Like most of the 2026 inductees into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Billy Idol has been eligible for quite a number of years. But unlike Iron Maiden, Sade, and Oasis, there’s no reason to wonder if he’ll show up. When Idol hopped on a Zoom with us hours before the news went public on American Idol, he was beaming with joy. “To be recognized by your peers is incredible,” he says. “You don’t really know what people think about you, but this gives you an indication.”
We chatted with Idol about the honor, his early thoughts on how the evening might unfold, his fellow nominees, memories of Ozzy Osbourne’s 2024 induction, the early days of the U.K. punk movement, and where he hopes to go from here.
Congratulations on the big news. It’s about friggin’ time.
It’s incredible. I’m really excited.
How did you find out?
My manager told me a few days ago. I didn’t think it was affecting me much until I told Steve Stevens verbally on the phone, and I got quite emotional. It just shows you I do care about the honor. It’s incredible. It’s fanatic to get recognized by your peers in the music world.
I’m just glad that we did it for the right reasons in the first place. We were already doing punk rock music before it exploded in England. We were doing it for the love, for the sheer love, for the few other people who were into it. And then it exploded after the Sex Pistols went on the [Bill Grundy] program. We never expected that. And then, boom, every record company in England wanted a punk rock group, and there we were.
I was doing it for the love in the first place. I’ve continued doing it for that reason for the past 50 years. If that has resonated with the other musicians in the Rock Hall, then that’s fantastic.
It’s your second nomination. You’ve been eligible for 20 years. Did you start to worry that it just wouldn’t happen?
Well, not “worry” or anything. You just wonder because there’s so many people that aren’t in. The New York Dolls aren’t in. There’s so many people who aren’t in who deserve to be in. You sort of think about things like, “Why would I be in?”
But I really did commit myself to this life, sort of a vocation. It’s something that I dreamed about doing since I was 7 years old and I fell in love with rock & roll. I was a fan of the music revolution we were growing up alongside. And then I got to push the glass myself when I was in Generation X in 1976.
The timing is pretty good considering the recent documentary and your last tour, which hit Madison Square Garden. It seems to be part of a wave.
Yeah. We just did the biggest tour. It wasn’t the longest, but it was the most production I’ve ever used. We were in arenas last year. We played Madison Square Garden and Wembley. It’s gone really well. It’s been fantastic. And with the documentary [Billy Idol Should Be Dead] and the album [Dream Into It] out last year, there’s a lot to celebrate. If that affected the voting, I hope so.
In a way, we have been building towards this throughout 2022 and 2023. We did an EP both years. Last year, we put an album out, and now a documentary. We’re been building towards this, and it’s a perfect payoff. You couldn’t have dreamed it better, really. It’s absolutely perfect.
You were at the Hall of Fame just a couple of years ago when Ozzy Osbourne got in.
That was a great night. I’d heard a lot of people criticizing the Rock Hall over the years, and a lot of people said they didn’t want to be in, who were voted in, and said negative things about it. But I really enjoyed it. That Ozzy Osbourne induction was really a special night. It was fantastic working with the other musicians on the stage, and then hanging out backstage with Dr. Dre, and Method Man, and a million other people.
I thought, “If this is what it’s all about…” It felt great. And I met a lot of people I never would have normally run into. Honoring Ozzy was incredible, and it showed me the positive side of it. And so I’m knocked out that I’m in.
This is a really strong class this year. Phil Collins finally got in as a solo artist.
He’s a fantastic musician. I worked with him once in a charity [production of the Who’s] Tommy that we did [in 1989]. He was Uncle Ernie. I was Cousin Kevin. He’s fantastic. I just worked with his son [Nic]. He was on the road with us with his band [The Effect]. I also love Joy Division and Oasis. These are fantastic bands.
It’s crazy that Joy Division/New Order are also just getting in. They changed the world.
They really did. A big reason I started doing the “Dancing With Myself”-type music was listening to people like Joy Division, sort of straightening the grooves out. That whole time period was really exciting for us because every day something fresh or exciting was happening or there would be a new band that were killer. Manchester and London were really alive, and other places in England. It was exciting to watch it all grow, and then carry on into the Eighties. Watching it the last 50 years, being a part of it, is pretty incredible.
Iron Maiden really deserve it too.
They’ve been around as long as I have, if not longer.
There’s the Wu-Tang Clan too. Some people say hip-hop shouldn’t be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which has never made sense to me.
If anyone has a rock & roll attitude, it’s the Wu-Tang. [Laughs]. Fuckin’ hell. [Laughs]
There’s Sade and Luther Vandross.
Sade is a fantastic artist. The same goes for Luther Vandross. He worked with David Bowie and everybody. He’s a part of the lexicon of the music we were listening to. It has a lot to do with attitude and a lot to do with, “Did you have an effect on the culture?” I think most of these artists, in one way or another, did.
It’s great that Steve Stevens is getting in alongside you.
I was so excited to know that if I got in, Steve would get in with me. If anyone deserves to get in, it’s him. He’s a super, super musician who really hones his craft every day. I’ve watched him physically work on his gear with a screwdriver. It’s not someone else. It’s him doing it. He’s the whole package. He’s the real deal.
Your moment at the podium will be really emotional.
Yeah. It was a dream to do this for me. From 7 years old, I dreamed of being in a rock & roll band, whether I was playing guitar or singing or writings songs. I dreamt about it for years. I never really knew if I was going to get a chance. And then punk opened up the door to where it changed the playing field. People like me who weren’t necessarily the greatest musicians, it gave us a chance to get into it, but in a way where we could grow inside it.
Who should induct you?
We’re starting to think about all of that stuff now. I know that we’re in a really good place, my band and I, and Steve, are in a really good place to perform at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. We’re super played-in. We did one of our biggest tours last year. We’re ready. [Laughs]
They sometimes do a big all-star jam at the end of the night. Can you imagine one with you, Phil Collins, the Wu-Tang Clan, New Order, and Iron Maiden?
Yeah. Fantastic.
It’s very hard to imagine what song you’d do that would work for everyone.
I wonder. That’s something we’ll all have to chat about. It’s just all about a bit…whoo at the moment.
As you said, the New York Dolls should be in by now. The same goes for the Buzzcocks.
Exactly. That’s one of the things I thought about. “Why would I get in when the New York Dolls, one of the people we were following, aren’t in. The reason we were into punk was because of the New York Dolls, the Velvet Underground, and Iggy Pop.
What’s left for you to accomplish after checking this off your list?
I haven’t really made million of albums. I think I’ve made 10 Billy Idol albums. I still got plenty. When I went to see Elton John, you were walking over his albums backstage. It was like this yellow brick road that went on forever. I was like, “How many albums does this guy have?”
So I’ve still got a lot of musics to make. And I’m in a really good place to make it as well, not only to perform at the induction. We’ve been building towards this with our music. We’ve been feeding our audience. I’m really excited. We’re going to be doing some new music in June. I’m not quite sure what direction we’re going in yet. We’re sort of starting to talk about that now.
This news goes public in just about five hours. I’m sure your phone is going to explode once that happens.
It’ll be red hot.
