Touring his new studio album ‘Dream into It’ both at venues and festivals, the solo musician performed in front of the mostly sold out arena at a show that felt like it was celebrating the peak of his career. He also had a personal connection with the venue being born in Stanmore which he shared with the audience.
With an intimate and personal album he said is concentrated on his life, he performed the new tracks opening his set with ‘Still Dancing’, which sounded as good as it does on the record – Idol hitting all the notes – and ’77’: whilst Idol performed it without Avril Lavigne, he managed it well although the pop-punky guitar sound could have been ramped up even more. He also sang old classics such as ‘Cradle of Love’ but which passed by on the set list as quite dated, more outshone by the Simple Mindsesque (circa ‘New Gold Dream’) ‘Flesh for Fantasy’ with its funky ’80s basslines.
Then Idol shouted out “Yeah!!” to which the audience echoed back, showing how much he is still in peak fitness despite pushing 70. At the end of his highest charting single ‘Eyes Without a Face’, lead guitarist Steve Stevens went straight into a Flamenco-style guitar solo, vigorously strumming and playing intricate fretwork. Idol then performed his new autobiographical flagship song ‘Dream into It’; as a single, vocally it could have been performed with a bit more virility.
The singer also included some covers in his set which he varies the selection of on different tour dates, on this occasion opting for a duet of The Rolling Stones’ ‘Gimme Shelter’ with one of his female backing singers. He ended his main set on his hit song ‘Rebel Yell’, which was inspired by a mysterious brown drink he saw the Stones drinking at a party; featuring a stripped down interlude and synths, it’s a track that truly captures the dark ’80s rock ‘n’ roll spirit and reminiscent of other singers of the time such as Alice Cooper.
For a special encore, Idol welcomed former Generation X bandmate Tony James onto the stage to perform two of their best known singles (having previously toured a reunion lineup a few years ago with the Pistols’ Paul Cook and Steve Jones). He retold how he and James had originally written ‘Ready Steady Go’ as an audition track for punk band Chelsea, which they had started out in before disbanding and forming Generation X. Idol also related the origin of ‘Dancing with Myself’, inspired by a crazy night out at a Japanese disco with mirrors, featuring Stevens’ nasal guitar. As expected he finished on his biggest hit song ‘White Wedding’, with the refreshing breeze of guitar and synth entwined running through. The show didn’t feel pretentious in any way but rather Idol connected to the fans on a more humble level, especially considering the milestone he has reached in his pop career because of them and the support of his family and friends, to which his new album is dedicated.
24/06/25: Billy Idol @ OVO Wembley Arena, London.
Photos © Peter McDonnell.
© Ayisha Khan.