Billy Idol - Photoscapes
by Keith Ainsworth
published: 29 / 6 / 2018

intro
Keith Ainsworth photographs Billy Idol on his first UK tour in three years at the O2 Apollo in Manchester.
After being involved in a serious motorcycle accident which nearly cost him a leg in 1990 and having an excessive drugs habit which saw him overdose in 1994, it is perhaps surprising that former Generation X front man Billy Idol is still recording and touring at all. Yet this decade has seen Idol resurge with both a frankly honest autobiography 'Dancing with Myself' in 2014, and in the same year his first album in eight years, the much acclaimed 'Kings and Queens of the Underground'. In his gigs Idol, who is now 62, also has shown a remarkable fitness and stamina, playing gruelling and energetic sets. These photographs of Idol and his regular guitarist Steve Stevens were taken by Keith Ainsworth on Idol's first UK tour in three years the 20th June at the O2 Apollo in Manchester. Photos by Keith Ainsworth www.arkimages.co.uk
Also at Apollo, Manchester
Band Links:-
http://billyidol.net/https://www.facebook.com/BillyIdol
https://twitter.com/billyidol
Picture Gallery:-





favourite album |
Vital Idol Revitalized (2018) |
![]() |
In our 'Re:view' section, in which we look back at albums from the past, Lisa Torem examines ‘Vital Idol: Revitalized’, a new masterfully remixed edition of Billy Idol’s 1980’s classic ‘Vital Idol’. |
photography |
Photoscapes (2022) |
![]() |
Andrew Twambley takes photographs of Billy Idol at a gig at the Manchester Arena on his worldwide 'The Roadside Tour'. |
Photoscapes (2014) |
soundcloud
reviews |
Kings and Queens of the Underground (2014) |
![]() |
Uncompromising and autobiographical Trevor Horn-produced seventh solo studio album from Billy Idol |
most viewed articles
current edition
Peter Doherty - Blackheath Halls, Blackheath and Palace Halls, Watford, 18/3/2025 and 21/3/2025Armory Show - Interview with Richard Jobson
Liz Mitchell - Interview
Lauren Mayberry - Photoscapes
Deb Googe and Cara Tivey - Interview
Max Bianco and the BlueHearts - Troubadour, London, 29/3/2025
Sukie Smith - Interview
Maarten Schiethart - Vinyl Stories
Clive Langer - Interview
Kim Wilde - Photoscapes
previous editions
Heavenly - P.U.N.K. Girl EPBoomtown Rats - Ten Songs That Made Me Love....
Trudie Myerscough-Harris - Interview
Doris Brendel - Interview
Beautiful South - Ten Songs That Made Me Love...
Kay Russell - Interview with Kay Russell
Dwina Gibb - Interview
Sound - Interview with Bi Marshall Part 1
Jay Reatard - Interview
Barrie Barlow - Interview
most viewed reviews
current edition
Davey Woodward - Mumbo in the JumboNigel Stonier - Wolf Notes
Wings - Venus and Mars
Only Child - Holy Ghosts
Kate Daisy Grant and Nick Pynn - Songs For The Trees
Neil Campbell - The Turnaround
Philip Jeays - Victoria
Darkness - Dreams On Toast
Suzanne Vega - Flying With Angels
Charles Ellsworth - Cosmic Cannon Fodder
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart