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Billy Idol Records Album of Christmas Standards
Rock 103 Memphis ^ | November 23, 2006 | Staff

Posted on 11/23/2006 2:55:47 AM PST by mcg2000

He croons songs including "Frosty the Snowman" on the festive CD 'Happy Holidays.'

Billy Idol has stunned his diehard fans by ditching his punk image to record an album of classic Christmas songs.

The rocker croons a selection of songs including "Frosty the Snowman," "Winter Wonderland" and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" on the festive CD 'Happy Holidays.'

And the British rocker insists he had no trouble hitting the right notes, because the songs just flowed out of him.

He says, "These songs were a challenge to sing as so many other singers have interpreted them in their own style.

"It was fun to come up against all that and find that these songs sing themselves."


TOPICS: Music/Entertainment
KEYWORDS: billyidol; christmas; generationx; idol; mtv; music; punk; rock; rock103; whitewedding
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To: napscoordinator; sushiman; Dixie Yooper

Idol was excellent as the lead singer for Generation X, their first album was great and virtually every song on it was top-20 hit material (in the UK anyway).

I just played a few tracks and was reminded how much they sounded like the Buzzcocks.


21 posted on 11/23/2006 4:15:32 AM PST by angkor
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To: mcg2000

It's not a good thing when you begin to hear your voice at the grocery and on elevators. Merry Christmas, Billy!


22 posted on 11/23/2006 4:16:26 AM PST by dforest (Don't get fooled, the bigger struggle is still out there, and growing)
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To: Blue Jays
I wonder if he'll have his signature "snarl" on his face when he sings these classic Christmas songs on video?

Would he do them any other way?


23 posted on 11/23/2006 4:17:11 AM PST by Yossarian (Everyday, somewhere on the globe, somebody is pushing the frontier of stupidity.)
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To: mcg2000

It's a laugh, but all of Billy Idol's stuff is pretty darn good (at least through the 'Charmed Life' LP). His original punk band Generation X was the goods too.

All his hits were cut-above rockers: Dancing With Myself, White Wedding, Eyes Without A Face, Rebel Yell, Flesh For Fantasy, Catch My Fall, Cradle Of Love... and lesser-known songs like Shooting Stars and It's So Cruel are flat-out great too. Steve Stevens was an excellent guitarist.

Idol's catalogue is worthy of a re-appraisal nowadays. Hell, in today's lousy music scene, it sounds like Mozart.


24 posted on 11/23/2006 4:20:17 AM PST by Jhensy
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To: Yossarian

He is just not Bing. I remember when Bing sang with David Bowie on Christmas. It was strange.


25 posted on 11/23/2006 4:20:41 AM PST by bmwcyle (The snake is loose in the garden and Eve just bit the apple.)
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To: Dixie Yooper

Still is; Stevens tours with him to this day. Great guitar player.


26 posted on 11/23/2006 4:20:47 AM PST by RightOnline
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To: I_Love_My_Husband
Although his use of drugs just seems to flow IN him. Well and then there's the Heidi Fleiss girls he was...um, enjoying.

I think he grew up.

(Well, OK, I hope he grew up.)

I think Billy has great talent, and would like to see him around for the long haul....

27 posted on 11/23/2006 4:20:58 AM PST by Yossarian (Everyday, somewhere on the globe, somebody is pushing the frontier of stupidity.)
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To: Yossarian

I still prefer Billy Idol to Michael Bolton, who is unable to sing a song without giving himself a hernia.


28 posted on 11/23/2006 4:23:00 AM PST by DCPatriot ("It aint what you don't know that kills you. It's what you know that aint so" Theodore Sturgeon)
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To: Yossarian

Well, for about 25 years of his life he was not there for himself. That can be damaging to his insides forever.


29 posted on 11/23/2006 4:24:40 AM PST by I_Love_My_Husband (http://community.livejournal.com/_2008_repubpres/profile)
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To: mcg2000
"Frosty the Snowman" and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" are not Christmas songs! "Silent Night" is a Christmas song, especially when sung in the original German : )

I'm not a Fundamentalist by any means but I hate how Christmas Day has morphed into this vapid, noisy and very annoying month-long Winter festival. It is all one big commercial that never ends. Always at this time of year I want to go hide in a cave for a month!

30 posted on 11/23/2006 4:51:00 AM PST by Wilhelm Tell (True or False? This is not a tag line.)
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To: mcg2000
I wonder if he recorded White Christmas.
31 posted on 11/23/2006 4:56:49 AM PST by Paleo Conservative (Karl Rove isn't magnificent.)
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To: Paleo Conservative; Wilhelm Tell
I wonder if he recorded White Christmas.

Yes, that's what he's singing up in post 23. To be fair, he doesn't snarl much at all - I just framegrabbed one of the few times he did.

Here's the complete song list:

So, you get at least two religious themed songs in there.

I'm just glad someone's continuing the Christmas tradition, and not singing songs of kwaanza or ramadama-ding-dong!

32 posted on 11/23/2006 5:05:55 AM PST by Yossarian (Everyday, somewhere on the globe, somebody is pushing the frontier of stupidity.)
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To: gotribe

lol that's good

Billy Idol rocks! I've always liked his music.


33 posted on 11/23/2006 5:21:31 AM PST by visualops (artlife.us)
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To: Yossarian
But I wonder if his rendition of White Christmas will be anything like his rendtion of White Wedding?
34 posted on 11/23/2006 5:29:18 AM PST by Paleo Conservative (Karl Rove isn't magnificent.)
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To: gotribe

"With a rebel yell
he cried "HO HO HO"!


35 posted on 11/23/2006 5:35:56 AM PST by BenLurkin ("The entire remedy is with the people." - W. H. Harrison)
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To: sushiman

His song "Daytime Drama" is good too. It didn't get much radio play.


36 posted on 11/23/2006 5:45:47 AM PST by Cecily (`)
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To: gotribe

LOL


37 posted on 11/23/2006 5:50:38 AM PST by Tribune7
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To: mcg2000
I'm waiting for the "White Zombie does the Lullaby Classics" LP release.
38 posted on 11/23/2006 5:56:17 AM PST by BallyBill (Serial Hit-N-Run poster)
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To: Jhensy

"Idol's catalogue is worthy of a re-appraisal nowadays. Hell, in today's lousy music scene, it sounds like Mozart."

While I wouldn't go quite that far - some of today's music, as ever, is very good - I do think there's a lot of music from the 80s that hasn't gotten the respect that it deserves. There was a lot of interesting and innovative music done in the 80s, innovations that mostly aren't seen in today's music.


39 posted on 11/23/2006 6:07:46 AM PST by -YYZ-
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To: BenLurkin

LOL, that's pretty good.


40 posted on 11/23/2006 6:09:45 AM PST by -YYZ-
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