Billy Idol MySpace Goodies

Billy Idol Vital Stats

Name : Billy Idol
Real Name : William Micheal Albert Broad
Job : Vocals
Other Bands : Generation X, Solo
POB : Middlesex, England
BOD : November 30, 1955

Facts

• Sister Jane
• Son Willem
• Daughter Bonnie
• Ex Girlfriend Perri Lister
• Motor Bike Accident 1990
• Was in Generation X
• Kiss Manager Bill Aucoin was once Billy Idol's Manager
• Rebel Yell went double platinum
• He appeared in  The Doors, and The Wedding Singer, Behind the Music special,
• He OD'ed and was treated in a Los Angeles hospital in 1994
• His Greatest Hits soldmore than 500,000 copies in the US
• His real name is William Broad. The name Idol is based on a report card he received that said, "Billy is an idle student."  
• Idol is the voice of Odin in the animated movie Heavy Metal 2000.
• After a show in London in 1989, Idol was attacked by a fan who ran after him and stabbed him in the leg.
• Billy is a vegetarian.
• Dropped out of the University of Sussex after 1 year.

These Facts are from http://eightiesclub.tripod.com/id243.htm

• During a grueling 30-hour shoot for the "Eyes Without A Face" video in June 1984, Idol was temporarily blinded when the heat from studio lights fused contact lenses to his eyes.
• In early 1990, Idol was hospitalized in Los Angeles after fracturing his right leg in a motorcycle accident. A steel rod had to be inserted into the injured leg.
• "Cradle Of Love" from the Charmed Life album (1990), was featured in the film The Adventures of Ford Fairlane. It reached US#2 and won Best Video From A Film at the 7th Annual MTV Awards in September, 1990.
• In 1992, Idol pled guilty to assault and battery charges after punching companion Amber Nevel in the face outside a West Hollywood restaurant. He paid $2,700 in fines and was required to appear in a series of anti-drug commercials.
• Idol's 1993 album Cyberpunk contained the first interactive computer biography in a limited edition digipak format.
• In 1994, Idol entered a Los Angeles hospital in critical condition after an apparent drug overdose in his Hollywood Hills home

Partial timeLine from http://eightiesclub.tripod.com/id243.htm

• February 1981
   Idol quits Gen X. In New York, he begins an association with producer/drummer Keith Forsey and Kiss manager Bill Aucoin, and embarks on a solo career as Aucoin secures him a contract with Chrysalis Records.
• November 1981
  Idol's debut solo album, the EP Don't Stop, is released. It will remain on the charts for a year, reaching as high as #71 on the US chart.
• September 1982
  "Hot In The City" climbs to US#23 and propels its parent album, Billy Idol, to US#45. The album will remain charted for two years. Idol's band includes Steve Stevens (guitar), Judi Dosier (keyboards), Phil Feit (bass) and Gregg Gerson (drums).
• July 1983
  "White Wedding" peaks at US#36.
• December 1983
  Rebel Yell soars to the #6 spot on the US album chart, with eight of its tracks penned by Idol and guitarist Steve Stevens. The album will sell two million units in the US alone.
• March 1984
  "Rebel Yell" reaches US#46.
• July 1984
  Idol finally has his breakthrough hit in the UK with "Eyes Without A Face," which peaks at UK#18. In the US the single climbs to #4, Idol's first Top Ten hit.
• June 1985
  Chrysalis releases the compilation album, Vital Idol, in the UK. It climbs to the #7 spot and remains charted for six months. The following month, "White Wedding" is released in Britain and makes UK#6.
• October 1985
  "Rebel Yell" is reissued in the UK and climbs to UK#6 while its parent album scores on the UK album chart (#36), more than two years after its initial release in the US.
• November 1986
  Produced by Forsey, and with most of the songs written by Idol or Idol/Stevens, Whiplash Smile hits UK#8. The lead-off single, "To Be A Lover," climbs to UK#22 and US#6, while the album, Idol's fourth solo effort, will climb to US#6 in December.
• February 1987
  Nominated for Best Male Rock Vocalist, Idol performs "To Be A Lover" at the 29th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.
• June 1987
  "Sweet Sixteen" makes it to US#20. In July it will peak at UK#17.
• November 1987
  Idol's remake of Tommy James & the Shondells' "Mony Mony" becomes his first #1 single in the US. It will climb to #7 on the UK chart, while Vital Idol achieves the #10 spot on the US album chart.
• June 1988
  Idol and girlfriend Perri Lister have a son, whom they name Willem Wolf Broad.
• July 1988
  Another compilation album, Idol Songs-11 Of The Best, reaches UK#2. Idol begins a long hiatus from recording.
• August 1989
  Idol appears with Patti Labelle, Phil Collins, Elton John and Steve Winwood in a benefit production of Pete Townshend's Tommy in Universal City, CA.