Billy Idol will release a new EP titled,The Roadside, on September 17th — and has already dropped the first single “Bitter Taste” via George Harrison‘s resurrected Dark Horse Records imprint now headed up by George’s son, Dhani Harrison. The Roadside was produced by Butch Walker — best known for his work with Green Day and Weezer — with the album featuring Idol’s longtime lead guitarist and co-writer Steve Stevens.
Dhani Harrison tweeted: “I couldn’t be more excited to welcome Billy Idol to the Dark Horse family. Billy is a legend and his music couldn’t fit the Dark Horse persona any better, so to be able to give this new music a home is a massive honor.”
According to the announcement via BillyIdol.com:
The lead single ‘Bitter Taste’ features some of Idol’s most introspective and confessional lyrics ever, as he confronts death, rebirth, and his personal growth in the thirty-one years since his near-fatal 1990 motorcycle accident.
Billy explained: “I think everyone has been feeling more reflective (during the pandemic). So, it seemed quite logical and natural to write something about my motorcycle accident. Certainly, the motorcycle accident was the catharsis, the wake-up moment. A little bit of me got left on that roadside. But it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing in the end; it was a wake-up call. Maybe on that roadside I left behind the irreverent youthful Billy and opened the door for a more attentive father and a more sensitive musician.”
- Billy Idol tour dates (subject to change):
August 12 – Airway Heights, WA – Northern Quest Resort
August 15 – Tulalip, WA – Tulalip Resort Casino
August 17 – Manson, WA – Deep Water Amphitheater
August 19 – Saratoga, CA – Mountain Winery
August 21 – Napa, CA – Oxbow Riverstage
September 4 – Palmer, AK -Alaska Sate Fair
September 18 – West Springfield, MA – The Big E
September 19 – Asbury Park, NJ – Sea.Hear.Now Festival
September 22 – Post Chester, NY – The Capitol Theatre
September 24 – Roanoke, VA – Elmwood Park
September 25 – Charles Town, WV – Hollywood Casino
October 16, 17 – Las Vegas, NV – The Cosmopolitan
October 22, 23 – Las Vegas, NV – The Cosmopolitan
October 26 – Playa Mujeres, MX – The Sands Festival
FAST FACTS
- Billy Idol will forever be tied to the MTV-era with his string of hits — scoring 16 Top 40 singles between 1982 and 1990, including such classics as “Dancing With Myself,” “Flesh For Fantasy,” “Sweet Sixteen,” “Eyes Without A Face,” “To Be A Lover,” “Sweet Sixteen,” “L.A. Woman,” “Rebel Yell,” “White Wedding,” the Top Two “Cradle Of Love,” and his sole chart-topper, a remake of Tommy James & The Shondells‘ “Mony Mony.”
CHECK IT OUT: Billy Idol’s 2021 video for “Bitter Taste”: