Dancing with Myself

By: Billy Idol

Narrated by: Billy Idol

A Rolling Stone Top 10 Best Music Books of the Year

“That’s what I’m talking about…Of all these memoirs, Dancing With Myself was the only one that stimulated my envy—made me want to be Billy Idol for five minutes….He’s a genuine romantic, writing in a kind of overheated journalese about his London punk rock roots…and then falling head over heels for America.” —James Parker, The New York Times Book Review

In this highly original memoir—following Billy Idol from his childhood in England to his rise to fame at the height of the punk-pop revolution—the iconic superstar tells the real story behind the sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll that he is so fabulously famous for, in his own utterly indelible voice.

An early architect of punk rock’s sound, style, and fury, whose lip-curling sneer and fist-pumping persona vaulted him into pop’s mainstream as one of MTV’s first megastars, Billy Idol remains, to this day, a true rock ‘n’ roll icon.

Now, in his New York Times bestselling autobiography, Dancing with Myself, Idol delivers an electric, “refreshingly honest” (Daily News, New York) account of his journey to fame—from his early days as front man of the pioneering UK punk band Generation X to the decadent life atop the dance-rock kingdom he ruled—delivered with the same in-your-face attitude and fire his fans have embraced for decades. Beyond adding his uniquely qualified perspective to the story of the evolution of rock, Idol is a brash, lively chronicler of his own career.

A survivor’s tale at its heart, this sometimes chilling and always riveting account of one man’s creative drive joining forces with unbridled human desire is unmistakably literary in its character and brave in its sheer willingness to tell. With it, Billy Idol is destined to emerge as one of the great writers among his musical peers.

“I am hopelessly divided between the dark and the good, the rebel and the saint, the sex maniac and the monk, the poet and the priest, the demagogue and the populist. Pen to paper, I’ve put it all down, every bit from the heart. I’m going on out a limb here, so watch my back.” —Billy Idol

Sex, drugs, rock 'n roll - all in excess

Sex, drugs, rock 'n roll - few have done it to excess the way Billy Idol has. Very well written and reveals enough to give me a new found increased appreciation for what he has accomplished in his career. It's also amazing that he is still alive to tell the story. Some of the big surprises are how well-read he is as well as his songwriting process. He really had a solid vision of what he wanted to achieve and pulled it off.

Great story of a life lived to the fullest

Good to listen while driving long distance. As a fan this gave much insight into his music and on his diy attitude which are the reasons most likely why I'm such a big fan of Billy Idol.

Candid & Remarkably revealing

An extraordinary book and brutally honest. Billy Idol's outdone all his predecessors who've written their stories. He's brilliant and he's conveyed his love, knowledge and passion for music as well as his own personal love story with Perri Lister. I really love how he's woven it all together artfully. A must read for non-fiction lovers.

Great Memoir! Yeeeeeeah!!!!

It was very interesting to hear his life story told by him in his iconic gravelly voice - although it did definitely dip into the “too much information” zone for me, good for him for being honest!

When I was a teenager, I was IN LOVE with Billy Idol. I had all the cassettes, then the CDs, posters, calendars, T-shirts, you name it! Picking up this book was a no brainer… what took me so long?!

In 1990, I lived one of my most HUMILIATING moments right in front of him. A friend and I got tickets to his Charmed Life concert in Montreal, and before it started we went out to the back of the stadium where the tour busses were parked (surprisingly there were very few people there) and low and behold, at that moment he walked off the bus!!! Curled lip smile and spiky blond hair… he was so close I could touch him!!!!! My friend tried pushing me forward for an autograph, although I had no pen nor thing to sign, but I was SO nervous and SO SO SO SO SO giggly that I just peed myself. OMG. I wanted to melt into the floor. So embarrassing! Almost 30 years later I cringe in total humiliation whenever I think about it. If he even noticed me, he must have just blown me off as a lunatic nut-job.

I got a chance to redeem myself in 2003 when I saw him again at a small venue in Ottawa. (or was it 2002? 2004? I forget now). It was SO SMALL I was shocked - it was like a retrofitted conference room. I kind of felt bad for him because it felt to me like the crowd just wanted to bask in the fun of his (by then) retro hits, but when he started playing his new stuff it was almost embarrassing - nobody seemed to care and barely paid attention. When he started playing just a few familiar chords, the room ERUPTED into a frenzy and since the room was so small it felt like we were just all hanging out together with Billy, it was great.

I left feeing sad for him – like he had just been disrespected.

Fantastic! Perfect if you lived through punk, but-

Any additional comments?

I love this book. I lived through the punk era and had a punk friend for a while, slam danced and danced with myself a few times, but never really "got it". With this book you get to experience punk from just about Day 1, see how the whole scene developed and what those people were on about anyway. But also a great view of the rock and roll lifestyle, both the glamour and fun, but also the ugliness and pain. It's a relatively light "read", good for traveling time, but with several high points of real feeling and insight. And having Idol himself narrate is perfect. Enough from me - just get it!