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Billy Idol music biography continued...

November 30, 1955, in Middlesex, England, Idol relocated with his family for a brief spell to New York, before returning back to England, where he changed his last named to Idol (after a teacher who had written on a report card that he was idle in class) and played with a band called Generation X. That band split up, though, and Idol returned to New York City where he scored a record deal with Chrysalis and released a self-titled debut album in 1982. A pair of eye-catching videos for the tracks "White Wedding" and "Dancing With Myself" got major air time on MTV, with both clips focusing in on Idol's spiked peroxide blonde hair and sneering visage. The debut eventually obtained gold certification, and set the stage perfectly for Idol's big commercial breakthrough, 1984's Rebel Yell, with the anthemic Billy Idol songs "Eyes Without a Face" and "Flesh For Fantasy."
With his videos in heavy rotation on MTV, Idol would go onto become a 80s pop culture icon, as three more albums racked up platinum sales. Idol was in a serious motorcycle accident during this time, which left him walking with a cane. A video of the song "Cradle of Love" shot at the time, showed Idol from only the waist up and proved to be a great hit on MTV, keeping his name in circulation. His star faded with a style change away from his blond spiked hair to dreadlocks, but a Greatest Hits package released in 2001, sold 500,000 albums in the U.S. alone. He returned to the studio in 2005 and again in 2006, with fresh material. Though he doesn't have the influence he once had, Billy Idol has made a lasting mark on the rock and roll history and will always be known as a rebel who does things his own way.