Blabbermouth — Billy Idol will issue a new EP, “The Roadside” — his first new release in nearly seven years — on September 17 via Dark Horse Records. Produced by Butch Walker (GREEN DAY, WEEZER) and featuring Idol‘s longtime lead guitarist and co-writer Steve Stevens, “The Roadside” was conceived, recorded, and mixed almost entirely under the shadow of the pandemic.

The lead single “Bitter Taste”, premiering today, features some of Idol‘s most introspective and confessional lyrics ever, as he confronts death, rebirth, and his personal growth in the 31 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.”

The accompanying video was directed by Steven Sebring (Patti Smith, Jack White) and can be viewed below.

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, New Jersey. Just recently, Idol appeared alongside Miley Cyrus during her headlining performance at Lollapalooza.


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