Billy Idol isnt unlike the Incredible Hulk in that he refers to himself in the third person. Of course when youre a cultural icon you can do that sort of thing. Idol helped millions of girls and boys bridge the gap between pre-puberty and puberty with his sexually charged concerts, music and music videos. Now he hopes to do that with a whole new generation of people with his latest album, Devils Playground.
Check out the official website for Billy Idol.
Daniel Robert Epstein: What are you up to today?
Billy Idol: Nothing much, Im about to smoke a joint before you so rudely interrupted me [laughs].
DRE: Is 11:30 am usually the time you spark up?
BI: Yes, usually as soon as I can.
DRE: Im doing this interview for SuicideGirls and I heard that you sang to some of the girls.
BI: Yeah some of them came to my video. It was magic. I think there was an open call on the internet.
DRE: Is that the kind of girls youre into?
BI: Not too far off. Is there an LA chapter?
DRE: Yes there is.
BI: Id like to go around and meet them.
DRE: So is the world a Devils Playground to you now?
BI: Kind of, yeah.
DRE: Why did it take so long for you to get a new album out?
BI: It wasnt really out of choice. It was more of the way things happened. So many weird things came about. I refused to work for the conglomerate America of the 90s and it took me until 2004 to find an alternative record company. Also I had to wait five years for Capitol to throw me out because I wouldnt do anything.
DRE: What was the problem with Capitol?
BI: They didnt know why they had Billy Idol. They had me but they didnt know what to do with me. Its really weird because I knew what to do with me but they wouldnt listen. If you dont listen to me then you will never know what to do with Billy Idol, that was the fucking problem they had. I know what to do with Billy Idol and Ive just done with this Sanctuary Record. I hope I piss off everyone at Sanctuary; one guy is dead of cancer so hes already out of the picture. He was in The Zombies and I always hated that band and I hate them even more now. Fucking Zombies get cancer. Rock and roll reaches into the grave, motherfucker. How many bands are you going to stop now? How many times is he going to stop Billy Idol now? Never again, hes over, done with, finito! Alright thats that.
DRE: How do you think you fit in now? Are you still a rebel?
BI: Rebel? Well at least Im fucking trying. Its pretty rebellious to even try and do rock and roll at this age. I should be a blues artist [laughs]. Its more like people expect you to give or you dont care anymore but I have a passion for the music and I have a great band Ive put together. We put out a greatest hits record in 2001 and we really forged a great band in the crucible of the greatest hits gigs. When we did it we could stand right up against bands like Franz Ferdinand, The Killers and The Music. We werent just a retro band because we were playing a new band. When you can stand right up against these others, that proves you are still a rebel. That was really important because even though people are playing much heavier than they used to, so you have to have more power in your band which my drummer provides. We toured for years with that and we played rocker Billy Idol, punk Billy Idol, Danzig Billy Idol, metal Billy Idol and every style of Billy Idol music there is. That helped everyone really see the range that you could have. Fuck me we could go anywhere!!! You could go from Black Sabbath to Velvet Underground to Iggy Pop to Kraftwerk. It was just narrowing it down to what we wanted to do with the record. I really wanted to make a guitar rock record.
DRE: Youre turning 50 this year, right?
BI: Yeah but dont tell anyone else. That makes this my 30th year in rock.
DRE: With all the things youve done in your life, did you think you would make it to 50?
BI: No I didnt, well actually it's not that I didnt know if I would make it to 50, but I didnt know I would still be playing music. I thought I might be alive. When I used to take a taxi home from rehearsals the cab driver would say Hey man, I used to be in The Marmalade!
DRE: Is it as easy to get as pissed off?
BI: Its probably easier. There are just as many things now to piss people off as there has ever been. This political situation must be pissing everyone off because we are almost in a worse situation than we were in the Cold War. Its weird.
DRE: When you tour are you going to have an opening band?
BI: We may have one. Were going to be at South by Southwest with The Donnas.
DRE: What do you think of The Donnas?
BI: I think they are really good. They do a really great version of Dancing with Myself which is not an easy song to play. It sounds easy but it isnt.
DRE: A lot of movies recently are playing some of your 80s hits.
BI: Yeah its been great.
DRE: Are any new songs going to get into any soundtracks?
BI: Weve got some other songs which didnt end up on this album they may well use. Obviously people doing films can have this album so they can use it.
DRE: How did you find the guys that make up the band now?
BI: [Drummer] Brian [Tichy] was part of Slashs Snakepit so hes always been part of the hard rock scene. Derek [Sherinian] was in a prog rock group called Dream Theater. Stephen McGrath, the bass player, is a motorcycling friend of mine and he happens to also play the bass. Steve Stevens has been with me for 20 years.
DRE: Are the words 'more mature' the right ones to use when describing Devils Playground?
BI: I think it does sound more mature. Just the fact that my voice got a bit deeper changes things. Its the passage of time. Youre listening the past 12 years when you play the album and the fact that Ive had a life to live. Thats a weighty piece of life. Before that all we had tours, chicks and records which isnt bad but life was giving us different emotions.
DRE: How have the girls changed?
BI: I have to admit there is that wider range of ages because with that greatest hits tour we pulled in a whole load of young followers. What Im looking at isnt much different from what Ive always looked at. Hey Granny, take your teeth out! YEAH!
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
Check out the official website for Billy Idol.
Daniel Robert Epstein: What are you up to today?
Billy Idol: Nothing much, Im about to smoke a joint before you so rudely interrupted me [laughs].
DRE: Is 11:30 am usually the time you spark up?
BI: Yes, usually as soon as I can.
DRE: Im doing this interview for SuicideGirls and I heard that you sang to some of the girls.
BI: Yeah some of them came to my video. It was magic. I think there was an open call on the internet.
DRE: Is that the kind of girls youre into?
BI: Not too far off. Is there an LA chapter?
DRE: Yes there is.
BI: Id like to go around and meet them.
DRE: So is the world a Devils Playground to you now?
BI: Kind of, yeah.
DRE: Why did it take so long for you to get a new album out?
BI: It wasnt really out of choice. It was more of the way things happened. So many weird things came about. I refused to work for the conglomerate America of the 90s and it took me until 2004 to find an alternative record company. Also I had to wait five years for Capitol to throw me out because I wouldnt do anything.
DRE: What was the problem with Capitol?
BI: They didnt know why they had Billy Idol. They had me but they didnt know what to do with me. Its really weird because I knew what to do with me but they wouldnt listen. If you dont listen to me then you will never know what to do with Billy Idol, that was the fucking problem they had. I know what to do with Billy Idol and Ive just done with this Sanctuary Record. I hope I piss off everyone at Sanctuary; one guy is dead of cancer so hes already out of the picture. He was in The Zombies and I always hated that band and I hate them even more now. Fucking Zombies get cancer. Rock and roll reaches into the grave, motherfucker. How many bands are you going to stop now? How many times is he going to stop Billy Idol now? Never again, hes over, done with, finito! Alright thats that.
DRE: How do you think you fit in now? Are you still a rebel?
BI: Rebel? Well at least Im fucking trying. Its pretty rebellious to even try and do rock and roll at this age. I should be a blues artist [laughs]. Its more like people expect you to give or you dont care anymore but I have a passion for the music and I have a great band Ive put together. We put out a greatest hits record in 2001 and we really forged a great band in the crucible of the greatest hits gigs. When we did it we could stand right up against bands like Franz Ferdinand, The Killers and The Music. We werent just a retro band because we were playing a new band. When you can stand right up against these others, that proves you are still a rebel. That was really important because even though people are playing much heavier than they used to, so you have to have more power in your band which my drummer provides. We toured for years with that and we played rocker Billy Idol, punk Billy Idol, Danzig Billy Idol, metal Billy Idol and every style of Billy Idol music there is. That helped everyone really see the range that you could have. Fuck me we could go anywhere!!! You could go from Black Sabbath to Velvet Underground to Iggy Pop to Kraftwerk. It was just narrowing it down to what we wanted to do with the record. I really wanted to make a guitar rock record.
DRE: Youre turning 50 this year, right?
BI: Yeah but dont tell anyone else. That makes this my 30th year in rock.
DRE: With all the things youve done in your life, did you think you would make it to 50?
BI: No I didnt, well actually it's not that I didnt know if I would make it to 50, but I didnt know I would still be playing music. I thought I might be alive. When I used to take a taxi home from rehearsals the cab driver would say Hey man, I used to be in The Marmalade!
DRE: Is it as easy to get as pissed off?
BI: Its probably easier. There are just as many things now to piss people off as there has ever been. This political situation must be pissing everyone off because we are almost in a worse situation than we were in the Cold War. Its weird.
DRE: When you tour are you going to have an opening band?
BI: We may have one. Were going to be at South by Southwest with The Donnas.
DRE: What do you think of The Donnas?
BI: I think they are really good. They do a really great version of Dancing with Myself which is not an easy song to play. It sounds easy but it isnt.
DRE: A lot of movies recently are playing some of your 80s hits.
BI: Yeah its been great.
DRE: Are any new songs going to get into any soundtracks?
BI: Weve got some other songs which didnt end up on this album they may well use. Obviously people doing films can have this album so they can use it.
DRE: How did you find the guys that make up the band now?
BI: [Drummer] Brian [Tichy] was part of Slashs Snakepit so hes always been part of the hard rock scene. Derek [Sherinian] was in a prog rock group called Dream Theater. Stephen McGrath, the bass player, is a motorcycling friend of mine and he happens to also play the bass. Steve Stevens has been with me for 20 years.
DRE: Are the words 'more mature' the right ones to use when describing Devils Playground?
BI: I think it does sound more mature. Just the fact that my voice got a bit deeper changes things. Its the passage of time. Youre listening the past 12 years when you play the album and the fact that Ive had a life to live. Thats a weighty piece of life. Before that all we had tours, chicks and records which isnt bad but life was giving us different emotions.
DRE: How have the girls changed?
BI: I have to admit there is that wider range of ages because with that greatest hits tour we pulled in a whole load of young followers. What Im looking at isnt much different from what Ive always looked at. Hey Granny, take your teeth out! YEAH!
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
VIEW 25 of 42 COMMENTS
xokatyxo said:
Billy makes me laugh.
I don't care if he's nearly 50, I bet he's a great fuck.
I'll bet he is. hehe.
He's awesome as hell.
rottenart said:
so i have a question.
apparently, there is a chant that goes along with his version of monie, monie. apparently, it is well known in bars throughout the world and even to billy himself, since he sang along with it in OKC. it's along the same lines as, "where the hell's that shaker of salt!" in Margaritaville.
something to the effect of, "motherfucker, get money, get laid" or something.
anyone else hear of this? it was news to me and i've been listening to him since before i even knew what good music was.
I always thought it was something, get laid, get fucked... lol
That's how my Mom always sang it. *Shrugg* lol