Billy Idol rocks Wembley Arena with Killing Joke and Toyah as support

In what might easily pass for an 80s disco night for the uninitiated, tonight Wembley Arena is the stage for a trio of iconic artists who made their names in the 1980s.  Proceedings are kicked off by 80s pop stalwart Toyah! Enjoying somewhat of a popular revival in no small part thanks to her series of viral cover videos featuring her husband Robert Fripp on guitar, tonight Toyah is taking the Wembley crowd back to her hit album Anthem. Ever entertaining and grateful to be there, Toyah ends her set with the sing along of `I want to Be Free` and some very warm applause and cheers for more.

“As everyone knows, this winter is going to be like no other ” says Killing Joke frontman Jaz Coleman. It’s in keeping with their often gloomy and anarchic lyrical content, Killing Joke are still pummelling away at the collective musical consciousness with their furious playing.

Songs like `The Fall Of Because` and `Butcher` are characterised by droning rhythm and noisier loops of bass and guitar that have fused into a mess of feedback.

Oddly for such an established band, Killing Joke don’t have much to offer the casual listener or newcomer fan apart from ‘Love Like Blood’ which isn’t in the set tonight. They truly make no concessions, and you have to respect a band that has been around as long as Killing Joke have simply not giving a damn if people get into it or not. Ending their set with `Pandemonium`, tonight the numbers are split down the middle and they leave to a happy crowd, but some for different reasons than those they intended.

Billy Idol’s return to Wembley is high anticipated and well overdue. Beginning with back to back dance rock classics of `Dancing With Myself` and `Cradle Of Love`, it’s clear right from the off Billy Idol and his band are in top form tonight. Idol himself is in fine vocal form and nearly unbelievable physical fitness. Side to side with the guitar icon that is Steve Stevens, idol launches into the gorgeously seductive `Flesh For Fantasy` which is the first of many fist in the air sing-alongs. With guitarist Billy Morrison covering the rhythms and a rhythm section that has every base covered, the band sound fantastic on all fronts.

For a much loved and hugely successful artist with an established set of hits from over 30 years ago, Idol has achieved that rarest of feats that many of his contemporaries struggle with. That is, creating new music that the fans will actively enjoy like the classics. Superb new songs `Cage` slot perfectly into the set between the older songs and makes the entire gig better for it. The downtime provided by the Covid lockdowns was a source of inspiration for Idol, as he explained; ” I thought of the Pandemic and how it affected people’s lives and also my motorbike accident – I just thought it was one of the most horrible and painful times in my life and if I write about it then it might resonate with other people too- this is called `Bitter Taste`”.

Other new songs like the thoughtful and bluesy `Running From The Ghost` receive a small story told as an introduction. Idols talks with admirable frankness about his much publicized past battles with drug addiction and alcohol and how cleaning up has improved his life as a performer as well as being happier in general. “It’s worth staying alive don’t you think?” asks a smiling Idol after the stories. He is thankfully answered with roars of approval from the happy crowd.

“We’re gonna go back to the 90s for a song we did for Keanu Reeves – this is called Speed”. That fast paced and heavy rocker is followed by an absolutely jaw dropping flamenco guitar solo from Steve Stevens that leads into `Eyes Without a Face`. The anthemic `Rebel Yell` ends the main set before Billy Idol and co return for an encore that starts with `Rebel Like You` before an absolutely brilliant nod to Idol’s Punk rock roots. `Born To Lose` by Johnny Thunders and The Heartbreakers is given an absolutely furious run through and it’s an unexpected highlight to be sure.

Ever grateful to the fans, Billy Idol takes one last opportunity to thank the fans assembled in Wembley Arena tonight. “London thank you for making my life so fucking great!” before turning to his partner in crime and declaring “Steve Stevens, thank you for making my life so fucking great!”.  Dedicating the final song of the night to his sister, `White Wedding` is the perfect send off and ending to a stunning set.