After taking himself out of the music business “to regenerate, get free of myself and make an album for the right reasons,” Billy Idol has completed his first album featuring new songs in over 10 years, aptly titled DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND. The CD, which may or may not be named after a location deep inside the Idol mind, is scheduled for release on March 22, 2005, and is the English rocker’s first for Sanctuary Records.
The single, “Scream,” is a down and dirty love romp featuring the
sinister signature guitar of Steve Stevens and Idol’s rock and roll
holla in the familiar vain of “Rebel Yell.” It will go to radio on
January 3, with an impact date set for January 24. Widely credited as
one of the critical artists responsible for the golden age of Music
Television and an early disciple of the art of controversy on the small screen, Idol will attempt to reinvent the video art form by making one for “Scream,” which will be completed early next year.
DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND is a journey through the musical mind, influences and taste of Billy Idol. The trip begins with the visceral thrust of the album’s opener “Super Overdrive, followed by the punk anthem “World Coming Down,” which borrows from his own history in the Bromley Contingent-the crew that included Siouxie Sioux, Steve Severin, The Clash’s Mick Jones and others who followed the Sex Pistols-as well as his own early group, Generation X. In total, there are 13 tracks to be experienced on DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND.
