Live Review: Billy Idol – 24th June 2025 – Wembley Arena, London, UK

It was a night of bare chests, punk music and pure unashamed retro nostalgia on Tuesday night as one of the most successful and most symbolic acts of the 80’s took over Wembley Arena. And from the crowds response throughout the 90 minutes set, it was clear that there is nothing that music fans love than a trip down memory lane.

Billy Idol took fans back in time as the bleached blonde and spikey haired rocker brought his It’s A Nice Day To…Tour Again! tour to the capital and played a plethora of hits from his weighty back catalogue along with a small handful of new numbers from his latest and 9^th studio collection, Dream In It.

That new record cracked the lid on the night with the catchy Still Dancing leading the charge for newbies to be strategically placed between Idol’s more well-known career notables. Despite being new pennings from the singer, they fit in seamlessly within the set. Too Much Fun was all about the extravagant lifestyle of partying and adventure the singer has led with Idol recounting stories of his motorcycling trips around the US. Dream Into It and People I Love provided the night with its most biographical pair of new numbers; the latter dedicated to those in his life that he has not been able to spend more time with over the years due to his busy rockstar schedule.

It was of course the big hits that the fans were there for though and Idol certainly did not disappoint. Cradle of Love was offered up nice and early in the set and there were plenty of air punch moments during the night during songs like the catchy Rebel Yell and the saucy Flesh For Fantasy which were two of many major singles from the singers back catalogue that had the crowd up on their feet and indulging in their unashamed guilty Idol pleasure.

Token power ballad Eyes Without A Face come off a little shaky with Idols voice sounding a little quiet on this number and his slight alterations to the melody a curious decision, but its Steve Steven’s almost-Spanish like guitar intro was as impressive as ever and one of several outstanding moments by the famous guitarist who seemed as equally loved as Billy during the show – even Steve Steven’s t-shirts were being sold alongside Idol’s in the venues merchandise stands.

A cover of Rolling Stone’s number, Gimme Shelter was a powerful moment as Idol performed the song as a duet with one of his two talented backing singers, Jessica Childress while Mony Mony had everyone in the venue up on their feet and dancing along to his iconic version of the hit which offered the biggest crowd participation of the night as he held the mic out to his fans to propel the performance along.

During the set, Idol would make periodic small talk with the crowd by either telling stories of his career or small nuggets of information about recording a song being fed to his fans. It did surprise us though just how shy Idol comes across on stage – as if not wanting to directly look the beast of the crowd in the eye. Given his iconic bad boy in leather and chains persona and that famously cheeky grin that would be displayed on the backdrop of TV screens behind him showing his music videos as he performed the hits, it was a bit contrasting but also provided a human touch to that famous screen bravado.

Regardless of age, Idols voice helps transport us right back to when his songs dominated the charts. It’s was as powerful and distinctive during last night’s show as we have heard it in previous shows, especially during songs like Flesh For Fantasy, Rebel Yell and Mony Mony and where he is able to sing in a higher register or let out those roaring cheers.

During the nights encore, Idol brought out fellow former Generation X member, Tony James for a run through of their former band hits, Ready Steady Go and the upbeat, Dancing With Myself which the singer described as a song the pair wrote together as a test for getting into the band in the seventies – the latter inspired by a visit to a Japanese discotheque and where the girls there were dancing with reflections of themselves in the club mirrors.

It was then the final big guns of the night with pop-fueled Hot In The City and White Wedding being delivered to an ecstatic audience that helped the singer deliver their punchy choruses with the beer coated vocals as he closed his hometown show telling Steven’s “lets show these guys what a hit song sounds like”.

For someone like Billy Idol, there are always going to be fans to fill arenas. Music fans live for nostalgia and Tuesday nights show was absolutely drenched in it. From the leather and denim outfits dripping in chains and the throwback spiked hair that was just as eye catching as it was in the 80’s, through to the backdrop of imagery that was cast on the screens behind Idol that displayed his logo in giant industrial font, his shows take fans right back to a moment and a feeling that remains special and almost frozen in time. At the start of the show Billy told the crowd “I’m gonna have a little fun tonight, I don’t know about you”. It was safe to say every fan leaving that venue had one hell of a night!

Setlist:
Still Dancing
Cradle of Love
Flesh for Fantasy
77
Too Much Fun
Eyes Without a Face
Steve Stevens Guitar Solo / Over the Hills and Far Away / Eruption / Stairway to Heaven
Mony Mony (Tommy James & the Shondells cover)
Dream Into It
Gimme Shelter
People I Love
Blue Highway
Rebel Yell

Encore:
Ready Steady Go (Generation X song) with Tommy James
Dancing With Myself (Generation X song)
Hot in the City
White Wedding

Brendon Veevers

::: RenownedForSound.com’s Editor and Founder –
Interviewing and reviewing the best in new music and globally recognized artists is his passion.
Over the years he has been lucky enough to review thousands of music releases and concerts and interview artists ranging from top selling superstars like 27-time Grammy Award winner Alison Krauss, Boyz II Men, Roxette, Cyndi Lauper, Lisa Loeb and iconic Eagles front man/songwriter, Glenn Frey through to more recent successes including Newton Faulkner, Janelle Monae and Caro Emerald.
Brendon manages and coordinates the amazing team of writers on RenownedForSound.com who are based in the UK, the U.S and Australia.