Billy Idol to release 'The Roadside EP' on September 17 + New song "Bitter Taste" debuts today with video

 A fantastic new song (and cool video) and an EP announcement from iconic rocker Billy Idol...Robert Kinsler

BILLY IDOL RETURNS WITH FIRST
NEW RELEASE IN SEVEN YEARS

THE ROADSIDE EP OUT SEPTEMBER 17, 2021
ON DARK HORSE RECORDS

LEAD SINGLE “BITTER TASTE” DEBUTS WITH VIDEO
CONFIRMS 2021 TOUR DATES

photo credit: Steven Sebring

August 11, 2021—Billy Idol is set to release a new EP, The Roadside—his first new release in nearly seven years—on September 17 via Dark Horse Records. Produced by Butch Walker(Green Day, Weezer) and featuring Idol’s longtime lead guitarist and co-writer Steve Stevens, The Roadside was conceived, recorded, and mixed almost entirely under the shadow of the pandemic. Fans can pre-order The Roadside HERE.

The lead single “Bitter Taste,” premiering today, features some of Idol’s most introspective and confessional lyrics ever, as he confronts death, rebirth, and his personal growth in the thirty-one years since his near-fatal 1990 motorcycle accident. “I think everyone has been feeling more reflective (during the pandemic). So, it seemed quite logical and natural to write something about my motorcycle accident,” Idol explains. “Certainly, the motorcycle accident was the catharsis, the wake-up moment. A little bit of me got left on that roadside. But it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing in the end; it was a wake-up call. Maybe on that roadside I left behind the irreverent youthful Billy and opened the door for a more attentive father and a more sensitive musician.” Listen to/share the song HERE and watch/share the accompanying video directed by Steven Sebring (Patti Smith, Jack White), HERE.

EP artwork

To celebrate the forthcoming release, Idol is planning a run of 2021 tour dates. The shows include headline performances at New York’s Capitol Theatre and Las Vegas’ Cosmopolitan, as well as an appearance at the Sea.Hear.Now Festival in Asbury Park, NJ. Just recently, Idol appeared alongside Miley Cyrus during her headlining performance at Lollapalooza. See below for the full tour schedule. 

For forty-five years, Billy Idol has been one of the faces and voices of rock’n’roll, with an artistic resume to match the brilliant light of the image. First as the camera-ready front man for Generation X, between 1977 and 1981 Idol emerged with three albums that made positivity, emotional depth, and high pop synonymous with punk rock. In 1982, Idol embarked on a remarkable transatlantic/trans-genre solo career that integrated clubland throb, wide-screen depth and drama, rockabilly desperation, the bold and simple lines of punk, and rock’n’roll decadence.

The Roadside is Idol’s first release on the newly relaunched Dark Horse Records, a label initially created in 1974 by George Harrison and now led by Dhani Harrison and David Zonshine. Other artists currently on Dark Horse include George Harrison himself, Joe Strummer and Ravi Shankar. “I couldn’t be more excited to welcome Billy Idol to the Dark Horse Records family. Billy is a legend, and his music couldn’t fit the Dark Horse persona any better. I’ve loved his music throughout my whole life, so to be able to give this new music a home on our historic label is a massive honour,” says Dhani Harrison.

For additional information on The Roadside, see Billy Idol’s bio/artist notes HERE.

BILLY IDOL—THE ROADSIDE

1. Rita Hayworth

2. Bitter Taste

3. U Don’t Have To Kiss Me Like That

4. Baby Put Your Clothes Back On

BILLY IDOL LIVE

August 12––Airway Heights, WA––Northern Quest Resort
August 15––Tulalip, WA–– Tulalip Resort Casino
August 17––Manson, WA––Deep Water Amphitheater
August 19––Saratoga, CA––Mountain Winery
August 21––Napa, CA––Oxbow Riverstage
September 4––Palmer, AK––Alaska Sate Fair
September 18––West Springfield, MA––The Big E
September 19––Asbury Park, NJ––Sea.Hear.Now Festival
September 22––Post Chester, NY––The Capitol Theatre
September 24––Roanoke, VA––Elmwood Park
September 25––Charles Town, WV––Hollywood Casino
October 16-17––Las Vegas, NV––The Cosmopolitan
October 22-23––Las Vegas, NV––The Cosmopolitan

October 26––Playa Mujeres, MX––The Sands Festival