Long coat, knee-high socks/leotards, and G-string underwear...
http://www.youtube.com/wa...Z-bnob1edA
Did the one person surely copy the other?

Long coat, knee-high socks/leotards, and G-string underwear...
http://www.youtube.com/wa...Z-bnob1edA
Did the one person surely copy the other?

Snap said:

Well, I was hip to Billy when he was in Generation X,..they were very popular out here in So. Cali. Saying that, I had never seen Billy dressed in this fashion. I also know that Billy was a big fan of Prince's because I've heard him say as much. As well as Stevie Stevens, although Stevie wasn't a member of Gen X. BUT at the same time, I know that P took some things visually from England in late 79. Punk and the New Romantic look. That has been well documented. I myself spotted that he was lifting a little from Adam Ant when he came out with his 1999 album because I was already a fan of Adam and the Ants. That said, it's important to know when this performance was filmed. Now on the subject of P performing in his drawers, he was ALREADY doing that in 79. Now the thigh high leotards and the trench and the black g-string, he wasn't wearing that untill his Dirty Mind album in late 80. If this Billy performance was filmed in early 80 or even mid 80, then I would say P bit from Billy with this look. But if this footage was shot AFTER the release of Oct 80...then I would say it was Billy who bit. Does anyone know when this footage was shot?
[Edited 9/15/08 11:24am]

Thanks for the knowledge -- it led me to look up some things.

Okay, now here's how we found out who "bit" from who, as you say. The live recording of "Dancing With Myself" could have taken place in early 1980. Tony James & Billy Idol wrote the song as early as July '79 thru early '80 for a never released album called Sweet Revenge after having been inspired by watching people dance to mirror images of themselves in a Japanese nightclub. And as we know, Prince didn't rock the black g-string with leggings look until 'round about the release of Dirty Mind in October 1980. Funny enough, "Dancing With Myself" (Gen X's last official single) was also released in October 1980, eventually peaking at UK #62. It's possible that the above-mentioned video was taped around this time, but it's also possible that it wasn't taped until December 1980 when Gen X were touring the UK and still promoting their third and final album, Kiss Me Deadly, just before their breakup.

In conclusion, we're talking maybe just a matter of months between the time Prince and Billy were both seen performing in the same "fashion." So, when was the video shot? Unfortunately, there isn't much to find on Gen X during this time; though, I have a feeling this performance may have been taped during their December 1980 tour, which would lead me to believe that Billy caught one of Prince's Dirty Mind shows that very same month (maybe at The Ritz in New York on December 10th?) and copied the look for himself. And/or he dug what he saw on the Dirty Mind album cover after possibly becoming a fan when seeing a Prince concert in late 1979 or early 1980 (a time when Billy was in fact visiting the States). I don't know... but it is true that Prince was already well-known for performing in his underwear by this time, and Billy wasn't. The odds are in Prince's favor that the look was "his" and Billy took it for himself (if only for this one performance).

In any case, it's an interesting connection during a time of post-punk pop rock between two musicians who both officially kicked off their live performance careers at places called "The Roxy" (Prince in Hollywood, Nov 1979, and Billy in London, Dec 1976).
[Edited 9/17/08 2:18am]

It doesn't matter.

Prince owned that shit, cause he had the ass to fill out the "manties".

blackguitaristz said:

Thanks for the knowledge -- it led me to look up some things.

Okay, now here's how we found out who "bit" from who, as you say. The live recording of "Dancing With Myself" could have taken place in early 1980. Tony James & Billy Idol wrote the song as early as July '79 thru early '80 for a never released album called Sweet Revenge after having been inspired by watching people dance to mirror images of themselves in a Japanese nightclub. And as we know, Prince didn't rock the black g-string with leggings look until 'round about the release of Dirty Mind in October 1980. Funny enough, "Dancing With Myself" (Gen X's last official single) was also released in October 1980, eventually peaking at UK #62. It's possible that the above-mentioned video was taped around this time, but it's also possible that it wasn't taped until December 1980 when Gen X were touring the UK and still promoting their third and final album, Kiss Me Deadly, just before their breakup.

In conclusion, we're talking maybe just a matter of months between the time Prince and Billy were both seen performing in the same "fashion." So, when was the video shot? Unfortunately, there isn't much to find on Gen X during this time; though, I have a feeling this performance may have been taped during their December 1980 tour, which would lead me to believe that Billy caught one of Prince's Dirty Mind shows that very same month (maybe at The Ritz in New York on December 10th?) and copied the look for himself. And/or he dug what he saw on the Dirty Mind album cover after possibly becoming a fan when seeing a Prince concert in late 1979 or early 1980 (a time when Billy was in fact visiting the States). I don't know... but it is true that Prince was already well-known for performing in his underwear by this time, and Billy wasn't. The odds are in Prince's favor that the look was "his" and Billy took it for himself (if only for this one performance).

In any case, it's an interesting connection during a time of post-punk pop rock between two musicians who both officially kicked off their live performance careers at places called "The Roxy" (Prince in Hollywood, Nov 1979, and Billy in London, Dec 1976).
[Edited 9/17/08 2:18am]

Snap said:

Cool...Good research and good logic. This kind of shit is IMPORTANT to a brutha like me! For me, it could have went either way. I could see both borrowing from each other. But the timing of it, the way u broke it down, does lean in favor of Prince beating Billy to the punch with that look. THAT'S why I said in my first post that it depended on when Billy's video was shot. I always thought P's idea to wear drawers on stage in the first place came from Iggy Pop. I never liked how P looked while he was on tour for his second album with the zebra print drawers and the Leif Garret hairstyle. P's hair was cool but NOT with the zebra shit. Weird combination cuz it made P look sleazy and I don't think that's what he wanted to give off. But with the trench and the black drawers, he reminded me bigtime of Iggy.

I really don't know how to answer this question, although it seems to me...that the look has an English origin....I go back to Tim Currey...I believe that "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," brought that out in a lot of people.

I really don't know how to answer this question, although it seems to me...that the look has an English origin....I go back to Tim Currey...I believe that "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," brought that out in a lot of people.

I mentioned this in another thread a long time back, and thought I'd mention it here as well since we're talking about similarities between Billy Idol and Prince. Compare Prince's 1980 song "When You Were Mine" with the demo version of Billy Idol's 1983 song "Catch My Fall." The opening guitar riff and sound are very similar (kinda gets lost in the released version of CMF). I think Billy was very much inspired by Prince in several ways.


Jeb: You like a guy that I don't and that is Prince.

Steve [Steve Stevens, songwriter and guitarist for Billy Idol]: I saw him play on the Dirty Mind tour and I thought he was an electrifying performer. I don't sit around listening to Prince records but I guess I have to stick with the short guys like him and Angus [Young].

This may have also been the reason why they invited Dez to be the opening act for them during the 1983-1984 tour. Apparently Vanity was also "hanging out" with Billy during this time.