Billy Idol “The Very Best of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself” on Capitol/EMI Records

By Susie Salva

MTV & rock icon Billy Idol releases his greatest hits, “The Very Best of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself” on Capitol/EMI records. For all of his fans, this is the definitive collection the Deluxe Edition includes 18 tracks with two all-new recorded songs and a DVD containing 13 videos that characterize the ‘80’s will thrill fans and foes alike. The DVD includes previously unreleased edits of “Cradle of Love", and “Hot in the City." “We worked hard so there would be some consistency to the videos and so we wouldn’t be embarrassed one day,” says Idol. “We sweated over them – video hell, we would call it.”

As with his vital music, Idol liked to use his videos to shake things up as much as possible. Whether it was zombies, wedding gowns, boxing rings or just Idol bravado he brought substance to the video generation. “That was a pretty bland time of corporate rock and afternoon television music, and we wanted to bring in a little more danger and after hours fun into it", Idol explains. “Maybe that’s why we looked like vampires".

“The Very Best of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself” gathers together the music that Billy Idol has taken to stages all around the world, as well as the brand new songs, “John Wayne,” and “New Future Weapon". These new tracks find the man still at the peak of his powers, working with longtime partner and guitar great Steve Stevens and his other current band members, drummer and songwriting collaborator Brian Tichy and keyboardist Derek Sherinian.

The new track “John Wayne” is reminiscent of “Catch My Fall", meets “To Be A Lover", with all of the vibrancy of Idol still in tact. Of his new song, “John Wayne", Idol says, “When I’m singing it, I’m thinking about the characters John Wayne played. They were usually men with a flaw in their character or something dark in their past they’re trying to rise above before the end of the movie. So it’s not about the kick-in-the-door John Wayne or the barroom fight John Wayne – more the man who overcomes".

Of the collection’s other new track, “New Future Weapon", Idols explains, “I was reading about the new stealth fighter plane the Raptor, and I was struck by the ambivalence of the pilot talking about the enemy. Musically, it’s got a bit of the Spaghetti Western about it. It’s a sick song, as you might expect". These songs prove that Idol is still very relevant. Guitarist Steve Stevens conjures up ripping guitar riffs sounding fresh and significant. These two tracks feel like you’ve stepped into a time-machine but attest to being exciting and very much idolized. His sneering and jeering has been cemented and immortalized in popular culture.

Idol was part of the Bromley Contingent of early Sex Pistols fan. Billy Idol was inspired to front the popular British punk band Generation X from 1976 until the band’s break-up in 1981. From there, he decided to try his luck in America, specifically New York. “I definitely took punk with me wherever I’ve gone", Idol says. “That was the whole idea really.

I wanted to transform my music, but I didn’t want to ever lose sight of that punk rock attitude. Whether we turned to hard rock or disco or whatever the hell else we did over the years that helped give the music a spirit it would not have had if I hadn’t come out of the punk movement".

Idol really smashed through with his 1984 double platinum album, “Rebel Yell". Stocked with major radio and MTV hits, including, “Rebel Yell", “Eyes Without a Face", “Flesh For Fantasy", and “Catch My Fall", the album reached #6 on the Billboard 200.

“It’s funny what you have to do to crave out your own niche", Idol explains with a laugh when asked about the new collection’s “Idolize Yourself", title. “But everyone should idolize themselves, shouldn’t they?” The niche that Billy Idol has created over these past few decades is no laughing matter. Beyond the platinum sound and the platinum hair, Idol is respected as the original punk rocker who long ago found a way to take that sneering punk attitude to the top of the charts.

Listening back to “The Very Best of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself", the man himself felt a real sense of pride. “I was knocked out", Idol says. “For all the up and downs, there’s some quality there. So I feel like I can walk into my house justified. The highs were very high – sometimes too high — and the lows were low, but somehow it still holds up".