DATE: JULY 26, 1996
FROM: MITCH SCHNEIDER/
SUSIE SCHOEPE
BILLY IDOL MOONS NEW YORK: In a role originated by the late Keith Moon, BILLY IDOL as "Ace Face/The Bellboy" joined The Who founders Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend and John Entwistle in the recent six-night run of "Quadrophenia" at New York's Madison Square Garden.
BILLY's relationship with The Who goes back even farther than his participation in the late-80's staging of their rock opera "Tommy." IDOL recalls becoming a fan of the band when he first saw them on television as a kid, "Tho Who had a great punk rock attitude that set them apart. I remember Keith Moon leaned over his drum kit, looked into the camera, did a drum roll and then wiped his nose all the way along his sleeve." Later, when BILLY was fronting Generation X, Moon accepted an invitation to the group's rehearsal and actually jammed with them on Who songs including "I Can See For Miles" and "My Generation." Says IDOL, "We would listen to The Who on the way to gigs. They weren't completely old farts to us because they were too dangerous. You couldn't possibly sanitize Pete Townshend."
IDOL--whose singing part in "Quadrophenia" was actually expanded following the massive audience response to his opening night performance--was singled out as one of the show's highlights by Jim Farber who wrote in the New York Daily News, "BILLY IDOL as Ace the Face idealized the character's studied cool and hollow core. (He's a Mod icon by day, humiliated bellboy by night.)" Next up for IDOL is writing and recording songs for his next album on EMI Records.
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