Billy Idol at Vinyl Fetish was an exciting day for me and my girlfriends. Billy Idol was just breaking away from Generation X and going solo. With Steve Stevens at his side, there he was. In. The. Flesh. The MTV beauty was just inches away and as thrilled as I was, things became anti-climactic after I noticed the state he was in. His eyes were glazed over and he was barely there. I even flung my hands in front of his face, and he didn’t so much as blink. Not once. In fact, I wasn’t sure he was aware of much of anything going on in the room. As he drank from this little green bottle that looked like beer, he wore a blank expression. I stood mesmerized, but that feeling soon turned into disappointment. My Idol was in trouble. That much I knew was true.
~ Brenda Perlin