Billy Idol’s first claim to fame was as part of the punk rock band Generation X. He quickly moved on to a solo career, finding huge success with singles such as “Dancing with Myself” and “White Wedding.” He was part of the MTV-driven “Second British Invasion” in the United States, which saw the popularity of punk rockers grow quickly.
In 1994, his rocker lifestyle got the better of him, causing him to collapse outside a club. In 1998 Idol made a cameo appearance in the Adam Sandler movie “The Wedding Singer.” As for his music career, it had pretty much been on the decline since the 90s.
Pat Benatar
In 1979, when Pat Benatar's first album came out, it reached number 12 in the US. Her next output was the EP that contained “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” which broke into the US Top Ten, selling more than a million copies and getting to gold status.
Benatar was a lady of the eighties. She saw further success with songs such as “Shadows of the Night” and “Love is a Battlefield.” Thanks to these songs and plenty more, which you'll still hear on the radio, Benatar turned into one of the best female rock stars ever.
Pat Benatar Today
She's had four Grammys and two RIAA-certified multi-platinum albums, but Pat Benatar has only released one album of new material since her 1997 output, “Innamorata.” In 2003 she released the album “Go,” but it didn't have nearly as much success as much of her other material.
She released a holiday song in 2015 entitled “One December Night” and recorded a song in 2017 called “Shine” in support of the Women's March, though it wasn't even as successful as the march, and that's saying something. In 2017 she also released “Dancing Through the Wreckage,” which was the lead single for the documentary “Served Like a Girl.”
Billy Idol Today
Billy Idol's first album in twelve years came in 2005, jumping him back into the music scene. In 2006 he returned to performing and collaborated with other artists on their records. His eighth studio album came in October 2014. He'd been working on it for four years, and “Kings & Queens of the Underground” ended up performing well.
Idol still shows no signs of slowing down to either his music or his life. In early 2020 he starred in a public service campaign called “Billy Never Idles” about air pollution caused by idling vehicles in New York City.
Jon Bon Jovi
Unlike many of the rock bands and teen music heartthrobs from the eighties, Jon Bon Jovi never went off the rails. When his band Bon Jovi started in 1983, the band's success boomed from the word go. They started recording albums and performing worldwide sold-out tours, and their list of hits is spectacular, including “Livin' On A Prayer” and “It's My Life.”
To date, the band has sold more than a hundred million records worldwide. Jon was a standout musician, able to create both soulful rhythms and blistering solos from his guitar. He's been called one of the most powerful and influential people in the music business and the sexiest rock star in the world.