That time Billy Idol stole the master tapes of “Rebel Yell”

The British newspaper The Guardian published an interview with the 68-year-old rocker Billy Idol who, after starting as the frontman of Generationan early British punk band, established himself as a soloist in the 1980s with songs such as “Rebel yell”, “Eyes without a face” and “Dancing with myself”.

A Idol, whose real name is William Michael Albert Broadseveral questions have been asked, including whether it was true that he once stole the master tapes of the 1983 album “Rebel Yell” due to a dispute with the record label.

This is his version of events regarding what happened: “It was because of the cover.

I said, 'There's a flaw in this image and if we enlarge it it will make things worse.' The record company started saying, 'We're leaving him. It's not that bad.' I just thought, 'I'm not going to let this happen. It's really stupid. They just need to reprint the image. I don't listen to what the guys at the record company say. In fact, I will blackmail them.' So I went to the Electric Lady (recording studios in New York, ed.)) in the middle of the night, I knew where the boxes with the recordings were. I took them, left the office and gave them to my heroin dealer. Then I phoned the record company and said, 'The guy I gave them to will be smuggling them out in a couple of days if you don't change that image.' They gave in. Don't let them get under your feet.”