Kings & Queens of the Underground

Kings & Queens of the Underground
Studio album by Billy Idol
Released	17 October 2014
Recorded	2010–2014
Studio	Sarm (London) Echo (Los Angeles)
Genre	New wave [1] [2] hard rock [2]
Length	47:42
Label	BFI
Producer	Trevor Horn Greg Kurstin
Billy Idol chronology
The Very Best of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself (2008) Kings & Queens of the Underground (2014) Vital Idol: Revitalized (2018)
Singles from Kings & Queens of the Underground
"Can't Break Me Down" Released: 15 September 2014

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	5.3/10 [3]
Metacritic	64/100 [4]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
The Arts Desk	[6]
Classic Rock	[4]
The Guardian	[7]
laut.de	[8]
Mojo	[4]
The Observer	[9]
Q	[4]
Record Collector	[10]
Rolling Stone	[11]

Kings & Queens of the Underground is the eighth studio album by the English rock musician Billy Idol, released on 17 October 2014 by BFI Records. It was Idol's first album of new material since Devil's Playground (2005). It debuted at number 34 on the Billboard 200, becoming Idol's highest-debuting album to date, and number 9 on the Billboard Top Rock Albums chart for the week of 8 November 2014. Videos were released for the songs "Can't Break Me Down" and "Save Me Now".

Background

The album features new-wave synthesizers and keyboards, reflecting a new creative direction for Idol, and includes autobiographical lyrical themes from his co-written autobiography, Dancing With Myself. The title track was a collaborative effort, with Idol conceiving the concept and then, with his band, paying homage to fallen New York rock and roll heroes.The initial recording sessions were completed, but Idol felt the album was still incomplete. To finish the record, Idol reached out to Greg Kurstin, who wrote and produced the songs that would become the album's single. ^{[12] [13]}

Tour

The Kings & Queens of the Underground Tour started on 5 November 2014 and ended 4 April 2015. Over the 40-date tour, Idol with his band performed in Europe, North America and Australia. The setlist included five songs from the album, "Postcards from the Past", "Can't Break Me Down", "Save Me Now", "Kings & Queens of the Underground" and "Whiskey and Pills", as well as 13 older songs and two guitar solos by Steve Stevens. ^[14]

Critical reception

The album was met with mixed to positive reception with the album receiving a combined score of 64/100 on Meatcritic. Classic Rock game the album a positive review stating “The plastic punk with the cartoon sneer has made his grown-up masterpiece.” ^[15]

Track listing

Kings & Queens of the Underground track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Bitter Pill"	Billy Idol Eric Bazilian Glen Goss	Trevor Horn	3:57
2.	"Can't Break Me Down"	Idol Greg Kurstin Dan Nigro	Greg Kurstin	3:42
3.	"Save Me Now"	Idol George William Lewis Kurstin	Kurstin	4:31
4.	"One Breath Away"	Idol Steve Stevens Billy Morrison	Horn	4:10
5.	"Postcards from the Past"	Idol Stevens Morrison	Horn	4:20
6.	"Kings & Queens of the Underground"	Idol Stevens Morrison	Horn	4:53
7.	"Eyes Wide Shut"	Idol Stevens Morrison	Horn	4:29
8.	"Ghosts in My Guitar"	Idol Stevens	Horn	4:47
9.	"Nothing to Fear"	Idol Stevens Morrison	Horn	4:39
10.	"Love and Glory"	Idol Stevens Morrison	Horn	4:28
11.	"Whiskey and Pills"	Idol Brian Tichy	Horn	3:43

iTunes bonus track ^[16]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
12.	"Hollywood Promises"	Idol Tichy	4:11

Japanese version bonus tracks ^[17]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
12.	"Hollywood Promises"	Idol Tichy		4:11
13.	"Cradle of Love" (live from Vienna)	Idol David Werner	Keith Forsey	4:42
14.	"Dancing with Myself" (live from Vienna)	Idol Tony James	Forsey	5:39

Personnel

• Billy Idol – vocals (all tracks)
• Steve Stevens – lead, rhythm guitar (all tracks), acoustic guitar (tracks 1, 6–8, 11)
• Billy Morrison – rhythm guitar (tracks 4, 9)
• Trevor Horn – bass guitar (tracks 1, 4–11), programming (tracks 5, 7, 8), keyboards (tracks 6, 8, 11)
• Ash Soan – drums (tracks 1, 4, 6–10), percussion (tracks 1, 8)
• Matt Chamberlain – drums (track 3)
• Joel M Peters – drums (track 11)
• Tim Weidner – percussion (tracks 4, 9, 11), programming (track 7)
• Julian Hinton – orchestral arrangement and programming (tracks 4, 6, 8, 10)
• Pete Murray – orchestral arrangement and programming (track 7)
• Geoff Downes – keyboards (tracks 1, 4–10)
• Cameron Gower Poole – programming (tracks 1, 4, 9), keyboards (tracks 7, 9, 11), guitar (track 9)
• Greg Kurstin – guitar (track 2), bass guitar (tracks 2, 3), keyboards (tracks 2, 3), drums (track 2), programming (track 3)
• Josh Campbell – programming (tracks 1, 5), guitar (track 5), bass guitar (track 11)
• Renate Sokolovska – flute (track 6)

Charts

Chart performance for Kings & Queens of the Underground

Chart (2014)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [18]	81
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [19]	17
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [20]	109
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [21]	127
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI) [22]	69
Danish Albums (Hitlisten) [23]	24
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [24]	75
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [25]	37
French Albums (SNEP) [26]	102
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [27]	8
Italian Albums (FIMI) [28]	45
Scottish Albums (OCC) [29]	39
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [30]	10
UK Albums (OCC) [31]	35
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [32]	4
US Billboard 200 [33]	34
US Independent Albums (Billboard) [34]	4
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard) [35]	5
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [36]	9

Release history

Release history and formats for Kings & Queens of the Underground

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label
Australia [37]	17 October 2014	CD digital download	BFI
Germany [38]
United Kingdom [39]	20 October 2014
Canada [40]	21 October 2014
United States [41]

References

1. Luhrssen, David; Larson, Michael (9 January 2025). Encyclopedia of Punk Rock and New Wave: 1975–1985. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 1973. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
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3. "Kings & Queens Of The Underground by Billy Idol reviews | Any Decent Music". AnyDecentMusic?. Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
4. "Kings & Queens of the Underground by Billy Idol". Metacritic . Archived from the original on 9 January 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
5. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. BFI at AllMusic. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
6. Coffey, Russ (17 October 2014). "CD: Billy Idol - Kings and Queens of the Underground". The Arts Desk . Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
7. Dave Simpson (16 October 2014). "Billy Idol: Kings & Queens of the Underground review – lovably ludicrous 80s rocker gets confessional". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 11 May 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
8. Kiß, Jonas. "Ist das jetzt Gänsehaut oder Cold Turkey?". laut.de (in German). Archived from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
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External links

• Official website