Billy Idol

Billy Idol has a cult following. Ironic, eh?

One quick run-through of his Web site documents a wide range of praise from his fervent fan club. Along with the photos of several female fans decked out in their "White Wedding" dresses, there are pictures of a 5-year-old girl posing with Idol when she met him through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, another with Idol's moniker airbrushed on her fingernail, and another who writes to share how thinking about his "Billy Idol rules the world" license plate frame helped him to overcome the trauma of surviving the September 11 attack on the Pentagon.

Idol, whose real name is William Michael Albert Broad, probably never thought his clever nom de plume would turn out to be so literal. During his early days as a punk rocker in Britain, he played with artists like Siouxsie Sioux, and Mick Jones of the Clash. His second band, Generation X, was responsible for the "Dancin' With Myself" phenomenon. But it was his solo career that produced teenaged rebellion anthems like "Rebel Yell" and "Cradle of Love," and his blanched Elvis hairdo, that fueled his idolatry in the '80s and apparently has kept the fire burning.