Kings & Queens of the Underground
Kings & Queens of the Underground | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 17 October 2014 | |||
Recorded | 2010–2014 | |||
Studio |
| |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Length | 47:42 | |||
Label | BFI | |||
Producer | ||||
Billy Idol chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Kings & Queens of the Underground | ||||
|
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 5.3/10[1] |
Metacritic | 64/100[2] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
The Arts Desk | [4] |
Classic Rock | [2] |
The Guardian | [5] |
laut.de | [6] |
Mojo | [2] |
The Observer | [7] |
Q | [2] |
Record Collector | [8] |
Rolling Stone | [9] |
Kings & Queens of the Underground is the eighth studio album by English rock vocalist Billy Idol, released on 17 October 2014 by BFI Records. It was Idol's first album of new original material since Devil's Playground (2005) and only his third album in over twenty years. The album debuted at number 34 on the Billboard 200, becoming Idol's highest-debuting album to date. The album also peaked at 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".
Tour
[edit]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[10] | |||
---|---|---|---|
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 Theatre | |
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 | Qantas 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 |
Set list[11]
- "Postcards from the Past"
- "Cradle of Love"
- "Can't Break Me Down"
- "Dancing with Myself"
- "Flesh for Fantasy"
- "Save Me Now"
- "Sweet Sixteen"
- "Kings & Queens of the Underground"
- "Eyes Without a Face"
- "L.A. Woman"
Steve Stevens guitar solo - "King Rocker"
- "Love Like Fire"
- "Whiskey and Pills"
- "Blue Highway"
- "Rebel Yell"
- "White Wedding"
- "Mony Mony"
Track listing
[edit]No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Bitter Pill" |
| Trevor Horn | 3:57 |
2. | "Can't Break Me Down" |
| Greg Kurstin | 3:42 |
3. | "Save Me Now" |
| Kurstin | 4:31 |
4. | "One Breath Away" | Horn | 4:10 | |
5. | "Postcards from the Past" |
| Horn | 4:20 |
6. | "Kings & Queens of the Underground" |
| Horn | 4:53 |
7. | "Eyes Wide Shut" |
| Horn | 4:29 |
8. | "Ghosts in My Guitar" |
| Horn | 4:47 |
9. | "Nothing to Fear" |
| Horn | 4:39 |
10. | "Love and Glory" |
| Horn | 4:28 |
11. | "Whiskey and Pills" |
| Horn | 3:43 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
12. | "Hollywood Promises" |
| 4:11 | |
13. | "Cradle of Love" (live from Vienna) |
| Keith Forsey | 4:42 |
14. | "Dancing with Myself" (live from Vienna) |
| Forsey | 5:39 |
Personnel
[edit]- 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
[edit]Chart (2014) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA)[14] | 81 |
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[15] | 17 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[16] | 109 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[17] | 127 |
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[18] | 69 |
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[19] | 24 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[20] | 75 |
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[21] | 37 |
French Albums (SNEP)[22] | 102 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[23] | 8 |
Italian Albums (FIMI)[24] | 45 |
Scottish Albums (OCC)[25] | 39 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[26] | 10 |
UK Albums (OCC)[27] | 35 |
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[28] | 4 |
US Billboard 200[29] | 34 |
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[30] | 4 |
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[31] | 5 |
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[32] | 9 |
Release history
[edit]Region | Date | Format(s) | Label |
---|---|---|---|
Australia[33] | 17 October 2014 | BFI | |
Germany[34] | |||
United Kingdom[35] | 20 October 2014 | ||
Canada[36] | 21 October 2014 | ||
United States[37] |
References
[edit]- ^ "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.
- ^ a b c d "Kings & Queens of the Underground by Billy Idol". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 9 January 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. BFI at AllMusic. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Phil Mongredien (18 October 2014). "Billy Idol: Kings & Queens of the Underground review – a turkey of epic proportions". The Observer. Archived from the original on 11 May 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
- ^ "Kings & Queens Of The Underground". Record Collector. 26 May 2011. Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
- ^ "Billy Idol 'Kings & Queens of the Underground' Album Review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
- ^ "TOUR DATES - Billy Idol". billyidol.net. Archived from the original on 25 October 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
- ^ "Review and setlist: Billy Idol at O2 Academy, Birmingham". birminghammail.co.uk. 6 November 2014. Archived from the original on 8 November 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
- ^ "Kings & Queens of the Underground". billyidol.net. Archived from the original on 11 September 2014. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
- ^ "Amazon.co.jp: ビリー・アイドル : 逆襲のアイドル". Amazon.co.jp.
- ^ Ryan, Gavin (25 October 2014). "Slipknot Land No 1 Album On ARIA Chart". Noise11. Archived from the original on 31 October 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – Billy Idol – Kings & Queens of the Underground" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Billy Idol – Kings & Queens Of The Underground" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Billy Idol – Kings & Queens Of The Underground" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
- ^ "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 46.Týden 2014 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
- ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Billy Idol – Kings & Queens Of The Underground". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Billy Idol – Kings & Queens Of The Underground" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
- ^ "Billy Idol: Kings & Queens of the Underground" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
- ^ "Lescharts.com – Billy Idol – Kings & Queens of the Underground". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
- ^ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
- ^ "Italiancharts.com – Billy Idol – Kings & Queens of the Underground". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Billy Idol – Kings & Queens of the Underground". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- ^ "Billy Idol Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
- ^ "Billy Idol Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- ^ "Billy Idol Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
- ^ "Billy Idol Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
- ^ "Buy Kings And Queens Of The Underground Billy Idol". Sanity. Archived from the original on 26 October 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ^ "Kings & Queens of the Underground: Amazon.de: Musik". Amazon.de (DE).
- ^ "iTunes - Music - Kings & Queens of the Underground (Bonus Tracks Version) by Billy Idol". Apple iTunes UK. Archived from the original on 6 December 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
- ^ "Kings and Queens of the Underground: Billy Idol: Amazon.ca: Music". Amazon.ca.
- ^ "Amazon.com: Kings & Queens of the Underground: Music". Amazon. 16 August 2023.