Generation X: Radio 1 Sessions

At the height of Billy Idol Mania (circa 1984) you could get all the Generation X L.P.'s for cheap. They'd all been re-released to capitalize on the dizzying ascent of Idol's (the Class 0f '77's Most Likely To Suc(k)ceed). I never hated those Idol hits, then or now, but it was the then-seemingly perverse fact that Billy the Idol had once been in a punk band that made me lie down the $5.99 to buy the first Gen X album, a mere six years after it's debut. Despite it's lack of currency, I ended up converting much of my high school to that album (via cassette tape). I suppose some of us enjoyed listening to an unpopular album by a a popular artist but also the fact was that if you'd grown up on old Glam Rock (i.e. Bowie, T. Rex and especially The Sweet) that first album made perfect sense.

This out-of-print odds n' sods collection of work the band did for the BBC won't convert the skeptical but it's a fascinating document that traces phase one of Idol's transformation from punk singer to pop star.

Radio 1 Sessions link is in the Comments.

Speaking of comments, Give us you take on the the man known as Billy Idol.


Generation X albums are still cheap at Amazon!

This one is for the 'mazin' Marky Dread - go check out his King Rocker Rocks On for way more Idol-ness.