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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-American singer, songwriter, musician and actor. He first 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. The name "Billy Idol" was inspired by a schoolteacher's description of him as "idle".Idol began his music career in late 1976 as a guitarist in the punk rock band Chelsea. However, he soon left the group. With his former bandmate Tony James, Idol formed Generation X. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Billy Idol has received more than 11,265,272 page views. His biography is available in 42 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 40 in 2019). Billy Idol is the 222nd most popular musician (up from 284th in 2019), the 856th most popular biography from United Kingdom (up from 1,026th in 2019) and the 50th most popular British Musician.

Memorability Metrics

  • 11M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 60.44

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 42

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 4.81

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.98

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Page views of Billy Idols by language


Among MUSICIANS

Among musicians, Billy Idol ranks 222 out of 2,662. Before him are Duff McKagan, Lucio Dalla, John Cale, J. J. Cale, Leslie Cheung, and Mike Shinoda. After him are Romano Mussolini, Stéphane Grappelli, Ken Hensley, Izzy Stradlin, Kirk Hammett, and Marilyn Manson.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1955, Billy Idol ranks 46. Before him are Denis Mukwege, Katalin Karikó, Egils Levits, J. K. Simmons, Shoko Asahara, and Martin Schulz. After him are Brendan Gleeson, François Cluzet, Haitham bin Tariq, Yuriy Sedykh, Eddie Van Halen, and Richard Schiff.

Others Born in 1955

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, Billy Idol ranks 856 out of 7,765. Before him are Albert Pierrepoint (1905), W. H. Auden (1907), Edward Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax (1881), Olave Baden-Powell (1889), William Penn (1645), and William John Macquorn Rankine (1820). After him are Harthacnut I of Denmark (880), John Hawkins (1532), Kevin Keegan (1951), Princess Lilian, Duchess of Halland (1915), Duncan I of Scotland (1001), and Bernard Hill (1944).

Others born in United Kingdom

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Among MUSICIANS In United Kingdom

Among musicians born in United Kingdom, Billy Idol ranks 50. Before him are George Martin (1926), John Paul Jones (1946), Ian Paice (1948), Amy Winehouse (1983), Pete Townshend (1945), and John Cale (1942). After him are Ken Hensley (1945), John Mayall (1933), Keith Moon (1946), John McLaughlin (1942), Steve Harris (1956), and Karl Jenkins (1944).

British born Musicians

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