Shaking off a rock ‘n’ roll bad boy reputation isn’t easy—just ask Billy Idol. While he’s been clean and sober since 2010, his image as a rebellious icon lingers.
The “Dancing By Myself” singer’s had to wait nearly two decades for his shot at getting recognized at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since he first became eligible in 2007, but at last, he finally earned his first nomination this year.
The nomination back in February was the first development in a busy 2025 for Idol so far. He released “Still Dancing” — his first single in three years — last month. At the end of April, he’s dropping Dream Into It, his first album in 11 years, which with any luck, will be punctuated with a Rock Hall acceptance as well.
“Well, that would be rather fantastic,” Idol tells The Hollywood Reporter in an interview via Zoom from his Los Angeles home, while also quick to point out the punk-rock progenitors who came before him whose influence still hasn’t been fully recognized. “New York Dolls aren’t in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and they’re a seminal band. The MC5 only got in last year. I can understand why this is my first time.”
Idol has appeared at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony twice before. In 2020, he participated virtually, speaking in a video about the influence of inductees glam rock icons Marc Bolan and T. Rex. In 2024, he took the stage as part of an all-star tribute band honoring Ozzy Osbourne’s induction into the Hall as a solo artist, Osbourne’s second time being recognized after he was first inducted in 2006 as a member of Black Sabbath.
While some artists — such as Chic, The Smiths and Jane’s Addiction — have been nominated multiple times without being inducted, Idol could get in on his first try. He’s a strong candidate if the fan vote is any indication, sitting in third place this week behind Phish and Bad Company according to the Hall’s leaderboard.
Idol is a fan of many of his fellow first-time nominees. Of Bad Company he says that lead singer Paul Rodgers “has got one of the greatest voices in rock ‘n’ roll, and he commends both Joe Cocker and Cindy Lauper as incredible singers. He calls fellow new wave legends Joy Division/New Order, who were first nominated in 2023, “one of my favorite groups.”
“I’m excited about it,” Idol says of this year’s upcoming Rock Hall ceremony. “I really enjoyed Ozzy’s solo induction. That was a lot of fun. Apart from seeing people I already know like Roger Daltrey and Sammy Hagar, I met people like Dua Lipa. It was a great night.”
Idol says last year’s show “got me thinking about the people who started rock ‘n’ roll: Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, Jerry Lee Lewis.”
“Being in something with those guys, I couldn’t have imagined that when we started out a million years ago in punk rock, especially since that was such a push against the establishment,” he says.
Idol’s career began in the late ‘70s as the lead singer for the British punk group Generation X. It wasn’t until the early ‘80s—thanks to the rise of MTV—that Idol (by then a solo artist) broke into the mainstream. With his leather-clad, chest-baring image and signature sneer, Idol was the perfect visual fit for the video era.
But his music, co-written with longtime guitarist Steve Stevens, was just as compelling. Across a dozen albums (including those with Generation X), Idol has earned three Grammy nominations. His songs have stood the test of time, as Idol currently has about 12.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify, while his classics “Rebel Yell” and “Eyes Without a Face” are both nearing half a billion streams on the platform.
“Punk rock was all about trying to write your own songs and be your own boss,” Idol says. “We broke through at a time when a lot of other punk rock people didn’t go mainstream — or couldn’t I suppose. Calling myself Billy Idol was more ‘80s than punk rock. I enjoyed all the success, but at the same time I wanted to keep a credibility factor.”
With Dream Into It, his first studio album in a decade, Idol proves he isn’t just reliving his past glories but looking to evolve as a songwriter. Set for release on April 25, thealbum is divided into two thematic halves: the reflective “Dying to Live,” and the forward-looking “I’m Reborn.” Dream Into It is autobiographical, tracing Idol’s life in chronological order. He addresses his struggles with addiction, the consequences of his choices, and his shortcomings as a father, son and partner. But the album also highlights his passion, resilience, and where he stands today, as captured in the closing track, “Still Dancing.”
A particularly exciting aspect of the new album are Idol’s collaborations with several women punk-rock heroes. Dream Into It features collaborations with Idol featuring Avril Lavigne on “77,” The Kills’ Alison Mosshart on “John Wayne” and Joan Jett on “Wildside.” Idol notes that while “77” was “fine” with just his vocals, it became “three times better” once Lavigne joined. Mosshart is a returning collaborator, performing with Idol last year in .
She joined Idol for a performance filmed for his conservation-focused 2024 documentary and concert film, Billy Idol—State Line: Live at the Hoover Dam. Jett — who will join Idol for the North American leg of his “Billy Idol: It’s a Nice Day to…Tour Again!” trek kicking off on April 30 — has been one of his friends for nearly five decades. “I’ve known Joan since 1978,” he recalls. “I hung out with her at the Whisky a Go Go after seeing the Germs and Black Flag perform.”
The album’s narrative is shaped, in part, by Idol’s ongoing exploration of his past for a documentary on his life which has been in development since 2019. “The last album, Kings & Queens of the Underground, told my story, but it was a bit surface level. I should have gone deeper,” he says. “With this album, I wanted to really talk about all of my life. Lyrically, I couldn’t help but bounce off the documentary, sequencing the album so it told the story of my life.”
Idol fully embraces the idea of “living each day as if it’s your last,” and for much of his life, that meant living on the edge. “There’s a certain wild side you have to keep hold of to stay engaged, to stay writing songs,” he says referencing tracks like “Too Much Fun” and “People I Love” from Dream Into It. “But that doesn’t always work with relationships.”
It’s a complicated relationship Idol has with that life as it’s also afforded him his a legendary career, but as reflects with Dream Into It, he seems to accept it all.
“It’s a shame that sometimes, by doing what you’ve got to do, you hurt the people you love. But, if you don’t do it, you’re going to let them down because they won’t know the real you,” Idol says. “This rock ‘n’ roll career gave me enough money to help my children bring up their children — my four grandchildren. My dad was incredible, really killer at being the head of the family. I never imagined I’d be able to be the same as him. But funnily enough, at this stage in my life, rock ‘n’ roll has given me the ability to be that guy.”