If I told you that Rebel Yell was named after a bourbon Billy Idol saw the Rolling Stones drinking at a party, or disclosed that Idol chose to cover "Mony Mony" because he lost his virginity to it playing in the background, you pretty much get the overall tone of his 2014 autobiography Dancing With Myself. And while the book is filled with tales of overindulgent sex, drugs and rock & roll like this, Idol comes off as a likable chap and has a surprising flair for descriptive writing in passages that cover a sunny day's motorcycle ride with "The gleaming back tank and chrome features flash in the sharp, sacrosanct daylight. I've opted for all denim to match the blue-sky high." or a drug-imbued orgy as a Lioness tearing his flesh apart. The story gets a bid threadbare as it enters the 1990s - some thoughts on childrearing or more details on his reconciliation with guitarist Steve Stevens would've been welcome, but that doesn't wreck what is otherwise a fine read. Grade: B+
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Walburgh's BlogMostly retro, mainly music, but generally whatever's on my mind. Archives
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