Billy Idol Should Be Dead is the title of a new documentary about Billy Idol and, watching the movie, it’s hard not to agree.
Billy Idol Should Be Dead covers Billy Idol’s storied career, from being a member of the Bromley Contingent to his time as lead singer of Generation X to his solo career and his current status as an unlikely elder statesman of rock and roll. The film features interviews with Miley Cyrus and Billie Joe Armstrong and, despite the age differences, you only have to listen to them and then listen to the 70-something Billy Idol to see the difference between a true rocker and a pretender. Even in his 70s and speaking in a gravelly voice, Billy Idol still has the charisma and the confidence that made him a star. He still has the genuine punk rock attitude that bands like Green Day have made a lot of money imitating but which they have never matched.
The documentary is as open about Billy Idol’s history of drug abuse as Idol himself has been. Idol became a heroin addict at an early age and doesn’t really start to think about cleaning himself up until his father comes over to America and scolds him. Throughout the film, we hear about overdoses and lost weekends and all the times that Billy Idol came close to dying. We also hear about the motorcycle accident that nearly lost him his leg and which ultimately inspired his most controversial album, Cyberpunk. Why did Billy Idol survive while so many of his contemporaries did not? Why was Billy Idol able to survive heroin while so many of the original punk rockers succumbed to it? Who knows? Luck of the draw, perhaps.
The theme of family runs through Billy Idol Should Be Dead. Though Billy’s father is no longer around to offer up his perspective, Billy’s mother is and she’s the epitome of the perfect English mum, amused by her son’s antics even when she doesn’t quite understand them. Billy Idol’s relationship with his father is one of the running themes of the film. It was a difficult relationship but one built on familial love. The relationship is reflected by Idol’s relationship with his own children, all of whom seem to be remarkably stable for someone who grew up with a rock star for a father.
The film alternates between archival footage of the young and cocky Billy Idol and black-and-white scenes of the contemporary Billy Idol. The older Idol still has his swagger but he also has a hard-fought wisdom that younger Idol lacked. The younger Idol thought he was indestructible while the older Idol is happy to be alive and be a grandfather. The older Idol also reveals himself to be far more thoughtful than I think anyone gave the young Idol credit for being. This documentary shows not only how Billy Idol survived a lifestyle that should have killed him but also how and why he’s earned his place as one of rock’s elder statesmen.
Billy Idol probably should be dead but this documentary will make you happy that he’s not.
Through the Shattered Lens 