May 2002

                                                                   Fireworks Happy Anniversary                                                                                     

May 31st is a special day for David & I. It brings us not only our own Wedding Anniversary, but the anniversary of billyidol.com also.
To mark this grand occasion, we are launching a 'new look' Site, which will hopefully be ready very soon. It will include several new sections & easier navigation.

Also, we shall be opening the new Steve Stevens Web Site - stevestevens.net & we shall run this at the request of & with the support of Steve himself.
This is a great pleasure & privilege for us & we plan to have lots of interesting & exciting things to offer to all fans of Steve.

We would like to thank all our Site users over the past 6 years for your support, encouragement & friendship. It has been a very exciting time, in many ways.
billyidol.com has grown & developed during this time & currently receives upwards of 2,300,000 hits each month which equates to 94,000 visitors, who viewed 222,000 pages.

With things looking very positive for Billy & Steve in the coming year, it promises to bring lots more fun for us all.             

                              

Thanks to Pohl.k for the photos, taken in France (Grenoble) in 1991 by Jean Philippe Phichon.

You can see more from this great collection of photos on our 'new look' Site... opening soon.

The UK are currently preparing for the Queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations. Vic Gilmore is organising his own version of events,
as a PUNK Jubilee, which is being held in Farnworth, Bolton, Gt Manchester UK on 31st May 2002
He says he has had a tremendous response so far from Local Press (Bolton Evening News)
http://www.punkjubilee.co.uk/ (PRESS ARTICLE) & interviews with various Press Agencies including Reuters.

The event will include several tracks by artists such as :

101'ers, 999, Adam & The Ants, Adverts , Alberto Y ,Alternative TV , Angelic Upstarts , B52's, Banned, Bishops, Blondie, Boomtown Rats, Boys, Buzzcocks, Clash, Cock Sparrer, Cockney Rejects, Cortinas, Crass, Cure, Damned, Dead Boys, Devo, Dickies, Dr. Feelgood, Drones, Eater, Eddie & The Hot Rods, Electric Chairs, Elvis Costello & The Attractions, Fall, Flamin' Groovies, Flying Lizards, Gang Of Four, Gary Numan,  Ian Dury & The Blockheads, Iggy Pop Inmates, Jags, Jam, Jane Aire & The Belvederes, Joe Jackson, John Cooper Clarke, Johnny Moped, Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers, Joy Division, Killing Joke, Killjoys, Larry Wallis, Lene Lovitch, Leyton Buzzards, Lurkers, Madness, Magazine, Martha & The Muffins Mekons, Members, Menace, Mink Deville, Monochrome Set, Motors, New Musik, Nick Lowe Nosebleeds, Only Ones, Patrick Fitzgerald, Patti Smith Group, Penetration, Pere Ubu, Plasmatics Police, Pop Group, Pretenders, Public Image Ltd, Rachel Sweet, Radiators From Space, Radio Stars, Ramones, Rezillos, Rich Kids, Richard Hell & The Voidoids, Riff Raff, Rumour, Runaways, Ruts, Saints, Sex Pistols, Sham 69, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Skids, Slaughter & The Dogs, Slits, Smirks, Snatch, Specials, Spizzenergi Squeeze, Squeeze, Stiff Little Fingers, Stranglers, Suburban Studs, Subway Sect, Swell Maps, Symarip, Table, Talking Heads, Teardrop Explodes, Television, Tom Robinson Band, Tourists, Tubes, Tubeway Army, UK Subs, Ultravox Undertones, V2, Vapours, Vibrators, Wasps, Wire, Wreckless Eric, X Ray Spex, XTC, Yachts.

It would not be complete however without the inclusion of some classic Generation X songs & included on the night will be Generation X - Day By Day- Fridays Angels- Gimme Some Truth- King Rocker- Kiss Me Deadly- Kleenex- Listen- Night Of The Cadillacs - One Hundred Punks- Promises Promises- Ready Steady Go- Too Personal- Valley Of The Dolls - Wild Youth- Your Generation- Youth Youth Youth.

In total 378 Tracks - Estimated Length: 19 hours 33 minutes 25 secs

Vic has been a massive Gen X fan since he saw them play in 1978/79 "Valley Of The Dolls" at Blackburn King George's Hall - Mega - "Kenny Silvers's". And also after the performance on the "MARC" show at Granada Manchester.

This promises to be a huge celebration for the Jubilee & also of the punk movement.

I asked Billy if he would send a short message of support to acknowledge the era they are reflecting & suggested that they could give the note away as a prize. (Hand written)

Billy very kindly obliged & Vic is having a copy of it blown up as a main feature on the wall. The message itself will then be given as a prize.

If anyone would like more info on the event, you can contact Vic on vic@punkjubilee.co.uk                      5/28/02

Thank you to Lori McGrandles, marketing director of Capri Centre Mall in  Kelowna, British Columbia for the sample promotion card above. Lori has produced these cards as a promotion with Skyreach place where Billy will be playing on July 30th 2002. The cards advertise what band is coming and when and how to win front row tickets from the mall merchants. The contest is available for anyone to enter, no purchase necessary.

Lori respectfully requested prior permission to use the photo from our Site & also from the photographer.
Thank you to David Holn for granting this.                                                                               5/27/02

Diana Cuccarolo & her friend Valerie have been doing some Idol PR of their own. This is an account of their efforts:
Last week I went out of town.  I went to a music store and bought one "Greatest Hits" CD. On Thursday, 23rd of May, Valerie and I went to our local music store. We met with the manager of the music store and she accepted to take our questionnaire and the website cards you sent us.  Also she agreed to play the Greatest Hits CD every Thursday, Friday and Saturday.  Also we went to the most popular bars out here in Sept Ills and they accepted for us to post the questionnaire, one bar is open to play Billy's music every weekend as often as possible, but  since they are not familiar with his music I lent them my CD  for them to listen to it before they actually play it and purchase one for themselves (they often play Mony Mony and Rebel Yell - they did not know that Billy Idol was the performer of those songs) .  Also we put up our questionnaire in supermarkets, our local gym (they are also open to playing Billy's music in their gym) and our next stop is high schools and our local college & youth centres.  We want to get people to listen to Billy's music and to purchase his CDs, and to visit your website so that they can learn more about him.
Through these mediums Billy will get exposure in our region,  not only with the locals, but with tourists coming in from Montreal, Québec, United States, and as far as Europe and Australia.  I work in the airline industry and I can vouch for that.
We are really working hard on getting our questionnaire noticed!  I spoke with the music store manager and she said that it has caught the attention of people.  She put the questionnaire and the website cards next to the cash register, along with CD standing up right next to it (she also said that she puts one website card and questionnaire inside peoples bags when they purchase a CD in her store). 
The other areas we have been through, especially the bars, they are being very receptive, some started playing Billy's music, especially the all time favourites Rebel Yell, and Mony Mony.

My babysitter who is 20yrs old got in on it and started distributing the website cards and questionnaire to her friends and the friends of her friends! Another teenager I know posted the questionnaire at her high school, junior high and a youth center.  Only I did not have anymore website cards to give her to distribute.  May I ask you if it is possible to recieve some more?  We still have a lot more to do out here!  Valerie and I have some more plans lined up & we will let you know more when we put them into action.

I'm sure we all applaud Diana's & Valerie's efforts & we thank them for their hard work & faithful support.        5/24/02

Much More Music is airing Billy's Behind The Music on Thursday, May 23, 9pm, 12am & 2am ET, 6pm, 9pm & 11pm PT & Friday, May 24, 2pm ET, 11am PT

"Right from the start, there's been a cause behind Billy Idol's rebel yell. From his early days fronting Generation X and running with the likes of The Clash and the Sex Pistols in London, to his years as a spike-haired video star, he is as much a punk icon as a pop idol. Here is Billy's story in his own words, chronicling his rise from the son of a middle-class travelling salesman to one of the most identifiable figures of rock in the 1980s. Yet behind the hair, the sneer, and the leather was a man the public didn't know, a smart, thoughtful artist who has demonstrated a miraculous ability to overcome adversity. [cc] (first aired June 26/01/02)"

Thank you to Tammie Crowder for this info.                                                                                                          5/22/02

I am sure you will enjoy sharing this Personal Dedication to Billy and Willem, by Tammie Crowder. I have sent a copy of it to Billy's parents also. The Unpainted Canvass.                                                                                                                                                                                                                      5/20/02

We hear that FINALLY the Storytellers DVD will be released in Europe.
The anticipated date for the UK is July 29th 2002 & Martin Buchetmann informs us that it is due out in Germany on June 24th 2002.                                                                                                 5/18/02

Gavin went recently to an auction on music memorabilia & bought some backstage passes and flyers from Billy's "Whiplash Smile" tour of New Zealand in August 1987.
He would like to let other fans know that there were 5 other passes there, which he did not take, but if anyone is interested in them as a collectors item (as Billy has only been to New Zealand once) he will be happy to return for them.

He says they are currently NZD $20-00 which is about USD $10-00                                                  
Please contact Gavin directly if you are interested.
Thank you to Gavin for passing this on.                                                                                                             5/18/02

Great new live photos on Steve's pages, with thanks to Arlene Baxter.                                     5/17/02

Vh1 are currently running a 'Sexiest artist' poll, if you would like to cast your vote.
RollingStone are also running a poll to vote for your favourite Idol album, also on Billy as an artist. I'm sure between us we can make quite an impact on these results!

Thank you to Pohl.k.                                                                                                                                       5/15/02

VH1.com - News Story   VH1.com - News Story- Album    Thankyou to Brian Medoro.                              5/14/02

Amanda Miller would like to share her photos, taken at Z100's Last Chance Summer Dance 2001.
Thank you Amanada                   mandagal2003@aol.com                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      5/13/02

We have just heard that the new 3 CD Anthology Box Set has been put on hold until around August time. We will update as soon as we hear more.                                                                               5/13/02

More new updates on Pohl.k.'s pages.
Some great new reviews, articles & info. Thanks to Joe Calabro & Pohl.k.
Pohl.k. is setting up a new URL for her News Pages, if you have difficulty accessing her pages before then, you can use these direct links.
                                                                                                                                                  

Show reviews: Canoe.ca Show review 2001-09-06 RockPublication.com Show review 2001-08-30 CC.com
Show review 2001-08-30 SkratchMagazine.com Show review 2001-08-30 Plume-Noir.com  
Show review2001-08-29 AustinCronicle.com Show review 2001-07-20 ConcertShots.com

Billy Idol ariticles: RevueMagazine.com  Article RockLibrary.com  Article S exbuzz.com Article The Eighties Club   5/12/02

Two new items added to new Merchandise Range. Baseball shirt & cap.  
They are available with both motives & also with the back image.

                 

All items are available for shipping in time for the start of the tour.                                 
                                                                                                                                                           5/11/02

If you've ever had that 'panic to get tickets' moment, you might enjoy sharing Rema McArthur's with her.
                                                                                                                                         5/8/02

BILLY IDOL: THE REBEL STILLS YELLS!  Tom Lounges talks to Billy                    5/7/02

The Web Site www.80ershow.de is running its Best Singer male/female/best group poll.
Billy is currently voted under Best Singer at # 2, after Michael Jackson. With a little help from us all here, we should be able to take Billy to the only position he deserves.
Many fans have already contributed to this & Billy's position went straight from # 10 to # 2.
When you vote, please remember that because of the way the counting is registered, you must also give the other artists one point as well & of course Billy the maximum.
Thank you to Martin Buchetmann for this info.                                                                                                                                    5/7/02

If you have not yet purchased your copy of the Fat City magazine with the 10 page feature on Billy & Steve, now is the time to do so.
For every magazine ordered via the mail or over the Web with paypal, Fat City will send a limited edition, full colour photo of Billy (from 2001).

If you have any questions on how to obtain a copy, the editor Jay Hale invites you to send your enquiries to  fatcitymag@hotmail.com              Jay Hale, Editor in Chief
                                                              Fat City Magazine
                                                                 PO Box 366
                                                     Allston, MA 02134     (617) 792.5543  

                                                                                                                                             5/5/02

Billy, his manager & Stephen McGrath are listed as riders in the Iron Horse Tour 2002 July 19 - 27, 2002 Edmonton, Alberta to Los Angeles, CA
As this now coincides with Billy's forthcoming tour, they regret they will not be able to participate.

Happy Birthday Steve (May 5th)
We bring you some new photos to celebrate this special day. You may also leave your own personal birthday message on Steve's pages.                                                                  
                                          Photo by Kathie Connelly, thank you.                                       5/5/02