One-time punk rocker Billy Idol has today announced his first new album since 2014, ahead of two big UK summer dates.
Dream Into It will be released on Dark Horse Records on 25 April, with the first taste of it, new single Still Dancing, shared today.
The album – his first since 2014’s Kings & Queens of the Underground – features guest appearances by Avril Lavigne, Joan Jett and Alison Mosshart of The Kills.
From Generation X to Generation Sex
Recent years have seen Idol and former Generation X bandmate Tony James team up with Steve Jones and Paul Cook of the Sex Pistols to form Generation Sex, who played at Glastonbury in 2023.
This year has seen him nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025, with inductees to be announced just as he prepares to start his five-month-long It’s A Nice Day To … Tour Again! dates.
As frontman of Generation X, Idol was one of the most recognisable faces of the original punk movement, and made three classic albums with the band before moving to the US to seek solo fame and fortune.
There he became one of the early stars of the MTV video explosion with songs like Rebel Yell, White Wedding and Eyes Without A Face, before taking a lengthy break to recover from a motorcycle accident and battle drug addiction.
He says of the new single: “Still Dancing is really a reflection of my whole journey. From the punk rock period through to now. And I’m still looking towards the future, still living the life I set out to live.
“At the start of the song I’m recalling the early times in London, when I was living in squats or at friends’ apartments, all my belongings in a plastic bag. Everybody at home or work told you what you were doing was never going to happen. But punk rock gave me an opening.
“I was surrounded by people who loved the music as deeply as I did, and you were going to throw caution to the wind, believe in what you were doing and grab on for dear life.
“As the song says, there have been many moments along the way where I’ve been self-destructive. But what’s seen me through is that unflinching belief in the music that started all those years ago. That’s been the greatest gift of all.”
Idol is back in the UK on Sunday 22 June for an appearance at the Forever Now Festival at The National Bowl, Milton Keynes, before headlining the OVO Wembley Arena in London two days later, with post-punk legends New Nodel Army as his special guests. Tickets are available HERE.
