Billy Idol is on drugs..
 

So on sunday i went to warped tour in minneapolis, it was pretty good minus it being 96 and sunny and humid

but i was suprised that billy idol was there with there and if you know warped tour billy idol is a little old for it... so his set was coming up, at warped tour every band gets about 30min for a set, so his set starts and billy just looks wasted, like he has no idea whats going on..he proceeds to do a 10min version of "rebel yell" where for about 4min of it he forgot the words so he just kept hitting the cymbols on the drums....
so this gets weirder he starts talkingin between songs about how he hasnt been here since 1991 and blah blah blah and he just keeps talking for like 10min so hes played 1 song and hes already 2/3rds into his set he finally gets on track a little and playes 2 more songs with more forgoten lyrics and just plain weird antics on stage(asking a girl if he looked good)so now hes 45min into his set and the offspring are waiting to play on the stage right next to his, but billy aparently doesnt care or even notice so eventually after he went 25min late the offspring just started playing and everyone started to go over to that stage and then billy just decided to quit mid song and run off stage and leave his band up there....

just weird, then the band after idol on that stage said that billy was pissed and tried to "break his face, in his cheeky little british accent"

so im convinced after seeing billy idol that either he is on drugs or that he has severly lost his mind

OR maybe hes still just stuck in 1991 when people cared about him...?

he was just here in atlanta a few months ago and put on a totally awesome show

/still loves billy

..you say he's on drugs like you're surprised.

yeah, Im going to agree with gucci here...you act shocked.

His music was(is?) good but theres only so much you can do before you lose your mind from it.

He played at Lollapalooza this past Saturday. I didn't get the impression that he was on drugs, but I didn't watch his whole set either. I can kind of see why you would be shocked since he took a break, had a life changing experience, and 'swore' off drugs. But come on, drugs and rock-and-roll go together like beer and cigarettes. Not everyone links the two, but the majority of people do.

I admit analogies are not my strong suit. :D

"BILLY IDOL RULES" - words burned by a pre-teen BCD into the brick exterior of BCD's parent's house using a flame coming out of a smoke bomb, which was followed by BCD being grounded for one week in his room (circa 1983). As with ShaniFaye, I still love Billy Idol.

welcome to 1980... ; '] Allthough that is pretty funny... and a worthy post. =@

I hope it's not true, that Billy still has his recovery going. If not, I am saddened that a fellow recoverer has slipped. Having heard one of his leads the man is truly a survivor and at the time cherished his recovery.

He had some great music but his motorcycle accident really did a number on him. Weird behavior can be attributed to anything: not feeling wanted in this arena, legitimate drugs for some ailment, has-beenitis, and so on. Not every performer can be on top of his game every show, unfortunately.

It happens, Hell, Ray Davies of the KINKS has had a few odd onstage experiences and he wasn't on drugs (stopping mid-show yelling at the crowd how he was a genius and they could all fuck off if they didn't like the show.... lol and so on) ..... he's just neurotic and odd at times. And then there were the concerts Dave Davies refused to be onstage with him so he'd play the entire show offstage, and look out every now and then so people knew he was truly there. Then there was the cymbal incident in Denmark, where the KINKS drummer threw a cymbal at Dave and nearly decapitated him.

Odd behavior and rock concerts are part of the fun. Whether on drugs or straight it is kind of fun to watch the trainwreck...... it's all part of the rock scene.

Today's music is musicians just don't have the passion and their music/shows are so well rehearsed so that they won't fuck up there's no fun at concerts anymore.

ok im not really that shocked about the whole drugs thing but, i know he used to be like that, but while i sat there watching the whole set, it was just awkward...and i actually like billy idol, i just didnt know what he was doing...
your right pan...watching billy was like watching a slow motion train wreck... it was awkward but fun at the same time....

Picture it this way: You'll never forget seeing Billy Idol and that show.

Imagine being at Guns and Roses in St. Louis when Axl went berzerk and dove offstage.

Granted there was a small little riot ( :p ) but I can almost guarantee those people will never forget that show.

Whereas the people that saw "a perfect G-n-R" show probably can't name half the songs or tell you much about the show at all.

I'd rather have a drugged-out incoherant set by Billy Idol than face the prospect of the Offspring playing.

actually i would say the offspring had probably the best set at warped tour...but thats my opinion

I saw him at HFStival a couple months ago and he rocked...probably the best show of any of them save the New York Dolls. (and possibly TMBG but I got a soft spot for them) He looked and sounded clean. He even asked people to settle as the people in the front of the moshpit were getting crushed against the barriers.

He did get Bam Margera to cut a hole into the roof of his $250K Lamborghini so Billy could get some sun. Sounds pretty insane to me.

I've only seen Billy in the context of another show - he was hired to play the role of the Ace Face when The Who toured with Quadrophenia in 1996. It's not a huge role - he only sings a few songs - but clearly he must have had nothing else going on at the time...

The first time I saw him, I was impressed. He truly embodied this character he was supposed to play, from the beginning when the Ace Face is a cool, macho character, to the end, when he is humiliated and reduced to nothing.

I saw the Quadrophenia show about 6 times, and after a few shows, he did less of the Ace Face thing and just became Billy Idol again - doing his trademark arm punches, giving the finger to the audience, yelling "fuck you" to people in the crowd. Roger Daltrey finally resorted to kicking him in the ass to get him off the stage, because he was hamming forever. They didn't re-hire him when they went back on the road in 1997.

What I took from the whole thing was the notion that Billy has a habit of taking what he has for granted. It's not 1983 anymore. Bullshit behavior and a pompous attitude are going to take you back to the bottom.

haha, i am going to have to watch him play some time. Even if I dont like his music (only 20 years old, and never really got into it), the show will be well worth it. I might even bring some pop corn.