Billy Idol

Billy Idol was one of the great rock stars of the ’80s, complete with chart-busting hits, disastrous follow-ups, cartilage-shredding motorcycle crashes and enough booze, drugs and girls to stock the set of a Mötley Crüe video. The former Generation X frontman was also one of the first neo-wavers to owe his entire career to MTV — viewers couldn’t get enough of Idol’s leather-strapped goth poses or rock’s second-most-famous sneer. Never an original, the self-proclaimed cyberpunk was a bold stylistic interpreter, whether he was ripping off Jim Morrison on “Rebel Yell” or Elvis Presley on just about everything else. And though he hasn’t done much in the last decade, Idol’s vintage material has enjoyed a longer shelf life than many thought possible. Best of all, Idol’s current tour includes “classic era” guitarist and chief collaborator Steve Stevens, who popularized the art of creating sound effects on a six-string.