''Billy Idol'' is the debut studio album by English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

singer

Billy Idol William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is a British-American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer o ...

, released on 16 July 1982 by Chrysalis Records. After the breakup of the band

Generation X Generation X (or Gen X for short) is the Western demographic cohort following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1960s as starting birth years and the late 1970s to early 1980s a ...

and the release of his first solo extended play, '' Don't Stop'' (1981), Idol began working on his debut album. Produced by

Keith Forsey Keith Forsey (born 2 January 1948) is an English pop musician and record producer. Early life Forsey began his career as a percussionist in the mid-late 1960s as the drummer for The SpectrumCaptain Scarlet and the Mysterons - The Vault - Chris ...

, ''Billy Idol'' is a

album with strong influences of new wave music. Upon its release, the album received generally positive reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

and was a commercial success, peaking at number forty-five on the ''Billboard'' 200. ''Billy Idol'' was certified

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Three singles were released from the album: "

Dancing with Myself "Dancing with Myself" is a song by the punk rock band Gen X, first commercially released in the United Kingdom in October 1980, where it reached number 62 on the singles chart. It was remixed and re-released by the band's singer/frontman Bi ...

" was already released in 1981 as Idol's debut single. The lead single, "

Hot in the City "Hot in the City" is a song by Billy Idol, released as the lead single from his 1982 self-titled album. It charted at No. 23 in the US and No. 58 in the UK. A remix of the song was released in 1987 and reached No. 13 in the UK. Track listings ...

", peaked at number twenty-three on the ''Billboard'' 100. "

White Wedding A white wedding is a traditional formal or semi-formal wedding originating in Great Britain. The term originates from the white colour of the wedding dress, which first became popular with Victorian era elites after Queen Victoria wore a whi ...

" was released as the album's second single. After it peaked at number three on

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...

chart in 1983, the album was reissued with an addition of the earlier single "Dancing with Myself". The song "White Wedding (Part 1)" is so-named due to the less-heard "White Wedding (Part 2)", which is a more synthesiser-based continuation of the first part. It can be heard on the 12-inch version of the single and the compilation ''

Vital Idol ''Vital Idol'' is a remix album by English rock singer Billy Idol, released in June 1985 by Chrysalis Records. It contains remixed songs from his first two albums and the '' Don't Stop'' EP. The album was reissued in the United States with on ...

'' (1985). "Hot in the City" was originally recorded for Idol's debut EP '' Don't Stop'', but his label Chrysalis considered it too good just to release as part of the EP. They felt it could be a single and decided to keep it for the album.

Track listing

*Track 11 recorded September 1980,

AIR Studios Associated Independent Recording (AIR) is an independent recording company founded in London in 1965 by record producer Sir George Martin and his business partner John Burgess, after their departure from Parlophone. The studio complex was founded ...

, London.

Personnel

;Musicians *Billy Idol – vocals, guitar *

Steve Stevens Steve Stevens (born Steven Bruce Schneider; May 5, 1959) is an American guitarist. He is best known as Billy Idol's guitarist and songwriting collaborator, and for his lead guitar work on the theme to ''Top Gun'' – " Top Gun Anthem" – for ...

– guitars, keyboards, synthesizer, bass (track 6) *Phil Feit – bass (tracks 1–5, 7–10) *Steve Missal – drums (tracks 1, 4–5, 7–10) ;Additional musicians *Stephanie Spruill – backing vocalsIdol 2014, p. 145. *

– drums (tracks 2, 3 and 6) *Ashley Otten – guitar (track 3) *Mick Smiley – bass (track 3) * Steve New − guitar (track 11)Idol 2014, p. 125. * Steve Jones − guitar (track 11) * Tony James – bass (track 11) *

Terry Chimes Terence Chimes (born 5 July 1956, Stepney, London, England) is an English musician, best known as the original drummer of punk rock group The Clash. He played with them from July 1976 to November 1976, January 1977 to April 1977, and again fro ...

– drums (track 11) ;Technical *

– producer *Brian Reeves – engineer *Nigel Walker – engineer (track 11) *Steve Bates – assistant engineer *

Brian Gardner Brian Knapp Gardner, also known as Brian "Big Bass" Gardner, is an American mastering engineer. He has worked on a number of recordings since the mid-1960s, including classic rock, funk, disco, alternative rock, R&B, hip hop, pop punk and dance- ...

– mastering *Jules Bates – photography *

Perri Lister Perri Lister (born 10 April 1959) is an English former dancer, singer and actress. She was a dancer with the British dance troupe Hot Gossip which appeared regularly on '' The Kenny Everett Video Show'' in the late 1970s – early 1980s in the Uni ...

– make-up *Janet Levinson – design *Steve Stevens – arrangements *Billy Idol – arrangements

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

Bibliography *

External links

* ''Billy Idol''at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

* {{Authority control Billy Idol albums 1982 debut albums Chrysalis Records albums Albums produced by Keith Forsey