(Billy Idol was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year. Photo by David Raccuglia.)
By Jeff Maisey
Talk about an interesting time in music history — 1978.
The previous year saw the release of some of the greatest, most iconic albums in pop/rock music: Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours,” Queen’s “News of the World,” “Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack” featuring the Bee Gees, Pink Floyd’s “Animals,” David Bowie’s “Heroes,” Steely Dan’s “Aja,” and Meatloaf’s “Bat Out of Hell.”
The year 1977 also spawned the revolutionary genres of punk rock and new wave with debut albums unleashed by the Sex Pistols (“Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols”), The Clash (self-titled), Ramones (“Rocket To Russia”), and Elvis Costello (“My Aim Is True”).
Fresh on the heels of these landmark albums came the class of 1978 that included The Rolling Stones’ “Some Girls,” The Who’s “Who Are You,” Blonde’s “Parallel Lines,” and Bruce Springsteen’s “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” along with debut LPs from The Police, Van Halen, The Cars, and Dire Straits.
The year 1978 also gave birth to Billy Idol’s punk rock band Generation X with its self-titled record, and a group unlike anyone had ever heard before — Devo — with “Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!”
On Saturday, August 22, one of the best known punk rock singers of all time (Billy Idol) will join with the most groundbreaking new wave synth-pop bands (Devo) for a concert at Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater @ Virginia Beach some 48 years after they introduced their music to the world.
About 20 years ago I put together a list of the Top 100 Punk Rock albums of all time. The list wasn’t based on record sales, radio or MTV air play, or any other data-driven report. It was simply my opinion as I reflected on the collection of songs on each studio recording and the impact and relevance each had on my life.
Ranked at #10 on my list was and remains the first Generation X album.
As I tend to favor British punk rock bands like the Pistols, Clash, The Jam, Buzzcocks, Chelsea, and Sham 69, I was immediately drawn to the attitude put front and center by singer Billy Idol. The music was fast, angry, melodic, and spoke to the generation of Brits struggling to make ends meet in a depressed economy and for new musicians finding their way in the shadow of highly accomplished rock bands of the day.
To me, Generation X was at its best right at the very beginning with the tunes “ready Steady Go,” “Kiss Me Deadly,” “One Hundred Punks,” and “From The Heart.”
Generation X’s finest songwriting moment came on the band’s third album in 1981 — “Dancing with Myself” — just as the band was breaking up.
Idol packed his bags and moved from London to New York City to seek a solo career, and what a brilliant decision that turned out to be.
Like former Runaways singer/guitarist Joan Jett, Idol scored a major hit with a classic cover “Mony Mony,” and crossed over to appeal to hard rock fans with such kick-ass songs as “Rebel Yell,” “White Wedding,” and “Cradle of Love.”
Idol also appealed to radio listeners and MTV viewers with a lighter, ‘80s vibe with “Hot in the City,” “Eyes Without a Face,” and “Flesh for Fantasy.”
As a side note, I always found it interesting how much Billy Idol resembled actor Rutger Hauer as the replicant character Roy Batty in the 1982 dystopian sci-fi movie “Blade Runner.”
Billy Idol’s most recent studio album “Dream Into It” was released last year and includes the very current pop/rock sounding single “77” with accompanying vocals by Avril Lavigne as well as a true-to-Idol “Still Dancing.”
All of this is so well deserving of his Hall of Fame induction.
“Being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame alongside so many of my heroes and influences is a tremendous honor,” said Billy Idol in a statement. “And to be inducted alongside my longtime compatriot Steve Stevens makes this all even more special. When I first started playing with Generation X 50 years ago, it was purely out of love for the music we were making and the scene that we were lucky enough to be a part of. Nobody, especially me, thought it would take me to where I am today. I’m incredibly grateful to all the people who have been behind me over the years, because none of this would have been possible without them. This honor is for my fans, and everyone who has been on this journey with me, as much as it is for me.”
As for Devo, the pioneering new wave group stunned the unsuspecting music world in 1978 with an album of offbeat, quirky songs seemingly performed by aliens from another planet. The members of the band were clad in matching yellow jumpsuits and what looked like plastic upside-down flowerpots as helmets.
Devo’s initial single from “Are We Not Men?” was an unexpectedly, wild version of The Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.”
Devo singer Mark Mothersbaugh, according to Colorado Public Radio, has been quoted as explaining the band didn’t just cover the Stones’ classic, rather Devo was “correcting” it by matching a jerky beat to the lyrical melody. It certainly set the tone and fit perfectly with originals on that album such as “Mongoloid,” “Uncontrollable Urge,” and “Jocko Homo.”
Devo struck it big with its third full-length studio album, “Freedom of Choice,” featuring the songs “Whip It,” “Girl U Want,” and the title song.
A recent set list from the current Devo tour shows the band playing most the aforementioned songs as well as “Don’t Shoot (I’m a Man)” and “Gates of Steel.”
WANT TO GO?
Billy Idol
With Devo
August 22
Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater @ Virginia Beach
Tickets Here