Billy Idol received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Friday (January 6th). Fellow punk legend Henry Rollins and renowned visual artist Shepard Fairey delivered speeches to honor the legendary rocker.
Rollins spoke first, praising Idol for his work as lead singer of the UK punk band Generation X, as well as his multi-platinum solo career. “Billy Idol has rock ‘n’ roll in his veins, and punk rock in his DNA,” said the one-time Black Flag singer. “He’s the real thing, and maybe that’s why we’re here today, ’cause decade after decade he has remained himself. And it takes a lot of guts and a lot of integrity.”
Fairey spoke next, mentioning how he worshiped Idol after first seeing the “White Wedding” music video on MTV. “I was in love,” said the artist. “I wanted to be Billy Idol. Billy was just the coolest.”
It was then Idol’s turn to speak, with the rock legend saying, “Initially we did the music back in the mid-’70s during the punk-rock time. There wasn’t much hope or anything. We decided if there’s nothing, there’s no future, we’re going to do what we love. And that’s what I did. I did the music because I loved it. It wasn’t for any other reason, really. Anyway, I didn’t really think doing this would last very long. We thought maybe six months, maybe a year, maybe two years. I could never have imagined something like this. It’s just incredible.”
Also on hand for the ceremony were Idol’s longtime guitarist Steve Stevens and Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones, as well as members of Idol’s current backing band. Idol’s girlfriend, actress China Chow, and members of the veteran rocker’s family were also in attendance.
Watch the full ceremony in the video below, followed by Heavy Consequence‘s career-spanning 2021 video interview with Idol.
