’80s Rock Legend, 69, Shares Powerful Advice to His Younger Self originally appeared on Parade.
After nearly 50 years in the spotlight, rock and roll icon Billy Idol has seen it all. But, with experience comes perspective, and five decades into his career, Idol’s hindsight is 20/20.
Idol, 69, was just 21 years old when he founded the English punk rock band Generation X on the heels of dropping out of Sussex University. Just a few short years later, the group had disbanded and Idol embarked on the solo career that would go on to launch him into superstardom.
Despite everything he’s accomplished since his early days on the streets of Bromley, or perhaps because of it, there’s a small part of Idol that wishes he could turn back the hands of time to impart a little bit of hard earned wisdom to his younger self.
“Don’t worry so much,” Idol said in a recent interview with AARP, when asked what he’d like to tell himself all those years ago. “You kind of worry a lot. You just don’t know where life’s going.”
Idol admits that the secret to being successful in music is also one of the hardest parts: discovering yourself and living your truth.
“A big part of being a performer or an artist is finding out who you are and being it,” he said. “The people we loved, so Lou Reed or David Bowie or John Lennon, were kind of telling you that without saying that. But that’s what you had to do. They found out who they were, and talked about it, and were it.”
As a young musician, Idol gravitated towards a scene that reflected his own values and allowed him to be his truest, most authentic self, even when it wasn’t necessarily popular. Ultimately, he broke down barriers.
“Punk rock was all about trying to write your own songs and be your own boss,” Idol told The Hollywood Reporter. “We broke through at a time when a lot of other punk rock people didn’t go mainstream — or couldn’t I suppose.”
For Idol, being himself meant never labeling himself or reducing himself to any preconceived notions of what audiences expected him to be. He pushed boundaries and rewrote the rule book, not only for what it meant to be punk rock, but what it meant to be an artist.
“I didn’t stay in my lane. I took chances,” he said in a 2025 interview with The Independent. “Even coming to America, I had no idea I was going to do really well. And the risks I took worked.”
Earlier this year, Idol released his 11th studio album and earned his first nomination into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame— a major career milestone despite not being officially inducted. Not many artists make the cut their first time out, and it’s only a matter of time before Idol gets his due.
If there’s one thing Idol has mastered over the years, it’s knowing himself. After all, nobody owns who they are quite like he does. And, for all of the young artists, the icons of the future, coming up his stead, Idol offers sage advice.
“You have to just learn how to be, and be who you are, really. And, that’s what I’ve done with my music as well. And, it’s been a hell of a lot of fun doing that.”
’80s Rock Legend, 69, Shares Powerful Advice to His Younger Self first appeared on Parade on Jul 25, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 25, 2025, where it first appeared.
