Billy Idol receives Hollywood Walk of Fame star
After a nearly five decades-long career, Billy Idol has finally gotten his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Idol received the honor on Friday, Jan. 6 in a ceremony on Hollywood Boulevard. According to a press release, his star marked the first of the new year and the 2,743 star overall.
The 67-year-old made his way to the podium after he was honored by singer Henry Rollins and artist Shepard Fairey, beginning his remarks with gratitude.
“I’d just like to start off by thanking the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and for all the fans for coming here because you are the best and quite simply I’m here today really because of you,” he said in a livestream aired Variety. “It’s because of your love that I’m here. You’ve supported me all this time.”
Idol said it was “crazy” that he was receiving an honor like a star on the Walk of Fame, explaining “I mean, 47 years of doing this after I started in Generation X, and 35 years after coming here, I just really could never have imagined anything like this.”
“Initially, we did the music back in the mid-‘70s during the punk rock time. There wasn’t much hope or anything,” he said. “We decided if there’s nothing, there’s no future, we’re going to do what we love and that’s what I did. I did the music because I loved it. It wasn’t for any other reason, really.”
Idol said he thought his career would last six months to a year or two, later adding, "I always dreamt of a life in music or a life in the arts but you just didn’t really know if you could ever really do that."
“There’s a lot of people telling you ‘Don’t try,’ but that was what was great about the people around us back then," he continued. "They were sort of telling you to try.”
The “Rebel Yell” singer ended his speech with more sincerity and an extra dose of rock and roll, adding, “I just can’t tell you enough, this is a great honor, I just can’t believe it. In a way, it’s a bit of an out of body experience…Thank you everybody, and rock on!”
At the ceremony, Idol was joined by his longtime girlfriend, China Chow. During his speech, he said he was also joined by several family members.
Idol has two children from previous relationships. He shares his son Willem Wolfe, 34, with Perri Lister and his daughter, Bonnie Blue, 33, with Linda Mathis. Bonnie is the mother of two children of her own, daughters Poppy Rebel, 2, and baby Mary Jane.
The rocker honored his family early in his speech, calling out his children and his grandchildren who were in attendance at the ceremony. He explained, “That’s another thing I’ve grown here in Los Angeles, my family. I came out here deliberately to have children and the fruits of that are here today.”
“I’m grandad Bill, but I’m having the time of my life!” he yelled with his hands in the air.
Idol has become a proud doting grandfather over the years, to the point where his daughter told TODAY Parents that he FaceTimes his grandchildren “almost too much” since they relocated to Texas.
On his Instagram, Idol shared two photos posing with Poppy from the day of the ceremony. In the first, the duo both donned monochromatic black outfits as they smiled for the camera. The second photo captured them as they stuck their tongues out in unison.
“With granddaughter Poppy Rebel,” he captioned the post.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
