Dancing with Myself

Marc Notes: They say if you hear the bang, you're still alive -- London. I let out my first rebel yell; England swings like a pendulum do; Rock 'n' roll high school: long hair, flares, and hash tobacco cigarettes; Sucking in the '70s; And then there was punk; In a revolution, one year equals five; Generation X marks the spot: William Broad becomes Billy Idol; A night at the Roxy; Punk comes of age when two sevens clash; Youth youth youth: break on through to the other side; White light, white heat, white riots; Not selling out, but buying in; Bands across the ocean; Ready steady go; And I guess that I just don't know; You better hang on to yourself -- New York City. A rock 'n' roll conquistador invades America and burns his boats upon arrival; Making mony mony: a left-coast fusion of punk and disco; If you can make it here; Hot in the city: the making of solo Billy Idol; Hollywood daze and tequila nights; I want my MTV: video thrills the radio star; Rebel yell with a cause; A change in pace of fantasy and taste; Everybody must get rolling stoned; The roar of the lion and a nonstop global orgy; Just a perfect day; King death: an aborted film project signals the end of an Idol maker; Top of the world, ma; Return to splendour; The luck of the Irish -- Los Angeles. We need a miracle joy, we need a rock and roll boy; La vie enchantae; City of night; Trouble with the sweet stuff; Drunken, stupid, & naked; I bear a charmed life, which must not yield; Hollywood promises; Have a fuck on me; The madam and the preacher; Mind fire; Bitter pill; My road is long, it lingers on.; In this bold and candid memoir, music legend Billy Idol shares his life story, from his childhood in England to his rise to fame during the height of the punk pop revolution, revealing intimate details about the sex, drugs, and rock and roll that he is so fabulously famous for-all told in his own utterly indelible voice. An integral member of the punk rock revolution whose music crossed over into '80s pop mainstream--and one of MTV's first stars--Billy Idol remains an iconic music legend. Now, in his long awaited Dancing With Myself, he delivers a lively, candid account of his journey to fame, including intimate and unapologetic details about his life's highs and lows, all rendered with the in your face attitude and exuberance his fans have embraced. Idol brings to life the key events that shaped his life, his music, and his career, including his early childhood in England, his year at Sussex University, and his time spent hanging out with the Sex Pistols and as a member of punk bands Chelsea and Generation X. He shares outtakes from his wildly and unexpectedly successful solo career and stories behind his string of popular hits, including White Wedding, Eyes Without a Face, and Rebel Yell, which involved close collaboration with Steve Stevens and ultimately led to the creation of some of the most groundbreaking music videos ever seen. Featuring sixteen pages of full color, behind the scenes photos, Dancing With Myself is both a tale of survival and a celebration of the heady days when punk was born, a compelling and satisfying insider's tale from a man who made music history firsthand."Review Quotes: "[Idol] proves he's more than a punk sneer and spikyhairdo in this extremely candid autobiography about his personal andprofessional relationships. Who knew he was this deep and self-analytical? Idolleaves you wanting ... 'More! More! More!'"--David. J. Criblez "Newsday "Publisher Marketing: Chosen by "Rolling Stone" as one of the 10 Best Music Books of 2014 "That's what I'm talking about... Of all these memoirs, "Dancing With Myself" was the only one that stimulated my envy--made me want to be Billy Idol for five minutes.... He's a genuine romantic, writing in a kind of overheated journalese about his London punk rock roots...and then falling head over heels for America" (James Parker, "The New York Times Book Review"). An early architect of punk rock's sound, style, and fury, whose lip-curling sneer and fist-pumping persona vaulted him into pop's mainstream as one of MTV's first megastars, Billy Idol remains, to this day, a true rock 'n' roll icon. Now, in his "New York Times" bestselling autobiography, "Dancing with Myself, "Idol delivers an electric, "refreshingly honest" ("Daily News, "New York) account of his journey to fame--from his early days as front man of the pioneering UK punk band Generation X to the decadent life atop the dance-rock kingdom he ruled--delivered with the same in-your-face attitude and fire his fans have embraced for decades. Beyond adding his uniquely qualified perspective to the story of the evolution of rock, Idol is a brash, lively chronicler of his own career. A survivor's tale at its heart, this sometimes chilling and always riveting account of one man's creative drive joining forces with unbridled human desire is unmistakably literary in its character and brave in its sheer willingness to tell. With it, Billy Idol is destined to emerge as one of the great writers among his musical peers. "I am hopelessly divided between the dark and the good, the rebel and the saint, the sex maniac and the monk, the poet and the priest, the demagogue and the populist. Pen to paper, I've put it all down, every bit from the heart. I'm going on out a limb here, so watch my back." --Billy Idol Review Citations: New York Times Book Review 12/07/2014 pg. 47 (EAN 9781451628500, Hardcover) Contributor Bio:  Idol, Billy Born William Michael Albert Broad, Billy Idol is a multiplatinum recording artist and two-time Grammy nominee. Known for successfully merging his signature punk attitude with an appealing blend of pop hooks, dance beats, and gritty metallic crunch, Idol created some of rock's most indelible anthems, including "Rebel Yell," "White Wedding," and "Cradle of Love." Idol's latest release, his first studio album in nearly a decade, is titled "Kings & Queens of the Underground". He lives in Los Angeles.