Generation Sex

BILLY IDOL Is Back And Still Dancing With Himself

Posted on by JL

Daily noise that works faster than a stream of caffeine

1 March 2025


Photo credit: Haydn Wiltshire

Here comes Billy again.

Idol (born William Michael Albert Broad, 69 years ago) started his career with
London‘s punk band Generation X (1975-1981). After the band broke up smart
money-greedy American marketing people discovered him, signed him and
trasnformed him into a mainstream punk rebel. And it worked big bucks time.

Two years ago he and his old Gen X bandmate Tony James and the Sex Pistols‘ drummer
Paul Cook and guitarist Steve Jones got together for some gigs billed as Generation Sex.


Photo by Turn Up The Volume – Utrecht, The Netherlands – 2023

He’s nominated for this year’s Rock and Roll of Fame event.
And he recorded a new solo LP, his 9th and first in 11 years.
It’s titled Dream Into It. It appears on April 25th.

The first single STILL DANCING a nod to Generation X’s 1981 hit
Dancing With Myself. Idol took the song along as he went solo.

Idol: “Still Dancing” is really a reflection of my whole journey. From the punk rock period through to now. And I’m still looking towards the future, still living the life I set out to live.

At the start of the song I’m recalling the early times in London, when I was living in squats
or at friends’ apartments, all my belongings in a plastic bag. Everybody at home or work told you what you were doing was never going to happen. But punk rock gave me an opening. I was surrounded by people who loved the music as deeply as I did and you were going to throw caution to the wind, believe in what you were doing and grab on for dear life.

As the song says, there have been many moments along the way where I’ve been self destructive. But what’s seen me through is that unflinching belief in the music that
started all those years ago. That’s been the greatest gift of all.

Wake up, people,
Billy is still rocking.

WATCH

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BILLY IDOL And TONY JAMES (Generation X) + STEVE JONES And PAUL COOK (Sex Pistols) = GENERATION SEX

Posted on by JL

2 July 2023

GENERATION SEX? Take two Generation X (1976-1981) punks, Billy Idol (vocals) and Tony James (bass). Add two sex pistols (1975-1978 and several reunions), Steve Jones (guitar) and Paul Cook and you have a punk supergroup.

The veterans got together for the first time in 2018, playing a series of gigs and went back home afterward. But these are music junkies, so this year they returned for another series of gigs (festivals and indoors). One of them was in Utrecht, The Netherlands, last Tuesday.
I travelled to our neighbours to sniff some of the good old punk nostalgia.

And? It was big fun, no more, no less. They sounded as a cover band of their own respectively classics, that came to rock out, nothing more, nothing less and to invite
us to go bananas to all the golden oldies they cranked-up (setlist below) what we all
did of course.

Billy Idol‘s presence was a bit of a letdown. Instead of flaming up the crowd, he stood there most of the time as a shy boy despite the fact that he was a natural-born frontman all his life. On the other hand we had riff maniac Steve Jones who produced enough electricity to get us all loaded for the full show. Lots of dancing by ourselves.

Glastonbury last weekend

PICTURE THIS


“So what’s up, Billy?”


Tony and Billy, old mates


Riffin’ Steve


“So that’s how you play guitar”


Anarchy in The Netherlands

GS: Facebook

All photos by Turn Up The Volume

God Save Punk Icons GENERATION SEX = GENERATION X + SEX PISTOLS

Posted on by JL

One summer festival track a day keeps the doctor away

26 June 2023

Back in 2018, it looked like former 70s Generation X punk icons Billy Idol and bassist Tony James (also Sigue Sigue Sputnik and the Sisters of Mercy) and Sex Pistols legends, drummer Paul Cook and brill-riff guitarist Steve Jones had nothing to do, were bored
and phoned each other to kick out the jams together.

Enter GENERATION SEX. They played a string of gigs, mixing Gen X and
Pistols classics and then returned to their bat caves to get bored again.

But you can’t keep lifetime punk junkies like these bandidos too long away from a stage. GS got together again this year, already played some festivals the past few months and will continue to do the same this summer.

Last weekend they took the stage at Glastonbury Festival.

Yes, they’re older and don’t look like James Dean anymore. So what? They’re still younger than The Stones, Paul McCartney and Bob Dylan. And since when is age the touchstone for playing fucking great music. 65-year-old stars can suck, but 18-year-old snotty-nosed indies can suck too. 18-year old snotty-nosed indies can rock your balls off, so can (some) 65-year-old stars too.

So what about these old cowboys? They’re BIG FUN. And watch/hear how Cook hammers his drums, Jones still comes up with anarchist riffs as he did his whole pistol life and rebel yeller Billy Idol still screams his lungs out. Bye, bye Johnny Forgotten.

GOD SAVE GENERATION SEX.

I’ll be there.

GENERATION SEX: Facebook – Instagram