![]() In short, Idol did what the Sex Pistols never could: he brought punk to mainstream America. Not only were his songs vicious and fast, they had an actual beat you could dance to them. ![]() His early hits like “White Wedding” and “Mony, Mony” stuck out a mile on FM radio (not to mention MTV, where they stuck out two miles). Just as Elvis took the energy and soul of R&B and turned into something that middle-class, white American kids could enjoy, Idol took the punk sound of 1970s London and turned it into kick-ass American hard rock. But it was his sound that really mattered. ![]() Let’s start with his look, an ingenious mix of pre-Goth romanticism (complete with black leather and rosary beads) and science-fiction cyberpunk (he had the same peroxide blond hair and chiseled features as Rutger Hauer’s Nazi replicant in Blade Runner). The first Van Halen album makes Johnny Rotten out to be what he really was and still is: a hairdresser. Unless you were a teenager in that dark, troubled time, you can’t imagine what a huge impact Idol had on youth culture. I wasn't really Rotten or Vicious or Nasty, so I wanted something a bit more funny - yet something that seemed real rock 'n' roll. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Punk Rock Movie 1989 VHS Star Classics Johnny Rotten Billy Idol at the best online prices at. ![]() And Madonna, of course.įor my generation of kids growing up in the early 1980s, that figure was Billy Idol. In any given decade, one or two musicians discovers exactly the right sound, look, and vibe to capture the spirit of the times. ![]()
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