Billy Idol Concerts Setlist

William Michael Albert Broad, better known by his stage name Billy Idol, is a British-American singer and songwriter. He was born on November 30, 1955 in London, United Kingdom. While Idol was born in the UK, he moved to the United States with his family when he was just two. However, he was back in England by the time he started elementary school. After high school, he attended University of Sussex as an English major, but dropped out after just one year. Instead, he joined the London-based retro-rock band "Chelsea" as a guitarist.

According to the man himself, he chose the stage name "Billy Idol" as a tongue-in-cheek reference to being described as "idle" by his chemistry teacher in high school. After only a few weeks of playing with Chelsea, Idol and bassist Tony James quit the band to form their own punk group, "Generation X". There, Idol took on the role of the lead singer. They produced 3 studio albums together between 1978 and 1981. However, in 1981, Idol quit. He moved to New York City in the US to pursue a solo career.

Over in America, his early solo singles, such as "White Wedding" and "Dancing with Myself", were played a lot on the newly launched music cable channel MTV. This helped him a lot in the country. He also assembled a support band and started doing live Billy Idol concert shows across the US. His debut album as a solo artist, the self-titled "Billy Idol", came out in June 1982. It became a moderate hit, peaking at the #15 spot on Billboard’s rock album chart, while reaching the #45 spot on the famous overall Billboard 200 chart.

Overall, Idol has released a total of 7 studio albums during his long career. There is a 12-year-long gap in his discography between 1993 and 2005, during which time he retreated from the public eye to work on personal issues. The best selling Billy Idol album to date is "Rebel Yell" from November 1983, which sold around 3 million copies worldwide. Meanwhile, the latest new Billy Idol album came out in October 2014, with the title "Kings & Queens of the Underground".

The biggest hits in the Billy Idol setlist to date are "Eye Without a Face" (1983), "Rebel Yell" (also 1983, same title as his album), "Sweet Sixteen" (1986), and "Cradle of Love" (1990). Check where the next Billy Idol concert is playing near you on our page above.