Dancing with Myself (book)

Dancing with Myself is the autobiography of the English-American singer and songwriter Billy Idol, named after his 1980s hit single. It was released on 7 October 2014 by Touchstone, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, and became a New York Times bestseller. It is divided into three parts—London, New York City, and Los Angeles—and includes a prologue, epilogue, and index. He also narrated it over Audible, released on 29 September 2015 with a duration of 12 hours and 13 minutes.
Idol noted, "I wanted to capture the memories while I still had them. They're disappearing fast. I felt I had to be as candid as possible. Face my demons one more time, by maybe exorcising them a little bit."McClurg, Jocelyn (8 October 2014). "Billy Idol is as 'candid as possible' in new memoir". USA TODAY.
== Official synopsis ==
In this highly original memoir—following Billy Idol from his childhood in England to his rise to fame at the height of the punk-pop revolution—the iconic superstar tells the real story behind the sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll that he is so fabulously famous for, in his own utterly indelible voice.
An early architect of punk rock's sound, style, and fury, whose lip-curling sneer and fist-pumping persona vaulted him into pop's mainstream as one of MTV's first megastars, Billy Idol remains, to this day, a true rock 'n' roll icon.
Now, in his New York Times bestselling autobiography, Dancing with Myself, Idol delivers an electric, "refreshingly honest" (Daily News, New York) account of his journey to fame—from his early days as front man of the pioneering UK punk band Generation X to the decadent life atop the dance-rock kingdom he ruled—delivered with the same in-your-face attitude and fire his fans have embraced for decades. Beyond adding his uniquely qualified perspective to the story of the evolution of rock, Idol is a brash, lively chronicler of his own career.
A survivor's tale at its heart, this sometimes chilling and always riveting account of one man's creative drive joining forces with unbridled human desire is unmistakably literary in its character and brave in its sheer willingness to tell. With it, Billy Idol is destined to emerge as one of the great writers among his musical peers.
"I am hopelessly divided between the dark and the good, the rebel and the saint, the sex maniac and the monk, the poet and the priest, the demagogue and the populist. Pen to paper, I've put it all down, every bit from the heart. I'm going on out a limb here, so watch my back." —Billy Idol
== Dedication ==
For Joan and Bill Broad
== Chapter list ==
;Prologue
;Part I — London
# I Let Out My First Rebel Yell
# England Swings Like a Pendulum Do
# Rock 'N' Roll High School: Long Hair, Flares, and Hash Tobacco Cigarettes
# Sucking in the '70s
# And Then There Was Punk
# In a Revolution, One Year Equals Five
# Generation X Marks the Spot: William Broad Becomes Billy Idol
# A Night at the Roxy
# Punk Comes of Age When the Two Sevens Clash
# Youth Youth Youth: Break On Through to the Other Side
# White Light, White Heat, White Riots
# Not Selling Out, But Buying In
# Bands Across the Ocean
# Ready Set Go
# And I Guess that I Just Don't Know
# You Better Hang On to Yourself
;Part II — New York City
# A Rock 'N' Roll Conquistador Invades American and Burns His Boats Upon Arrival
# Making Mony Mony: A Left-Coast Fusion of Punk and Disco
# If You Can Make It Here
# Hot in the City: The Making of Solo Billy Idol
# Hollywood Daze and Tequila Nights
# I Want My MTV: Video Thrills the Radio Star
# Rebel Yell with a Cause
# A Change in Pace of Fantasy and Taste
# Everybody Must Get Rolling Stoned
# The Roar of the Lion and a Nonstop Global Orgy
# Just a Perfect Day
# King Death: An Aborted Film Project Signals the End of an Idol Maker
# Top of the World, Ma
# Return to Splendour
# The Luck of the Irish
;Part III — Los Angeles
# We Need a Miracle Joy, We Need a Rock and Roll Boy
# La Vie Enchanté
# City of Night
# Trouble with the Sweet Stuff
# Drunken, Stupid, & Naked
# I Bear a Charmed Life, Which Must Not Yield
# Hollywood Promises
# Have a Fuck on Me
# The Madam and the Preacher
# Mind Fire
# Bitter Pill
# My Road Is Long, It Lingers On
;Epilogue
;Acknowledgements
;Index
== Background ==
Back in 2010, it was announced of the upcoming autobiography. On penning his own memoir, Idol shared, "At moments, it was exhilarating. And at other times, it could make you feel sick. But it's true what people say about it being a bit of a cathartic experience. It does stir up a lot in you because you have to sort of relive all these moments—the good times as well as the bad times—and come to a place where you can evaluate it and put it all into perspective.""Interview: Billy Idol on 'Dancing With Myself' memoir". 10 October 2014.
== Dancing with Myself Book Tour ==
He embarked on a four-day book tour across the United States."Billy Idol “Dancing With Myself” Book Signings". 26 September 2014.
Date 	Time 	City/Region 	Venue
United States 	United States	United States 	United States
6 October 2014 	7:00 	Ridgewood 	BookEnds
8 October 2014 	12:00 	New York City 	Barnes & Noble
11 October 2014"Billy Idol signs Dancing With Myself". 	4:00 	West Hollywood	Book Soup
13 October 2014Triana, Rick (15 October 2014). "BILLY IDOL DANCING WITH MYSELF BOOK SIGNING TEMPE, AZ 10-13-14".	7:00 	Tempe 	Changing Hands
== References ==
Category:Books