Billy Idol
Biography
Billy Idol is an English singer and songwriter who came to fame in the 1970s London punk scene fronting Generation X. After a short spell as guitarist in Chelsea, he and bassist Tony James formed Generation X, and the band put out three albums with Chrysalis before breaking up. In 1981 he relocated to New York City and began a solo career with guitarist Steve Stevens. His early solo records, Billy Idol (1982) and Rebel Yell (1983), helped make him a fixture on MTV. Later albums included Whiplash Smile, Charmed Life and the experimental Cyberpunk. He has three Grammy nominations for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance and got a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 2023. His film work includes Mad Dog Time (1996), The Wedding Singer (1998) and Heavy Metal 2000 (2000), where he voiced Odin.
70years old
Turns 71 on November 30in 46 days
- Born Stanmore
- Star sign: SagittariusThe sign runs November 22 to December 21
- William Michael Albert Broad (birth name)
Movie Career
- Films
- 7
- Career span
- 37 years1988 to 2025
Genres
- Music57%, 4 films
- Documentary43%, 3 films
- Biography29%, 2 films
- Comedy29%, 2 films
- Drama29%, 2 films
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About the name
Billy Idol got his stage name after a chemistry teacher, Bill Price, wrote "idle" on his school report card. He had wanted to call himself Billy Idle but feared confusion with Monty Python's Eric Idle.
A first
At the 2002 NRL Grand Final in Sydney, Idol rode onto the field on a hovercraft for the half-time show but managed only two words of "White Wedding" before a power failure ended it.
Behind the camera
Idol recorded his 1993 album Cyberpunk in a home studio on a Macintosh computer, using Studiovision and Pro Tools, and the album took ten months to make.
Billy Idol movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
- Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night1988as Self - Audience Member
IMDb rating 8.81.3K votes
Worked with
Billy Idol shares two films with Kyle MacLachlan, and one with each of the others. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Kyle MacLachlan's page
Michael Madsen's page
Burt Reynolds's page
Richard Dreyfuss's page
Val Kilmer's page
Harry Dean Stanton's page
All films by Frank Coraci
All films by Oliver Stone
Michael ColdeweyDirector, 1 film, 2000
All films by Michael Coldewey
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.