Billy Idol is still selling out amphitheaters nearly 50 years into his career. Yet, in the early days he could be found playing in a much less likely venue: gay clubs.
During a recent appearance on the Turned Out a Punk podcast, Idol reflected upon his early gigs.
“A lot of the clubs that were putting on punk things were usually gay clubs,” the singer noted. “We even did a tour, the White Wedding tour, [which] was like that. We were playing a lot of these little clubs, [they] were gay clubs that on Tuesday night, they went punk.”
As Idol explained, it wasn’t so much that punk music had a lot of gay fans, but that both social groups understood what it felt like to be outcasts. The result, he recalled, was a concert environment that welcomed all types.
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“It was very embracing,” Idol remembered. “People who didn’t feel like they fit in what for whatever reason. Could be a gender thing, it could be a cross dressing thing, or it just could be you just didn’t feel like you –- people would say today, you didn’t feel like you’re being seen. You know, that’s what we felt like.
“In England, we were being told you don’t have a chance of future, there’s no future for you,” the singer continued. “This is seriously what we’re being told. And so we just banded together with the other like minded outsiders. And they were coming from all different areas – gender, politics, political politics, personal politics. Lots of reasons why.“
Idol’s 2025 shows will be in much larger venues than his early club days. The “Rebel Yell” singer is out with Joan Jett on a nationwide trek, playing arenas and amphitheaters across the USA.
Billy Idol Live in Austin – May 4, 2025
The “Rebel Yell” rocker was hot in Bat City.
Gallery Credit: Bryan Rolli
