Billy Idol – You Can’t Break Him Down!

October sees the release of ‘Kings & Queens Of The Underground’, the first new album by Billy Idol in almost a decade.  Released on Idol’s own BFI Records, via Kobalt Label Services, it is produced by Trevor Horn, with two tracks by Greg Kurstin, and including the debut single, ‘Can’t Break Me Down’.

From punk pioneer to global superstar, William Michael Albert Broad, aka Billy Idol, has become a household name since his arrival on the music scene with Generation X back in the late 70s; his style, music, and attitude pretty much having transcended time and trend.  Born in 1955 in Stanmore, North London, Idol was a central figure of the British punk movement.  As part of the infamous Bromley Contingent, Idol fronted the pioneering Generation X from 1976 until the band’s split in 1981. Determined to break through in America, Idol hooked up with guitarist Steve Stevens and a formidable musical partnership was forged. Idol had found a way to take that sneering punk attitude into the pop and rock mainstream, carving out some of rock’s most enduring anthems including ‘White Wedding’, ‘Dancing With Myself’, ‘Hot In the City’, ‘Eyes Without A Face’ and ‘Rebel Yell’.

But It’s been a long wait for Idol’s fans, so the coming months should find them, and new listeners more than satisfied. With the singer’s new website up and running the ‘Can’t Break Me Down’ single is already available for streaming there. While ‘Dancing With Myself’, his highly anticipated autobiography will be released worldwide on 7^th October, with ‘Kings & Queens Of The Underground’ following on the 20^th, though pre-orders on the CD are already available from Amazon and digitally from iTunes.

The album cover art for ‘Kings & Queens Of The Underground’ was designed by street artist and graphic designer Shepard Fairey, and features the following tracks:

Billy Idol – ‘Kings & Queens Of The Underground’

1. Bitter Pill
2. Can’t Break Me Down
3. Save Me Now
4. One Breath Away
5. Postcards From The Past
6. Kings & Queens Of The Underground
7. Eyes Wide Shut
8. Ghosts In My Guitar
9. Nothing To Fear
10. Love And Glory
11. Whiskey And Pills

The iTunes edition includes an exclusive additional track, ‘Hollywood Promises’, recorded during the same album sessions, but you can hear all about the recording yourself direct from his master’s voice as Billy Idol talks about ‘Kings and Queens of the Underground’ and features clips from the album over a series of webisodes being launched over next few weeks. You can view the first one here:

The following month, Idol and his band, including guitarist Steve Stevens, will be over in Europe, on the first of several legs of a world tour that will continue into 2015. The dates are as following

Billy Idol November 2014 European Tour Dates