MUSICIAN

Billy Idol

1955 - Today

Photo of Billy Idol

Icon of person Billy Idol

William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is an English punk singer, songwriter, musician and actor. He achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer of the group Generation X. Subsequently, he embarked on a solo career which led to international recognition and made Idol a lead artist during the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" in the US. Idol began his music career in late 1976 as a guitarist in the punk rock band Chelsea; he left the group after a few weeks. With his former bandmate Tony James, Idol formed Generation X. With Idol as lead singer, the band achieved success in the United Kingdom and released three studio albums on Chrysalis Records, then disbanded. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Billy Idol has received more than 12,170,926 page views. His biography is available in 45 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 42 in 2019). Billy Idol is the 263rd most popular musician (down from 222nd in 2019), the 945th most popular biography from United Kingdom (down from 855th in 2019) and the 57th most popular British Musician.

Memorability Metrics

  • 12M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 60.05

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 45

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 4.26

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 4.40

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among MUSICIANS

Among musicians, Billy Idol ranks 263 out of 3,175. Before him are Toots Thielemans, Henryk Szeryng, Karl Jenkins, Heinrich Neuhaus, Paul Stanley, and Steve Harris. After him are Eddie Van Halen, J. J. Cale, Narciso Yepes, Dolores O'Riordan, Louis Vierne, and Charles Mingus.

Most Popular Musicians in Wikipedia

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1955, Billy Idol ranks 63. Before him are Safet Sušić, John Grisham, J. K. Simmons, Jean Tigana, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, and Michael Rooker. After him are Eddie Van Halen, Adem Jashari, Béla Tarr, José Antonio Camacho, Billy Milligan, and Maria Shriver.

Others Born in 1955

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, Billy Idol ranks 945 out of 8,785. Before him are Guy Ritchie (1968), Arthur Drewry (1891), Steve Harris (1956), Frederick Fleet (1887), Andrew Lloyd Webber (1948), and Kristin Scott Thomas (1960). After him are Denis Thatcher (1915), Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia (1945), Geoffrey Wilkinson (1921), Stewart Granger (1913), Charlotte Gainsbourg (1971), and Tony Richardson (1928).

Others born in United Kingdom

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Among MUSICIANS In United Kingdom

Among musicians born in United Kingdom, Billy Idol ranks 57. Before him are Alan Parsons (1948), Ian Stewart (1938), Mick Taylor (1949), Bob Klose (1945), Karl Jenkins (1944), and Steve Harris (1956). After him are PJ Harvey (1969), Keith Moon (1946), Slash (1965), Roger Daltrey (1944), Ian Curtis (1956), and John Mayall (1933).

British born Musicians

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