When we initially announced the 2023 MMRBQ, of course I was through-the-roof excited that Shinedown was going to be headlining our big festival this year. However, when I found out that the one-and-only Billy F’n Idol was going to be joining us at MMRBQ, my excitement hit a whole other level!
Idol has been rocking stages worldwide for longer than I have been alive. The first time I saw Billy Idol and his band was at MMR’s Spring Break ’05 at the Liacouras Center on Temple’s campus, featuring hometown boys Silvertide, station favorites Collective Soul, and of course, the legend, Billy Idol as the headliner.
It was an amazing night of music overall, and I vowed to myself to make sure that I see Idol, master shredder Steve Stevens and the rest any time I could from that point forward. Which I did, seeing Idol and his incredible band a few more times prior to the 2023 MMRBQ.
I also totally forgot that Cult touring bassist Billy Morrison plays rhythm guitar in Idol’s band. A stellar one-two punch between Stevens and Morrison for sure!
I knew Billy Idol and his band were going to be crowd favorites at this year’s MMRBQ, and they were! Hit after hit, the Freedom Mortgage Pavilion crowd, myself included, sang every song at the top of our lungs.
Idol, who turns 68 years young at the end of November this year, fed off the packed crowd’s energy and put on one hell of a show for us! Even Ayron Jones bassist and South Jersey native, Bob Lovelace was down in the pit rocking out and capturing Idol’s outstanding performance. He’s in the cowboy hat pictured below.
The fact that Billy Idol is not in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is a crime! Having sold millions and millions of albums worldwide, numerous smash-hit singles and sold-out concerts across the globe, he is definitely deserving of a Rock Hall nomination.
Billy Idol @ MMRBQ 2023
- Dancing With Myself (Generation X song)
- Cradle of Love
- Flesh for Fantasy
- Cage
- To Be a Lover (William Bell cover)
- Eyes Without a Face
- Mony Mony (Tommy James & the Shondells cover)
- Blue Highway (With “Top Gun Anthem” Snip)
- Rebel Yell
- Hot in the City
- White Wedding
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