Billy Idol has had quite the career and it’s one that has taken him from his punk roots with Generation X to the news that he has now been nominated for the 2025 class of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Understandably, he’s still processing the news. “It’s a great honor,” he told UCR during a brief conversation on the day the nominees were revealed. “If I do get to be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, you really get a chance to thank your fans. That’s what I like about it. You know, you get a chance to really thank everybody who supported you through thick and thin. So that’s an incredible honor. I mean, I’m knocked out. I’ve only just started to take it in.”
It’s an honor that’s been well-earned, as UCR’s Bryan Rolli noted during a discussion of this year’s nominees. “From his voice to his showmanship to his catalog of hits, Billy is the consummate rock star in every sense of the word,” he wrote. “As one of the first artists to blend punk, rock and pop to astonishing success, he inadvertently set the stage for future generations of pop-punk stars like Green Day and Blink-182.”
READ MORE: Top 10 Billy Idol Songs
Hearing that assessment, Idol admits it’s a chain of events that he couldn’t have predicted from his position. “It’s one of those things you couldn’t imagine when you started out,” he explains. “Because of course, we didn’t know how long anything was going to [last]. We were really doing it for the love and [thought], ‘Maybe it’s just going to last a few months, maybe a year or two years.’ And look, it’s 50 years later. So of course, all of that stuff starts to happen.”
“You [hear] that you’ve influenced people. I know ‘Kiss Me Deadly’ is Billie Joe Armstrong’s favorite song,” he continues. “Things like that are really amazing, because you don’t think of that when you start out. You’re just literally doing what you’re doing for the love of it, not really thinking what’s going to happen. You can’t imagine it going on this long and that you may have an effect on other musicians and other people who write songs and love rock and roll like I do.”
Listen to Generation X’s ‘Kiss Me Deadly’
Idol was one of the major highlights of the Rock Hall induction ceremonies last fall when he took the stage to pay tribute to Ozzy Osbourne as the Prince of Darkness was being honored for his solo work. Joined by guitarist and longtime collaborator Steve Stevens, he blitzed through a powerful version of the title track from Osbourne’s 1991 album No More Tears.
Billy Idol’s 2025 Summer Tour Plans
The legendary rocker has a busy year on tap which includes a summer tour that will feature him sharing the stage with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts for 30 shows. The It’s a Nice Day to…Tour Again outing begins on April 30 in Phoenix and is currently set to wrap up on Sept. 25 in Los Angeles. He also recently wrapped up a new solo album that reportedly will be available around the time that he hits the road with Jett. In a social media post at the end of last year, he described the upcoming set as “a rockin’ guitar record.”
Watch Billy Idol and Joan Jett’s Tour Video
145 Artists Not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Many have shared their thoughts on possible induction.
Gallery Credit: Ultimate Classic Rock Staff
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