Check out Billy Idol with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts at Madison square Garden on Wednesday, August 20th!
Born William Michael Albert Broad in 1955, Billy Idol is often regarded as the leader for the “Second British Invasion” of the US music scene. Getting his start as the frontman of punk rock group Generation X in 1976, he would begin to start his solo career in 1981. His first release, the EP
Don’t Stop, was wall received and contained two of his hits in the cover of Tommy James and the Shondels’ “Mony Mony” and his track “Dancing with Myself”.
Billy Idol’s full-length debut, a self-titled solo album, was released in 1982 and was a commercial success. Containing one of his biggest hits in “White Wedding (Part 1)”, as well as “Hot in the City” which peaked at 23 on the Billboard 100, it is no surprise the album performed well. In 1984, Idol’s second album,
Rebel Yell, was released with even bigger success. The album’s title track and lead single, “Rebel Yell” is Idol’s biggest hit to date, with almost 500 million streams on Spotify.
Following the success of
Rebel Yell, Billy Idol released three more albums in
Whiplash Smile (1986),
Charmed Life (1986), and
Cyberpunk (1993) before going on a release-centered hiatus. In that time, Idol still kept busy, releasing the single “Speed” for the film of the same name and made film appearances in Adam Sandler’s
The Wedding Singer (1998) and
Heavy Metal 2000 (2000). He was featured on a number of other musician’s albums including a live version of the Who’s Quadrophenia (1996) and Tony Iommi’s
Iommi (2000).
In 2005, after almost 12 full years, Billy Idol released
Devil’s Playground, peaking at 46 on the Billboard 200 chart and bringing him back to the forefront of rock. He has since released the Christmas album
Happy Holidays in 2006 and 2014’s
Kings & Queens of the Underground, as well as two EPs in 2021’s
The Roadside and 2022’s
The Cage.
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, fronted by none other than Joan Jett formerly of The Runaways herself, is considered one of the biggest acts in rock and roll and punk rock. Getting their start in Los Angeles in 1979, the band’s toured extensively, slowly building a fanbase all the while selling their debut album Joan Jett (1980) out of the back of a car. By the end of 1980, the album had become so popular, it led to Jett and her band to get signed and the album would be re-released as Bad Reputation (1981).
The first album to actually be attributed to Joan Jett and the Blackhearts was the second album I Love Rock ‘n Roll released at the end of 1981. The title track and lead single, a cover of The Arrows’ song, would become a massive hit for them, topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart and being regarded as the 56th best song of all time by Billboard. Jett and her band’s popularity would continue to skyrocket, with sold out tours with the likes of Queen, and a string of Top 40 hits throughout the 1980s coming from their albums Album (1983), Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth (1984), Good Music (1986), and Up Your Alley (1988).
In the 1990’s and 2000’s, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts kept their foot on the gas, touring consistently. This included an almost-full run on the 2006 Vans Warped Tour, a UK arena tour with Motörhead and Alice Cooper, and a stint on the 2008 True Colors tour. In 2015, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Most recently, the band released
Mindsets in 2023 and announced they will be touring with Billy Idol this summer.
Tickets are on sale now at
ticketmaster.com.
