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Billy Idol: Middlesex England
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Billy Idol was born William Michael Albert Broad on 30 November 1955 at Stanmore, Middlesex, England. While studying English Literature at Sussex University, Broad became involved with the "Bromley contingent" followers of The Sex Pistols. Inspired by the energy of punk, he formed his own group, Chelsea, in 1976. The original outfit was short-lived and Billy Idol, as he was now known, next founded Generation X. This band lasted from 1976-81, after which Idol launched his solo career in New York and recorded Don't Stop, which featured a revival of Tommy James & The Shondells' UK Number 1 Mony Mony.
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Along with Duran Duran, Billy Idol was one the first pop/rock artists to achieve massive success in the early '80s due to a then brand-new U.S. television network, MTV. Mixing his bad-boy good looks with an appealing blend of pop hooks, punk attitude, and a dance beats, Idol quickly rocketed to stardom, before hard living derailed his career and almost proved fatal. Born William Michael Albert Broad on November 30, 1955, in Middlesex, England, the youngster relocated with his family for a brief spell to New York, before returning back to England. After a stint at Sussex University only last a year, Broad found himself as part of a group of teen punk rockers who befriended and followed the Sex Pistols, known as "the Bromley Contingent" (a member of this colorful group of characters was Siouxsie Sioux, eventual leader of Siouxsie & the Banshees).
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Despite this impeccable punk pedigree, Billy Idol was rarely accorded the respect he deserved in England. Generation X--the band he and Tony James left Chelsea to start--had a string of some of the best singles of the early punk era, were the first band of its kind to be on Top of the Pops, were the first to explore multicultural territory, and were early supporters of Rock Against Racism. But their unabashed love of the 50s and 60s pop culture was a triple no-no, because punk: a) having no future, could'nt have a past either; b) detested the commercialism of pop; and c) was anti-culture.
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Billy Idol (born William Michael Albert Broad on November 30, 1955 in Middlesex, England) is an English hard rock musician. Idol lived in Worthing before attending Sussex University for only a year before joining the Bromley Contingent of keen Sex Pistols fans. During this period, Idol decided to become a musician and formed a band called Generation X in 1976 (see 1976 in music).
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Billy Idol (born William Michael Albert Broad, 30 November 1955 in Middlesex) is an English rock musician. He first came to attention in the punk rock era, then embarked on a successful solo career, aided by a series of stylish music videos, making him one of the first MTV stars. He has continued to make music, but has yet to recapture the levels of fame he enjoyed in the 1980s.
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