Billy Idol has released a brand new song and music video. “Bitter Taste” is the lead single from his forthcoming EP, The Roadside, due out September 17th. You can hear the song and watch the video in the player below.
In “Bitter Taste” Idol 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.”
Produced by Butch Walker (Green Day, Weezer) and featuring Idol’s longtime lead guitarist and co-writer Steve Stevens, The Roadside EP was conceived, recorded, and mixed almost entirely under the shadow of the pandemic. It marks Idol’s first new release in nearly 7 years.
The Roadside will be available on CD, vinyl, and limited edition blue vinyl.
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. See a full list of dates below.
Billy Idol Bitter Taste – Official Music Video
Billy Idol The Roadside Track Listing
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
Aug 12 – Airway Heights, WA – Northern Quest Resort
Aug 15 – Tulalip, WA – Tulalip Resort Casino
Aug 17 – Manson, WA – Deep Water Amphitheater
Aug 19 – Saratoga, CA – Mountain Winery
Aug 21 – Napa, CA – Oxbow Riverstage
Sept 4 – Palmer, AK – Alaska Sate Fair
Sept 18 – West Springfield, MA – The Big E
Sept 19 – Asbury Park, NJ – Sea.Hear.Now Festival
Sept 22 – Post Chester, NY – The Capitol Theatre
Sept 24 – Roanoke, VA – Elmwood Park
Sept 25 – Charles Town, WV – Hollywood Casino
Oct 16-17 – Las Vegas, NV – The Cosmopolitan
Oct 22-23 – Las Vegas, NV – The Cosmopolitan
Oct 26 – Playa Mujeres, MX – The Sands Festival
