Who’s Punk?! What’s the Score?!…Song #14/21: Kiss Me Deadly by Generation X

One of the best things about hosting a blog is having the interaction that I do with those of you who read my words. I feel very lucky that my readers all tend to be level-headed sorts and that our conversations are always respectful and usually positive in nature. I say this because the reaction to the previous post in this series was different. Last time out, I took the band Green Day to the woodshed, so to speak. Without rehashing the post, I spoke of my disappointment at a performance of theirs which seemed inauthentic in my mind. I compared their performance to another band called At the Drive-In, who I promoted as being the epitome of authenticity. Evidently, I did not do my usual job of clearly making my point, because I received several different responses from faithful readers who all took me to task for the tone of the post. For the most part, all who replied did so by reminding me that it is normal for a band/artist to evolve over time and change the style of music that they play. Of course, this is true. If I gave the impression that Green Day should only ever play music like they did on Dookie, then I failed in writing with clarity. Thanks to everyone who wrote in. I appreciate the civil tone in all of your comments. I still think that Green Day’s New Year’s Eve performance was embarrassing, but I get what you all are saying. 

That artists and bands evolve over time is one of the hallmarks of being human. I am certainly not the same person I was in my early twenties. The Beatles are one of the most noteworthy examples of growth over time. While all of their music is good, there is a marked difference between a song like “Love Me Do” and one like “A Day In The Life”. When it comes to punk music, one of the titans of the genre, The Clash, are another example of a band who changed their sound as they became more experienced and worldly. Siouxsie and The Banshees is another respected act who have changed and grown as time has gone on. Oh yes! Let’s not forget the chameleon himself, David Bowie. Changing his substance and style became his calling card. So, let’s all agree that learning and growing and incorporating new knowledge with old skills can be a good thing in the right circumstances. With that in mind, let’s take a look at one of Punk Rock’s most famous graduates and how he managed to become part of a hot trend while staying true to his own artistic vision. Here is the story of William Broad. Who? Read on and meet one of 80s music’s most successful singers. Here we go!

In the mid-1970s, the UK music scene was being given a thorough kick in the pants by the arrival of Punk Rock. While bands such as The Clash and The Sex Pistols grabbed most of the headlines for their music, antics and politics, all across England there were scores of teenagers gathering in basements and garages in hopes of emulating their heroes. For William Broad, he became a member of a short-lived movement known as The Bromley Contingent. Members of TBC were people who were enthralled by the imagery associated with Punk, especially with the fashion promoted by Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren with The Sex Pistols. William Broad copped an anti-authoritarian attitude, spiked his hair, ripped his shirts and sneered his way into starting a new band with several like-minded young men who answered an advert in a local newspaper. The name of the band initially was Chelsea. However, after playing a few gigs as a form of shakedown cruise, there were lineup changes. William Broad went from merely being one of the guys in the band to being the lead singer and songwriter. The new arrangement spawned the desire for a new band name. Based upon a book that was found laying around, the boys in the band decided to call themselves Generation X. The man who now fronted the band decided the time had also come to adopt a cooler, more stylish sounding name as well. So William Broad…a school drop out who was always accused of being idle while in class…transformed into someone with plans for fame and fortune by calling himself Billy Idol. 

While initially looking the part of a punk band and playing in the raw, frenetic style that helped to define the genre, it soon became clear that Generation X were not exactly cast in the same mold as The Clash and The Sex Pistols. For one thing, Idol and his bandmates were not writing protest songs or songs with a strident political message. There was more of a storyteller’s flair to the lyrics that flowed from Billy Idol’s pen. A perfect example of this can be found in the song “Kiss Me Deadly” from Generation X’s debut album simply called Generation X.   “Kiss Me Deadly” is a biographical portrait of the world in which Idol and his bandmates lived as they grew up. In some ways, the song is more lyrically associated with some of the story-songs written by Bruce Springsteen in his early days than it is anything produced by Johnny Rotten and the Pistols.  “Kiss Me Deadly” begins by describing the atmosphere in his neighbourhood at the conclusion of a football match (He lived near Fulham FC in southwest London). The song transitions into how, as a teenage boy, Idol had to scramble to find opportunities for physical intimacy with his girlfriend while they both still lived with their parents. Finally, the song concludes with Idol waxing philosophical about how his friends’ lives are going to turn out in the environment and times in which they were all growing up. Overall, “Kiss Me Deadly” has none of the thrashing, jangle rock sound that came to be associated with Punk Rock in its early days. Instead, it is a thoughtfully created rock song that possesses more maturity than many of Idol’s former teachers probably thought he was capable of. 

Over the span of a few years and three studio albums, Generation X managed to reach the Top 40 six different times. However, having said that, the band was never commercially successful. As the third and final album came and went, it was suggested to Billy Idol that he would stand a better chance of achieving success if he branched out on his own. On that third album, ironically titled Kiss Me Deadly, there appeared a song that many felt would be the one to launch the band into the upper reaches of the UK music scene. The song was called “Dancing With Myself”. With its Pop-rock sensibilities, “Dancing With Myself” signaled to the world that Generation X was moving beyond its Punk roots for good. However, by that time, the clock had run out on Generation X (who were going by the name Gen. X by that point). Billy Idol left England and moved to America. His guitarist Tony James remained behind and formed a new band that had a few UK hits called Sigue Sigue Sputnik. On the other hand, Billy Idol released a string of songs that all sold millions of copies, including a re-working of “Dancing With Myself”, as well as “White Wedding”, a cover of the Tommy James and the Shondelles song “Mony, Mony”, “Eyes Without a Face”, “Rebel Yell” and many more. Along with his new guitarist and friend Steven Stevens, Billy Idol still tours today. His act is more of a nostalgia show during which he trots out his hits and charms his audiences with his famous Elvis-inspired sneer and witty stage banter. But the fact remains that Idol is still vital even as he passes through his sixties and approaches seventy years of age.

For me, the desire of an artist or a band to change their musical style is something that makes listening to music enjoyable. It is actually thrilling in a way when a favourite band grows into something even better and invites you along for the ride. The boys in Radiohead did this a couple of decades ago when they released one of my favourite albums, OK Computer, and then abruptly turned everything on its ear and went in a new direction that is yielding even better and more interesting results today. Change can be good. But in my opinion, owning the change is as important as the change itself. I admire The Beatles for growing as a band. I admire Joe Strummer and The Clash for wanting to be more than they originally were. I love Radiohead and what they have become. The same logic applies to someone like Billy Idol. He may have initially gained entry into the music business by imitating his punk rock heroes, but kudos to him for realizing that he was not exactly like they were and branching off into a new musical direction. In many ways, Billy Idol and Green Day are a lot alike. Both are scoffed at by punk purists because they still wear the punk uniform but perform more traditional rock-oriented music and, in doing so, have chased after mainstream success. For what it is worth, I actually like both Billy Idol and Green Day. In fact, in my own younger days when I was experimenting with life, one of my first big experiences with intoxication happened in a local bar in Toronto. As I was stumbling out of the bar and into the cool night air, the song that was blasting away on the dancefloor was none other than “White Wedding” by Billy Idol. Being young but growing less foolish with each new experience, I quickly learned that public intoxication was not a behavioural pattern that I wanted to continue. So guess what happened?! I changed my ways. I learned to gauge my limits when it came to alcohol and evolved as a human being. Part of my growth as a person will always be associated with the music of Billy Idol. His music holds a special place in the soundtrack of my life and always will. He may not be a punk rocker any more than I am a drinker, but we both have turned out to have lives that better reflect who we really are. In the end, being true to who you really are is one of life’s greatest lessons. 

The link to the video for the song “Kiss Me Deadly” by Generation X can be found here. ***The lyrics version is here.

The link to the official website for Generation X can be found here.

The link to the official website for Billy Idol can be found here.

Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that the title for this entire series was inspired directly by a line from the lyrics to the song “Boxcar” by the awesome band Jawbreaker. Please do me a personal favour and head on over to their website and check out the band, their music and their merch. Thanks. You can find the link to their website here.

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