THE COUNTRY ISSUE IS OUT NOW!

BILLY IDOL

Billy Idol's back—and people are saying he’s better than ever. Billy was on the top of the world several years ago. Billy, who began his career in England with Generation X at the height of the punk movement, took the attitude and antics of punk rock, and synthesized them into a format that would appeal to an American pop audience.

July 2, 1987

The CREEM Archive presents the magazine as originally created. Digital text has been scanned from its original print format and may contain formatting quirks and inconsistencies.

BILLY IDOL

Billy Idol's back—and people are saying he’s better than ever. Billy was on the top of the world several years ago. Billy, who began his career in England with Generation X at the height of the punk movement, took the attitude and antics of punk rock, and synthesized them into a format that would appeal to an American pop audience. Some purists screamed "sell out’—but the move made Billy a genuine superstar. And it seemed like he'd never again look down after the success of his smash album, Rebel Yell. But then he disappeared almost as fast as he'd risen to the top. It took him several years to complete his recent LP. Whiplash Smile. Rumors abounded that he was seriously ill, strung out on drugs—and even dead—during that time. But now Billy's back to prove them wrong with the Whiplash Smile tour, his first U.S. jaunt in over two years.

Notorious for his onstage antics. Billy recently shocked the audience by pulling a "Jim Morrison." and dropping his trousers. Fittingly, Billy was performing the Doors' "L.A. Woman" at the time. At another show, he pulled a Bono by jumping into the audience head first—and the audience caught him Once a daredevil, always a daredevil.

The rebel without a cause. It's been a rock 'n' roll archetype ever since James Dean invented the persona shortly before the music was born. And Billy Idol appears to be its 1980’s version incarnate—searchin'. destroyin' and lettin’ go with one of those infamous rebel yells!