Here is Billy Idol's biography:
Born William Michael Albert Broad in Middlesex, England, in 1955, Billy Idol was the first child of Bill and Joan Broad. When he was two, his father moved the family to Long Island, New York, in pursuit of the American dream. They returned four years later, with a baby sister, Jane, to Dorking, England. America made a big impression on Billy; he loved the big cars and rock music.
The family moved next to the Running Horses Public House in Mickleham, until 1963, while their home in Goring, Sussex, was being built. The time in Goring would be a happy period for the Broads. Billy enjoyed a fairly normal childhood, hanging out with his pals and getting up to the usual mischief that strong-willed boys are wont to. The Broads were a religious family who regularly attended church, and Billy joined the Boy Scouts in Goring, though was reputedly asked to leave after getting caught kissing a girl.
Idol was a bright student and passed his 11 plus, but he was bored at school. When a teacher wrote "Billy is Idle" in the margin of one of his works, it stuck in his mind and later inspired his stage name. Nevertheless, Billy progressed well and, when the family moved to Bromley in Kent in 1971, he transferred to the Ravensbourne Grammar School.
The distractions of London, however, were not conducive to studying, and he failed to achieve the requirements for university entrance. His disappointed parents arranged for him to retake his exams at Orpington College of further education. Idol enjoyed the more relaxed environment here and, a year later, had secured his place at Sussex University. He began his course in English and Philosophy in September 1975. This coincided with the explosion of punk rock, which captured the imagination of Idol far more than his studies.
He started hanging out with a group of like-minded friends at the in-venues in London, instantly recognizable by their Malcolm Mclaren SEX shop clothes and peg pants. They became known as the Bromley Contingent (the contingent included Susan Dallion, later of Siouxsie and the Banshees) and began following the anarchic Sex Pistols to every gig. At this time, Bill Broad changed his name to Billy Idol and decided he wanted to be a real part of the musical revolution. This meant dropping out of university and forming his first band, The Rockettes, with his classmate, Steve Upstone.
When Billy met Tony James, a fellow student, and became Chelsea, then Generation X, they started to get noticed. The final Generation X lineup - Tony James on bass, John Towe on drums, Bob Andrews on guitar, and Idol as lead vocals, played their first live show in November 1976 and began writing and recording original material. In 1977, Chrysalis Records offered them a contract. After three albums and with management problems, band discord, and the decline of the punk movement, Billy decided it was time to go solo.
He relocated to New York and hooked up with Kiss manager Bill Aucoin. In 1981, the EP "Don't Stop" (comprising a cover of Tommy James' 1960s hit "Mony Mony" and a pair of remixed Generation X tracks, including "Dancing With Myself") landed him a solo deal with Chrysalis. He found the perfect collaborator and partner in guitarist Steve Stevens and released the self-titled "Billy Idol" in 1982. Idol made full use of the MTV explosion - the hugely successful videos for "White Wedding" and "Dancing With Myself" showcased his peroxide spiky hair, sneer, and leathers to great effect.
The stage was set for the hugely successful "Rebel Yell" in 1984. These early years were wild with Billy's hell-raising antics generating as much (if not more) publicity than his music. An eight-track best-of, "Vital Idol", was released in 1985 and the popularity of the live video of "Mony Mony" on MTV kept him in the spotlight. 1986 saw a new release, "Whiplash Smile" - it sold well and saw him nominated for a second Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance (the first was for "Rebel Yell"),but some felt it failed to live up to expectations. Stevens left to form his own band shortly afterwords.
Idol was ready to try new things, moving to Los Angeles, taking on a new band, and appearing in an all-star stage version of The Who's "Tommy". In 1990, however, around the time of the release of his new album, "Charmed Life", Idol was involved in a serious motorcycle accident when he ran a stop sign on his Harley. He almost lost a leg and was confined to bed for six months. He battled back bravely
