Kings & Queens of the Underground

Kings & Queens of the Underground is the eighth studio album by English rock vocalist Billy Idol, released on 17 October 2014 and produced mainly by Trevor Horn. It was the first album of new original material from Billy Idol since the 2005 release of Devil’s Playground and only his third album in over twenty years. The album debuted at #34 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, which was Billy Idol’s highest debuting album ever. The album also peaked at #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.

Kings & Queens of the Underground
Studio album by Billy Idol
Released	17 October 2014
Recorded	2010–2014
Studio	SARM Studios, London Echo Studios, Los Angeles
Length	47:42
Label	BFI Records, Kobalt
Producer	Greg Kurstin (tracks 2-3) Trevor Horn (tracks 1, 4-11)
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 "Save Me Now" Released: 18 November 2014

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Classic Rock	[2]
The Guardian	[3]
The Observer	[4]
Q	[2]
Record Collector	[5]
Rolling Stone	[6]

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.

Tour dates[7]
Date	Country	City	Venue
Europe
5 November 2014	Birmingham	England	O2 Academy
7 November 2014	Dublin	Ireland	Vicar Street
9 November 2014	England	London	Hammersmith Apollo
10 November 2014		Manchester	O2 Apollo
12 November 2014	Germany	Stuttgart	Porsche Arena
13 November 2014		Frankfurt	Jahrhunderthalle
16 November 2014	Netherlands	Amsterdam	Heineken Music Hall
18 November 2014	Germany	Düsseldorf	Electric Halle
19 November 2014	Belgium	Brussels	Cirque Royal
21 November 2014	Germany	Nuremberg	Arena
22 November 2014	Switzerland	Lucern	Messe Lucern
23 November 2014	Italy	Milan	Fabrique
North America
21 January 2015	United States	New Orleans	House of Blues
22 January 2015		Atlanta	The Tabernacle
24 January 2015		Philadelphia	Tower Theater
25 January 2015		Washington	Lincoln Theater
28 January 2015		New York	Beacon Theater
31 January 2015		Boston	Orpheum Theater
3 February 2015	Canada	Montreal	Metropolis
4 February 2015		Toronto	Massey Hall
6 February 2015	United States	Detroit	The Fillmore
7 February 2015		Chicago	Riviera Theater
9 February 2015		Denver	Paramount Theater
12 February 2015	Canada	Vancouver	Queen Elizabeth Theater
13 February 2015	United States	Seattle	Paramount
15 February 2015		Oakland	Fox Theater
18 February 2015		Los Angeles	Wiltern Theater
19 February 2015
21 February 2015		Las Vegas	The Cosmopolitan
Australia
14 March 2015	Australia	Perth	Kings Park and Botanic Gardens
18 March 2015		Wollongong	Win Entertainment Centre
19 March 2015		Sydney	Quantas Credit Union Arena
21 March 2015		Yarra Valley	Rochford Wines
22 March 2015		Fleurieu Peninsula	Leconfield Wines
24 March 2015		Melbourne	Margaret Court Arena
28 March 2015		Hunter Valley	Bimbadgen Winery
29 March 2015		Mount Cotton	Sirromet Wines
1 April 2015	New Zealand	Auckland	Vector Arena
2 April 2015		Wellington	TSB Arena
4 April 2015		Christchurch	Horncastle Arena

Setlist[8]

1. "Postcards from the Past"
2. "Cradle of Love"
3. "Can't Break Me Down"
4. "Dancing with Myself"
5. "Flesh for Fantasy"
6. "Save Me Now"
7. "Sweet Sixteen"
8. "Kings & Queens of the Underground"
9. "Eyes Without a Face"
10. "L.A. Woman"
    Steve Stevens guitar solo
11. "King Rocker"
12. "Love Like Fire"
13. "Whiskey and Pills"
14. "Blue Highway"
15. "Rebel Yell"
16. "White Wedding"
17. "Mony Mony"

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

Kings & Queens of the Underground  – iTunes bonus track[9]

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

Kings & Queens of the Underground  – Japanese version (bonus tracks)[10]

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)

Chart positions

Chart (2014)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[11]	81
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[12]	17
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[13]	109
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[14]	127
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[15]	24
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[16]	75
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[17]	37
French Albums (SNEP)[18]	102
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[19]	8
Italian Albums (FIMI)[20]	45
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[21]	10
UK Albums (OCC)[22]	35
US Billboard 200[23]	35
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[24]	5
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[25]	9

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label
Australia[26]	17 October 2014	CD Digital download	BFI Records
Germany[27]
United Kingdom[28]	20 October 2014
Canada[29]	21 October 2014
United States[30]

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. BFI at AllMusic. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
2. "Reviews and Tracks for Kings & Queens of the Underground by Billy Idol". Metacritic. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
3. Dave Simpson. "Billy Idol: Kings & Queens of the Underground review – lovably ludicrous 80s rocker gets confessional | Music". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
4. Phil Mongredien. "Billy Idol: Kings & Queens of the Underground review – a turkey of epic proportions | Music". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
5. "Kings & Queens Of The Underground - Record Collector Magazine". Recordcollectormag.com. 26 May 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
6. "Billy Idol 'Kings & Queens of the Underground' Album Review".
7. "TOUR DATES - Billy Idol". billyidol.net.
8. "Review and setlist: Billy Idol at O2 Academy, Birmingham". birminghammail.co.uk.
9. "Kings & Queens of the Underground". billyidol.net.
10. "Amazon.co.jp: ビリー・アイドル : 逆襲のアイドル". Amazon.co.jp.
11. Ryan, Gavin (25 October 2014). "Slipknot Land No 1 Album On ARIA Chart". Noise11. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
12. "Austriancharts.at – Billy Idol – Kings & Queens of the Underground" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
13. "Ultratop.be – Billy Idol – Kings & Queens Of The Underground" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
14. "Ultratop.be – Billy Idol – Kings & Queens Of The Underground" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
15. "Danishcharts.dk – Billy Idol – Kings & Queens Of The Underground". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
16. "Dutchcharts.nl – Billy Idol – Kings & Queens Of The Underground" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
17. "Billy Idol: Kings & Queens of the Underground" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
18. "Lescharts.com – Billy Idol – Kings & Queens of the Underground". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
19. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
20. "Artisti – Classifica settimanale WK 43 (dal 20-10-2014 al 26-10-2014)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Archived from the original on 30 October 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
21. "Swisscharts.com – Billy Idol – Kings & Queens of the Underground". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
22. "Billy Idol | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
23. "Billy Idol Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
24. "Billy Idol Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
25. "Billy Idol Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
26. "Buy Kings And Queens Of The Underground Billy Idol". Sanity.
27. "Kings & Queens of the Underground: Amazon.de: Musik". Amazon.de (DE).
28. "iTunes - Music - Kings & Queens of the Underground (Bonus Tracks Version) by Billy Idol". Apple iTunes UK.
29. "Kings and Queens of the Underground: Billy Idol: Amazon.ca: Music". Amazon.ca.
30. "Amazon.com: Kings & Queens of the Underground: Music". Amazon.com.

External links

• Official website