Billy Idol, Jefferson Starship, et George Thorogood

After packing in the English degree he was working towards at Sussex university, in 1976 Billy joined up with The Bromley Contingent, a group of Sex Pistols fans who went on to have an impact of their own after it formed Siouxsie and the Banshees and Generation X.

Billy became the lead singer of Generation X and made no attempt to hide the fact that they were going to do things a bit differently from other punk acts. Whilst peers such The Clash and The Sex Pistols wrote off the 60s pop of acts like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, Generation X embraced it as their primary influence. This pop influence allowed them to become the first punk act to be featured on Top of The Pops and the band released 3 albums before disbanding.

This freed up Billy to pack his bags, head to New York City and pursue a solo career. Fusing his punk image with a hint of glam, Billy soon began to pump out the hits with songs like ‘White Wedding’ becoming an MTV staple. Billy unintentionally found himself becoming a part of the ‘Second British Invasion of the United States’, a period where numerous British acts found great success overseas fueled by the relatively new platform of MTV.

With the release of his next album ‘Rebel Yell’, Billy’s transformation into international super star was complete. Today he still plays sold out arenas globally and is a testament to what a young punk from Middlesex can achieve.

Jefferson Starship includes members of the incredibly successful psychedelic outfit Jefferson Airplane. The incarnation centres around guitarist Paul Kantner and a concept album entitled 'Blows Against The Empire'. After this things snowballed and Jefferson Starship became a full commitment for founding members Kantner and Jack Casady.

Their first album as a unit was released in 1974 and was titled 'Dragon Fly', it was met with chart success peaking at #11 on the US Billboard and #18 in Canada. The following album 'Red Octopus' is currently the band's most successful release to date, charting at #1 on the US charts and is now certified double platinum selling. It featured a hit single, 'Miracles' which was contributed by Marty Balin, who also wrote the ballad 'Caroline' which appeared on the band's first record.

The next album 'Spitfire' was another success, charting at #3 and breaking into the UK charts at #30 however the band were disheartened at the time that it did not mirror the success of its predecessor. The band continued to tour and release material despite the ever changing line ups, most notably the loss of Grace Slick who was forced to resign at the end of the 70's due to a heavy alcohol problem. Despite all this, the next four albums went on to hold gold selling certificates and Jefferson Starship are still considered a successful psychedelic pop/rock band.

Initially a minor-league baseball player, George Thorogood decided to pursue a music career after seeing a John Paul Hammond performance in 1970. This was to be a sensible choice for the blues man, going on to release over 20 albums, selling 15 million records worldwide. Whilst his music may be dismissed by blues purists, he has become widely popular through his loud, lively hits that gained significant radio exposure in the 80s. His raucous blues channels the Chicago blues sound of the 50s, with a rampant rock & roll backed by his longterm band The Destroyers.

Through regular performances on the blues club circuit, the band were discovered by Rounder Records, releasing their eponymous debut in 1977. The band's second album, "Move It on Over" (1978) was to find them huge popularity, with a cover of Hank Williams' track receiving heavy radio airplay, boosting the album's sales which reached the American top 40 and became certified Gold.

In 1982, George Thorogood signed to major label, EMI Records, releasing their major debut in 1982, titled "Bad to the Bone." The album's title track became a massive crossover hit, appealing to a wide audience and finding extensive radio airplay and rotation on MTV. The song has gone on to be featured in several films and television productions over the years. The album went Gold and spent almost a year in the charts. This success continued for Thorogood's next three albums, all becoming certified Gold.

At the start of the following decade, Thorogood's popularity waned, although he continued to release albums and tour extensively to moderate success, drawing large crowds to his performances. In recent years, Thorogood has recorded two albums of bar blues covers, releasing "The Dirty Dozen" n 2009 and "2120 South Michigan Ave.," in 2011 as a tribute to Chess Records.