Billy Idol on the song that changed his life

Episode notes

(Photo: Bertelsmann Music Group)

The Song That Changed My Life is a segment that gives us the chance to talk with some of our favorite artists about the music that made them who they are today.

This time around, we’re joined by Billy Idol: Rebel Yell. White Wedding. Dancing With Myself.

Billy Idol throws us back to 1954, to one of the first songs Elvis Presley ever recorded: That’s All Right. He first heard the song at an Elvis convention with his sister in the ’70s.

At the time, Idol was playing in punk rock bands and a lot of punk rockers disliked Elvis. Idol defends Elvis, and explains how the song changed how he approached his craft when he was first starting out.

Billy Idol tours all the time, all around the world – he’s got a residency coming up at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas. He’s also a prolific recording artist – this past September, he released a brand new EP called Cage.

In this episode...

Jesse Thorn

Host

Kevin Ferguson

Senior Producer

Jesus Ambrosio

Producer

Richard Robey

Maximum Fun Producer

Daniel Huecias

Maximum Fun Production Fellow

Guests

Billy Idol

About the show

Bullseye is a celebration of the best of arts and culture in public radio form. Host Jesse Thorn sifts the wheat from the chaff to bring you in-depth interviews with the most revered and revolutionary minds in our culture.

Bullseye has been featured in Time, The New York Times, GQ and McSweeney’s, which called it “the kind of show people listen to in a more perfect world.” Since April 2013, the show has been distributed by NPR.

If you would like to pitch a guest for Bullseye, please CLICK HERE. You can also follow Bullseye on Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook. For more about Bullseye and to see a list of stations that carry it, please click here.