Billy Idol tickets are now available at Stubhub.com!

Since the 1980s, spiked hair and a good sneer have pretty well summed up the image of Billy Idol. At his height, the New Wave rocker scored radio hits that are still favorites today: “White Wedding,” “Dancing with Myself” and “Rebel Yell” are both popular songs. But while he was a temporary MTV poster-boy, casual fans dropped off and never further explored the interesting career of Billy Idol.

Idol actually made a name for himself late in the 1970s in England’s burgeoning punk scene with the group Generation X. While it was one of the first wave’s of punk bands to come out of the English scene, Generation X was always a little more commercial than its peers, with more pop-oriented hooks in its music. It wasn’t much of a surprise that the commercial aspects would ultimately be a boon to Idol, who went on to become a punkish New Wave star.

MTV is what catapulted him to stardom, giving him an advantage over bands that had not yet capitalized on the newfound marketing power of the music video. Becoming a pop-culture personality, Idol was a huge hit, and remained so through much of the ‘80s. His rock songs had just enough edge to them to be cool, but not so much to be overbearing to the mainstream. The initial pop-culture shockwaves punk sent through the public were proof that that could backfire against your popularity.

Idol’s popularity ultimately waned, though the songs he recorded in his heyday still remain popular today. After the late ‘80s, however, the multi-platinum artist found his brand of music going out of fashion. The winds of cool had changed, and Billy Idol ticket sales flagged.

Several years passed, and in 1993, Idol released a critical and commercial failure, “Cyberpunk.” While “cyberpunk” as a genre could probably be capitalized on at the time, albeit not in the mainstream, the album is generally considered a bizarre foray into techno, including a pounding dance club cover of The Velvet Underground’s “Heroin” that has to be heard to be believed.

None of that has stopped Idol from releasing new music or remaining a potent force on the radio based on his old hits.

Written by Andrew Good and sponsored by http://www.stubhub.com. StubHub sells sports tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets and more to just about any event in the world. Get reunited with your rebellious side with Billy Idol tickets.