HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Billy Idol is writing a memoir that will detail his rise to fame and influence on punk rock music.
The 54-year-old rocker is teaming up with Touchstone, a division of Simon & Schuster, to publish the book Dancing with Myself, named after his smash 1980 hit single.
"Life gave me a golden key when I fell in love with rock n roll music," said Idol. "It was the key to the answer of how to live and achieve your dreams. This world opened up to me with all the good opportunities but also every temptation—the drugs, the booze, the women, the 24-hour around-the-clock excess. And yet you have to write good songs to survive. Life had to be lived to do all that! Now I’m putting it all down in book form—from the heart. I’m going out on a limb here, so watch my back."
The memoir will be released in late 2011 or early 2012.
Idol rose to fame in the days of punk rock as the lead singer of the band Generation X. He embarked on a solo career in the 1980s, becoming a popular star in MTV’s early days thanks to such hits as "White Wedding" and "Rebel Yell."
