Generation X

For years I was secure in the knowledge that Generation X were a silly group. Times change though and occasionally so do my opinions. I've been playing the first album a lot recently and I think it's time to welcome it back as a Pop Punk classic. Time has definitely been kinder to it than I have been in the past.

Even though as individuals the band had been prime punky movers from the outset (Tony James had been in the London SS with Mick Jones and Billy Idol had been a regular gig goer with Siouxsie Sioux and the Bromley Contingent) to my ears, at the time, they just sounded so desperate to catch up. With their lyrics and song titles they pursued the idea of youth and the possibilities of being young like a Punk rock version of the Tweenies. How about these two for starters. Youth Youth Youth and Wild Youth (and it’s gobsmackingly duff dub version Wild Dub…Billy even has to shout an explanation of what they were trying to do at the end of it “Heavy heavy dub, Punk ”… apparently.

Of course years later the ludicrous lyrics just add to my pleasure. “The Greyhounds rockin’ out tonight, to maximum rockabilly……The snooker hall is empty, cos they’re all out playing pool” (Kiss Me Deadly….a tale of scrapping and teenage sex).

The original album cover had the band in a stripy top huddle, (remember Kids…all the best bands have to feel like a gang even if they’re not really) and the songs just sound really exuberant with the drums scampering away like an over excited puppy and the guitars alternating between chunky DER DER DER DER and wailing Mick Jones style breaks. Ready Steady Go sounds fantastic and honestly Mr Idol I never doubted for a minute that you really were in love with Rock ‘n’ roll.

They played My Generation on Marc Bolan’s TV show (cue catch phrase “Keep Marc in your heart”) and the Bopping Elf introduced them with the words “The next band have a singer who some people are saying is even prettier than me…see what you think.” Of course my 14 year old self thought that if girls were going to like the band and they also fancied the singer then that lessened the band in some way. Hmm…That’s not a theory that I stood by for too long. I also remember my friend Flannel (not the name that appears on his birth certificate) using courtroom skills in a passionate defence of Billy Idols sartorial genius stroke of wearing a t-shirt with the sides cut off. I now realise that Billy Idol invented the tabard and Flannel went on to sell double-glazing

Promises Promises is a 5 minute monster (that’s failed the punk rock time timekeeping test) about where Punk was heading. It’s got the great Billy line “Soon we’ll get our gear from Marks and Sparks, Punks will take over Top Of The Pops” It fits in between The Clashes songs about the Punk movement like Garageland and All The Young Punks and The Adverts Safety In Numbers.

The decidedly lumpy second album Valley Of The Dolls has the singles King Rocker (“Crazy man Crazy”) and Valley Of The Dolls with it’s rebel rebel guitar and “song after song I can’t stop rocking… My ears are bleeding and all around young girls are fainting”. No I never them saw live but I think they thought they put on quite a show.

The other great lost single they made was Dancing With Myself. Careful research shows that it is not actually about dancing in much the same way that Turning Japanese by The Vapors is not about changing nationality and The Winkers Song by Ivor Biggun and the Red Nosed Burglars is not about winking.

I won’t be reassessing Billy’s cyber punk years and the solo hits as it’s just too horrible to think about but I did enjoy his acting in Oliver Stones film The Doors. He plays one of Jim Morrison’ entourage. At one point he jumps on the stage and gurns (fortunately without doing White Wedding…but you know he’s doing his Woargh and twisty lip thing) but his sole speaking part is the line “Yeah …fuck off Ray.” Excellent

Billy Idol played at Guilfest the other week and a beer tent correspondent reports that he did an acapella version of Crazy by Gnarls Barkley. Be afraid