In Concert: Billy Idol

by Emma Jenkins
– Guest Columnist —

OVO Arena Wembley -London, England – June 24, 2025

It’s a hot balmy evening, London is entering into a heatwave, and Wembley arena is no exception. Tonight is not for the cool of heart, it is for the hot blooded, the old punks, the young punks, the wannabee punks and anyone who just wants to see a legend. For one night only, Billy Idol is bringing his ‘It’s A Nice Day To… tour again’ show to the capital. The fans are out in force and dressed to impress, showing how cross generational Billy’s music is.

The opening backdrop is all Billy, his face lit up, a haunting mix of ‘Rebel Yell’ & ‘White Wedding’ sets the atmosphere as the band takes to the stage. The man himself, resplendent in black and red leather saunters mid center and opens with ‘Still Dancing’

Billy is dancing, the fans are dancing, and the dancing continues with a roar of approval as he then launches into ‘Cradle of Love’. Billy, ever the showman, want to turn up the heat, and with the intro of ‘Flesh for Fantasy’ displays some his own by discarding layers, leaving him bare chested underneath his open leather jacket. Never has the song seemed so apt.

No Billy Idol show would be complete without the incredible Steve Stevens on guitar. These two work so well together, seamlessly complementing each other. Stevens effortlessly sets the scene to the opening of ‘Eyes without a face’, to slow the pace down. He then later takes his moment in the spotlight with an impressive acoustic solo, which has a lovely flamenco flair. He even throws in a bit of the Top Gun theme tune on electric guitar, further into the show.

Billy is in fine form and is just having fun. He throws in some star jumps and air punches whilst interacting with the audience. It’s a punchy, energetic show, and the tunes keep coming. It is a mix of familiar and new songs from his recent album ‘Dream into it’.

There are plenty of crowd-pleasers, allowing the audience to interact with singing and dancing. Covers, ‘Mony Mony’ & ‘Gimme Shelter’ go down in a storm, but of course some of the big hitters are being left to the end.

Billy Idol is a great showman, and his set is peppered with amusing anecdotes, like the time, he was drinking with the Rolling Stones, and he was inspired by the name of the alcohol and hey presto, ‘Rebel Yell’ was born. Cue cries of delight, a massive sing-along, huge crowd interaction, fists pumping and the end of the first set.

So, to the encore. Billy laps up the applause and works the crowd for more, but he has a treat in store for everyone, he introduces to the stage, a compatriot from Generation X, Tony James. Billy is gladly returning to his roots, and the first notes that Tony plays, takes Billy back to the Marquee in ’77, he tells a little yarn about how ‘Ready Steady Go’ was created, the title taken from a TV show, and it became the gateway into ‘Chelsea’, the punk bund, not the London district, and ‘Dancing with Myself’, written about people dancing with their own reflections in Tokyo. Tony James, in contrast to Billy is kitted out all in white, where Billy has now donned a long black leather coat. It’s great to see these two perform together.

We are now charging to the end of the night and ‘Hot in the city’ and ‘White Wedding’ bring us to a crashing crescendo. The arena is vibrating with joy.

Billy is happy and takes time to introduce us to his incredible band and to thank us for making his life so f**king great. The pleasure is all ours, Mr. Idol, you made a lot of people feel very happy tonight, and the show may have finished, but a good proportion of us will be still dancing all the way home.

Concert Photo Gallery