it.” Fuck that. Somehow, that guy saying that to me made me feel like I’m going to shove this right up your arse. Thank you, you made me do what I wanted to do because I was sitting there being a scared little kid and you challenged me.
And for me, maybe I haven’t done it in the greatest way, the most political way like the Clash, or something earth-shattering like Johnny Rotten singing ‘Anarchy in the UK.’ That wasn’t my job. My job is to be standing here now, on the stage being in love with the world that we’ve created. That’s really important - to be in love with what you are, sure of what you are, proud of what you are. To be able to stand there and say “I’ve still got it”.

A: So what are three key items that one would find on Billy Idol's backstage tour rider these days?
B: Power Bars, Haagan Daas strawberry ice cream, and a beautify lady.

www.BillyIdol.com