Henry Rollins celebrated the “real” Billy Idol during the January 6th reveal ceremony of Idol's star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.
(Rollins' speech starts at 3:45)
“Why are we honoring Billy Idol, It could be because in the late ‘70s and ‘80s in England, there was an explosion of music that is still with us today. With bands like The Clash, The Damned, Sex Pistols, Buzzcocks, Siouxsie And The Banshees and Generation X.”
“While a lot of these bands were singing about how things don’t work and how life isn’t so great, Generation X stood out because they wrote songs about being young. And you can be youngish for a while, but you’re only young for one summer. It’s a lightning strike. If you blink, you miss it. Over three albums and a bunch of singles, Generation X captured that. That music holds up fantastically decades later, so maybe that’s why Billy Idol gets a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.”
“Or maybe it’s because, as all bands do, Generation X broke up and Billy Idol came to the United States and started releasing one great solo record after another, maybe that’s why we’re all here today. Billy Idol has rock n’ roll in his veins, and punk rock in his DNA.”
“He’s the real thing, and maybe that’s why we’re here today, ’cause decade after decade he has remained himself. And that takes a lot of guts and a lot of integrity.”