Three Billy Idol Classics Coming to Vinyl
The ‘Don’t Stop’ EP (1981), ‘Whiplash Smile’ (1986), and ‘Charmed Life’ (1990) are all receiving limited-edition vinyl releases.
Billy Idol has announced vinyl reissues of three classic releases: the Don’t Stop EP (1981), Whiplash Smile (1986), and Charmed Life (1990). All three are available for pre-order now. In addition to limited-edition vinyl, all three are available in Atmos.
Charmed Life will be pressed on 2LPs for the first time, featuring standard black vinyl and a limited-edition 35th Anniversary lavender-colored vinyl. Whiplash Smile will be available as either a standard 1LP black vinyl or a limited-edition 1LP opaque tangerine color vinyl. Don’t Stop will be manufactured on 1LP standard black vinyl or a limited-edition lemon-yellow colored LP.
After the dissolution of his seminal punk band Generation X, Idol made his solo debut with the 1981 Don’t Stop EP, which features the track “Mony Mony” and “Dancing with Myself.”
1986’s Whiplash Smile showed Idol exploring a softer side of himself. “I was feeling so pent up inside before that I wasn’t able to show my real self,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “It has sort of taken until this record to get what I really feel…to sing love songs and stuff. Before, I was battling that side of myself as the whole punk rock thing was so anti-love. For the first time, I’ve given myself the space to be a bit more human.” Thanks to a trio of Hot 100 hits—“Sweet Sixteen,” “To Be a Lover,” and “Don’t Need a Gun”— the album reached No. 6 in the U.S. and eventually sold over two million copies globally.
Idol’s fourth album Charmed Life yielded fan favorites such as “Cradle of Love,” a cover of The Doors’ “L.A. Woman,” and “Prodigal Blues.” A remastered version of the “Prodigal Blues” music video has been officially released on YouTube for the occasion. Charmed Life would reach the top 15 of the Billboard 200 and become platinum-certified.
Earlier this year, Idol released his first full-length album of new music in over a decade, Dream Into it. The record includes appearances from Avril Lavigne, Alison Mosshart and Joan Jett and debuted at No. 7 on the U.S. Top Albums Chart.
Idol is also the subject of the new documentary Billy Idol Should Be Dead, which just made its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. Directed by three-time Grammy-winner Jonas Åkerlund, the feature-length film traces the life and career of the punk pioneer turned rock ‘n’ roll icon and features never-before-seen archival and personal interviews with Idol, his family, peers and collaborators.
Idol is currently on the road for “It’s a Nice Day To…Tour Again!” After a run of European dates, Idol heads to North America for a series of shows alongside Joan Jett & the Blackhearts. The tour will swing by Madison Square Garden in New York, the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado, The Kia Forum in Los Angeles, and more. Five dollars from every ticket sold to the Los Angeles show at Kia Forum will be donated to the American Red Cross to support Southern California Wildfire Relief. Idol will also personally match this donation.
