Los Angeles City Hall turned into an ’80s nostalgia fest Friday as punk rock legend Billy Idol and his longtime guitarist Steve Stevens packed the council chamber for a rock ‘n’ roll celebration before taking the party outside for a concert on the Spring Street lawn.
Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez declared Nov. 13 Billy Idol Day in Los Angeles, honoring the British rocker whose spiky platinum-blond hair, signature sneer and rebellious anthems helped define the MTV generation.
“So few artists have left a mark on rock and roll quite like Billy Idol,” Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez told the packed City Hall crowd, praising the punk icon’s decades-long influence on music.
“If you don’t love the ’80s, something’s wrong with you,” she joked before the packed chamber.
Born William Michael Albert Broad in England, Idol first made his mark in the late 1970s as the frontman of the punk band Generation X before launching a solo career that turned him into an international superstar.
After moving to New York in the early 1980s, Idol teamed up with Stevens, whose blistering guitar riffs helped create the sound behind hits including “White Wedding,” “Rebel Yell,” “Eyes Without a Face” and “Dancing with Myself.”
His music became a fixture on MTV, while albums including Billy Idol, Rebel Yell and Whiplash Smile cemented his place in rock history.
Idol, who has called Los Angeles home since 1987, credited the city with helping him fulfill a childhood dream.
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“A large part of my music has been made here, always written here,” Idol told council members. “Los Angeles has helped me to fulfill that.”
The 70-year-old rocker also made clear he has no plans to leave his adopted hometown.
“Some people kept telling me to move, and I’m still here,” Idol joked.
Stevens, a Grammy-winning guitarist who also performed on the Top Gun anthem and Michael Jackson’s “Dirty Diana,” recalled how his partnership with Idol began just nine miles from City Hall.
He remembered Idol knocking on his hotel room door with a demo of “White Wedding,” a song they would soon perform at the Central, the Sunset Strip club later renamed the Viper Room.
“What a great day for rock and roll. What a great day for Billy Idol. Or Billy Effing Idol, as you would say,” Stevens joked.
Idol also poked fun at receiving the honor on Friday the 13th.
“We’re gonna make that lucky,” he quipped.
The celebration then spilled out of City Hall and onto the Spring Street lawn, where Idol and Stevens performed a concert, bringing a blast of rock nostalgia to the heart of Los Angeles government.
