Billy Idol announces new EP, 'The Roadside,' shares first new song in 7 years
Billy Idol has announced a new EP, The Roadside, due September 17 via the newly-relaunched Dark Horse Records, which George Harrison founded in 1974 and which is now led by his son Dhani and David Zonshine (pre-order). It’s Billy’s first new music since 2014’s Kings & Queens Of The Underground and his first EP since his 1981 debut EP Don’t Stop. He made it with famed producer Butch Walker, and the first single is “Bitter Taste,” which finds Billy applying his unmistakable baritone to a folk-noir backdrop.
“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,” Billy said of the somber song. “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.” Watch the Steven Sebring-directed video below.
As mentioned, Billy has a tour coming up, including the Asbury Park’s Sea.Hear.Now festival with The Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, Patti Smith, and more (tickets), and Port Chester, NY’s Capitol Theatre on September 22 (tickets). All dates are listed below.
Tracklist
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 — 2021 Tour Dates
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
