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Get Close To Nick Jonas
Nick Jonas

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Get Close To Nick Jonas

GRAMMY-nominated singer/songwriter on his keys to songwriting, the origins of his hit "Close" and putting a personal touch on his music

GRAMMYs/Jun 9, 2016 - 05:00 pm

Ahead of the release of his new album, Last Year Was Complicated, on June 10, GRAMMY-nominated singer/songwriter Nick Jonas visited The Recording Academy's headquarters in Santa Monica, Calif., to participate in an exclusive GRAMMY.com interview. Jonas discussed why trusting his instincts is crucial to his songwriting process, the creative seed for "Close," the debut hit from his forthcoming album, and why vulnerability is key to connecting with his fans, among other topics.

"Anytime you get personal in your art, it opens itself up with the public, especially with your fans," said Jonas. "I like to try and be the kind of artist that is really willing to go there, and not afraid of pushing myself to say too much at times."

Jonas released his debut solo album, 2004's Nicholas Jonas, before forming the Jonas Brothers with his brothers Kevin and Joe. In 2006 the Jonas Brothers released their debut album, It's About Time, which was followed by 2007's Jonas Brothers. The trio's first chart-topping album, A Little Bit Longer, helped them earn a 2008 GRAMMY nomination for Best New Artist. The Jonas Brothers followed with three Top 10 albums — including 2010's Jonas L.A., the soundtrack to their original Disney TV series — before disbanding in 2013.

Jonas' 2014 solo album, Nick Jonas, peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 and featured the Top 10 hit "Jealous" and collaborations with Demi Lovato and rapper Angel Haze. He was among the performers at "Sinatra 100 — An All-Star GRAMMY Concert," a primetime entertainment special celebrating the legacy of Frank Sinatra that aired Dec. 6, 2015. 

Last Year Was Complicated features "Close," a duet with Tove Lo peaking at No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album also features the tracks "Chainsaw" and "Champagne Problems" as well as collaborations with Ty Dolla $ign and Big Sean.

Jonas will kick off Future Now, a co-headlining tour with Lovato, on June 29 in Atlanta, with dates scheduled through September.

GRAMMY Rewind: Kendrick Lamar Honors Hip-Hop's Greats While Accepting Best Rap Album GRAMMY For 'To Pimp a Butterfly' In 2016
Kendrick Lamar

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GRAMMY Rewind: Kendrick Lamar Honors Hip-Hop's Greats While Accepting Best Rap Album GRAMMY For 'To Pimp a Butterfly' In 2016

Upon winning the GRAMMY for Best Rap Album for 'To Pimp a Butterfly,' Kendrick Lamar thanked those that helped him get to the stage, and the artists that blazed the trail for him.

GRAMMYs/Oct 13, 2023 - 06:01 pm

Updated Friday Oct. 13, 2023 to include info about Kendrick Lamar's most recent GRAMMY wins, as of the 2023 GRAMMYs.

A GRAMMY veteran these days, Kendrick Lamar has won 17 GRAMMYs and has received 47 GRAMMY nominations overall. A sizable chunk of his trophies came from the 58th annual GRAMMY Awards in 2016, when he walked away with five — including his first-ever win in the Best Rap Album category.

This installment of GRAMMY Rewind turns back the clock to 2016, revisiting Lamar's acceptance speech upon winning Best Rap Album for To Pimp A Butterfly. Though Lamar was alone on stage, he made it clear that he wouldn't be at the top of his game without the help of a broad support system. 

"First off, all glory to God, that's for sure," he said, kicking off a speech that went on to thank his parents, who he described as his "those who gave me the responsibility of knowing, of accepting the good with the bad."

Looking for more GRAMMYs news? The 2024 GRAMMY nominations are here!

He also extended his love and gratitude to his fiancée, Whitney Alford, and shouted out his Top Dawg Entertainment labelmates. Lamar specifically praised Top Dawg's CEO, Anthony Tiffith, for finding and developing raw talent that might not otherwise get the chance to pursue their musical dreams.

"We'd never forget that: Taking these kids out of the projects, out of Compton, and putting them right here on this stage, to be the best that they can be," Lamar — a Compton native himself — continued, leading into an impassioned conclusion spotlighting some of the cornerstone rap albums that came before To Pimp a Butterfly.

"Hip-hop. Ice Cube. This is for hip-hop," he said. "This is for Snoop Dogg, Doggystyle. This is for Illmatic, this is for Nas. We will live forever. Believe that."

To Pimp a Butterfly singles "Alright" and "These Walls" earned Lamar three more GRAMMYs that night, the former winning Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song and the latter taking Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (the song features Bilal, Anna Wise and Thundercat). He also won Best Music Video for the remix of Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood." 

Lamar has since won Best Rap Album two more times, taking home the golden gramophone in 2018 for his blockbuster LP DAMN., and in 2023 for his bold fifth album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.

Watch Lamar's full acceptance speech above, and check back at GRAMMY.com every Friday for more GRAMMY Rewind episodes. 

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Inside Jonas Brothers' 'The Album': How Leaning Into Joy, Fatherhood & Dad Rock Spawned Their Most Definitive Music Yet
Jonas Brothers

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Inside Jonas Brothers' 'The Album': How Leaning Into Joy, Fatherhood & Dad Rock Spawned Their Most Definitive Music Yet

On their sixth album, the Jonas Brothers celebrate the music, people, places and sounds that helped them reach their full potential — and create the music they've always been destined to make.

GRAMMYs/May 12, 2023 - 07:30 pm

Of all the album names in all the world, the Jonas Brothers decided that they would go as straightforward as possible for their sixth LP: The Album.

But for such a simple title, it holds a lot of meaning to Joe, Kevin and Nick. Not only are they feeling better than ever as a group and as individuals, but they collectively view it as  their best body of work to date.

"We just said, 'Look, if you're going to pick up any of our music, we hope you pick up this one first,'" Joe explains. "It also makes it really easy for marketing in the future — The Tour, The Album, The Shirt, The Hat," he adds as all three brothers share a laugh.  

While The Album is a departure from their more contemporary-leaning comeback album, 2019's Happiness Begins, it doesn't lack the feel-good energy present throughout their catalog. It shows another side of their musicality, one that brings in long-held influences like the Eagles, the Bee Gees, the Police, America, Sly and the Family Stone, Hall & Oates, among many others.

It's a rather full-circle moment for the siblings as well. As they lean into the music their dad played growing up, they're all dads themselves (ironically, to all girls). As the bros point out, it's also the first time they've all been in the same place in a long time — and that's exactly what makes The Album so special.

Whether it's the seamless harmonies on lead single "Wings," the passionate (and sexy) tributes to their partners on "Miracle," or the pure joy on "Celebrate!," all 12 tracks on The Album are a manifestation of the synergy and bliss the Jonas Brothers are reveling in. And though longtime JoBro fans will always hold classics like "Year 3000" and "Burnin' Up" dear, their latest project captures the Jonas Brothers in their most authentic and realized form.

Below, the Jonas Brothers break down some of the biggest inspirations for The Album — from finding the perfect producer, to their tight-knit community and an overwhelming feeling of gratefulness.

Producer Jon Bellion

Joe: We've had a few people tell us how it would be nice for us all to get together and work on some music. One of the guys from Monsters & Strangerz, Stef, works with Bellion a lot, and he said, "You guys should definitely hang out."

Originally, our first meeting was just going to be, like, a proper get-together and not just get in the studio, which was a first — we usually just jump in right in the deep end. We all were coming from separate places, so we were like, "We're really just gonna go meet somebody right now?"

But we're glad we did, because we spoke with Jon about where he felt like the music could go, and he was saying exactly what we were hoping for. He played us "Montana Sky," in a very demo phase, and we flipped out. We were like, "can we record this right now?" And he was like, "Well I'm actually flying on a plane tonight." And we were like, "Please stay." 

Kevin: He changed his flight and we ended up recording the vocals you hear [on the track] today. And that was the first song on the album.

Nick: It was an incredible start. I think the key was connecting the dots with him, and then us bringing our thoughts, perspective and sound to it. That just happens naturally when we put our voices on something, it sort of molds into something new. So it wasn't 100 percent there, but it got there. That was the case with the whole album — once we got into the process of actually recording the rest of it, working on lyrics and everything else, we added our touch throughout.

Dad Rock

Nick: We were raised on the Eagles and the Bee Gees, and a lot of great music from the '70s and early '80s.

Joe: We would drive around in the minivan — you know, the kids of today might be listening to Kids Bop or Baby Shark, and we were listening to Carole King's Tapestry, and the Bee Gees, and the Beatles. And we were thinking every other kid on the playground was listening to the same thing. That's how we discovered harmonies, how we discovered some of the tones and guitars and the way, rhythmically, a guitar would be played when it was going from funk music to classic rock and roll.

Nick: We were already kind of trending in that direction, where we really liked that sound as our next kind of evolution. We had a lot of fun making Happiness Begins, but that certainly [had] more sort of modern influences at the core. 

Joe: What we really were striving for with this album was to create something that sonically was competitive and sounded kind of like you could hear it anywhere, and also gives nods to some of our biggest influences in our career and the music our dad raised us on.

Kevin: It's not like we were making a tribute album. This is definitely us really wanting to put our stamp on the sound, and this organic growth of who we are as a band and we can continue to translate that in playing it live.

Nick: [There was] definitely some influence of our church upbringing [too]. The choir [elements] on this [album came from] kind of that soul influence — Doobie Brothers, Marvin Gaye, places where you get the sense that there's a lot of vocalists in the environment, creating a proper vibe. On songs like "Vacation Eyes," that was key. 

"Walls" is definitely a combination of like, Oasis meets gospel. I just loved the blending of the sounds and how they all work together very well. Jon comes from a similar background musically, and [brought] some of that to the table as well.

Harmony (In Many Forms)

Nick: [Three-part harmonies] was one of the main things that we wanted to spotlight and worked hard with Bellion on. Because we sing in harmony a lot, it can lean country at times. We are not country artists by any means, but we have that Americana sort of feeling there and those roots. I think it's more of the Americana/soul and classic kind of rock and roll elements that all sort of make up what that sound becomes.

Kevin: I definitely feel like we're in the most similar place we've ever been in our lives, as brothers, as fathers, and as friends. It's interesting that there is that parallel [of so many harmonies on the album], maybe intentionally or unintentionally. We just wanted to spotlight the things that were important to who we are and the kind of music we wanted to make.

Waffle House

Joe: It was a late night, I think I was in the UK at the time. Jon texted us this lengthy message about wanting some inspiration for a song title. [He asked,] "What's a place that comes to mind that really kinda sums up you guys as brothers?" And we're like, "Well, that's a big ask."

I just wrote "Waffle House." And then Jon just wrote question marks. I second guessed myself, and then I was like, "You know what, actually, yes, I did mean that. And here's why." 

Growing up, the short version goes, we weren't old enough to go out with our bandmates and get a pint after a show. So we'd go to the only place open in the middle of America, usually it was Waffle House or TGI Fridays — you know, there's many of them you can name, but Waffle House was the one that sounded catchiest in my head. So we ended up going with it and it worked itself out. And I like writing songs about food.

Kevin: It's worked out for you so far.

Nick: It was less about the specific moments [at those places], and more about that chapter of our life and journey, and what we were all going through. 

A lot of people ask, "How have you guys stayed so normal amidst the craziness of your life?" And I think it's because we had a built-in community — with each other, obviously, and our family, but also with our band and management team. And wherever those deep conversations, or fights, or things that led to positive outcomes and personal growth [happened], that was definitely an invaluable time in our life and journey.

Joe: I'm still waiting for that Waffle House For Life card.

Their Daughters

Nick: We all spoke to [Jon] separately about what it was like to become fathers and what it's like to be a father. He took that and came back with the bones of a song, and then we all kind of added our own touch to it vocally and in other ways.

It's one of those things that we're so in it, that at times we have to sort of just pour our heart into to it in a different way than just sitting down and putting pen to paper — actually sit with a trusted collaborator, who's on a similar life journey with two kids of his own, and speak about what that experience is like. That directly influenced how ["Little Bird"] was created. 

That was a really freeing and liberating thing for this project, to approach this process in a different way. It's still as personal as it's always been, and as meaningful for us, but the actual functionality of the process has evolved for us. It's been incredible to take that step.

Speaking about fatherhood of course made us all cry, and we continue to every time we sing it live now.

Joe: It's a tough one to sing live, vocally and also emotionally, but we don't intend to take it off [the setlist]. 

Kevin: I'm really excited for that first guitar moment. People will get accustomed to that sound, and so they'll know [it's coming] when we play it on tour. I'm excited for those two moments to connect.

Nick: [Being fathers] affects every aspect of our life and the way in which we operate as a whole. So it's definitely in [The Album]. But it's more just the depth we feel, and depth of the relationships in our life — our kids, our wives, family — everything takes on a deeper, and more complex meaning. Most of the songs are either about family, and brotherhood, or, obviously, our romantic relationships.

Simply Having Fun

Nick: We always try to have as much fun as possible. We were forced, in a way, to approach this process very differently than we ever have, because we were all recording in different parts of the country, living in different countries, and occasionally meeting up in person. There was an energy to it because of the nature in which it was recorded that forced us to take our time, to have as much fun in the process as possible, and also to be really intentional with the time that we had.

I think it's incredible to be almost 20 years into our career and continuing to have these new experiences — and that's not limited to the way in which we go about making an album. It was a new and exciting experience for us all over again, and how rare is that? That any sort of chapter of our life and journey, these albums represent more than just a body of work that we're really excited about and want the world to hear, but really kind of encapsulate who we are at that moment in our life. 

We've seen our fans grow with us, and sort of mirrored the experiences that we're going through. It's great that the music represents that. Hopefully they connect with it in a whole new way because of that.

Joe: We're still young guys doing this, and we have many, many years ahead of us. And we're in the best place in our lives, so why not continue to release music? 

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A Guide To Modern Funk For The Dance Floor: L'Imperatrice, Shiro Schwarz, Franc Moody, Say She She & Moniquea
Franc Moody

Photo: Rachel Kupfer 

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A Guide To Modern Funk For The Dance Floor: L'Imperatrice, Shiro Schwarz, Franc Moody, Say She She & Moniquea

James Brown changed the sound of popular music when he found the power of the one and unleashed the funk with "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag." Today, funk lives on in many forms, including these exciting bands from across the world.

GRAMMYs/Nov 25, 2022 - 04:23 pm

It's rare that a genre can be traced back to a single artist or group, but for funk, that was James Brown. The Godfather of Soul coined the phrase and style of playing known as "on the one," where the first downbeat is emphasized, instead of the typical second and fourth beats in pop, soul and other styles. As David Cheal eloquently explains, playing on the one "left space for phrases and riffs, often syncopated around the beat, creating an intricate, interlocking grid which could go on and on." You know a funky bassline when you hear it; its fat chords beg your body to get up and groove.

Brown's 1965 classic, "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," became one of the first funk hits, and has been endlessly sampled and covered over the years, along with his other groovy tracks. Of course, many other funk acts followed in the '60s, and the genre thrived in the '70s and '80s as the disco craze came and went, and the originators of hip-hop and house music created new music from funk and disco's strong, flexible bones built for dancing.

Legendary funk bassist Bootsy Collins learned the power of the one from playing in Brown's band, and brought it to George Clinton, who created P-funk, an expansive, Afrofuturistic, psychedelic exploration of funk with his various bands and projects, including Parliament-Funkadelic. Both Collins and Clinton remain active and funkin', and have offered their timeless grooves to collabs with younger artists, including Kali Uchis, Silk Sonic, and Omar Apollo; and Kendrick Lamar, Flying Lotus, and Thundercat, respectively.

In the 1980s, electro-funk was born when artists like Afrika Bambaataa, Man Parrish, and Egyptian Lover began making futuristic beats with the Roland TR-808 drum machine — often with robotic vocals distorted through a talk box. A key distinguishing factor of electro-funk is a de-emphasis on vocals, with more phrases than choruses and verses. The sound influenced contemporaneous hip-hop, funk and electronica, along with acts around the globe, while current acts like Chromeo, DJ Stingray, and even Egyptian Lover himself keep electro-funk alive and well.

Today, funk lives in many places, with its heavy bass and syncopated grooves finding way into many nooks and crannies of music. There's nu-disco and boogie funk, nodding back to disco bands with soaring vocals and dance floor-designed instrumentation. G-funk continues to influence Los Angeles hip-hop, with innovative artists like Dam-Funk and Channel Tres bringing the funk and G-funk, into electro territory. Funk and disco-centered '70s revival is definitely having a moment, with acts like Ghost Funk Orchestra and Parcels, while its sparkly sprinklings can be heard in pop from Dua Lipa, Doja Cat, and, in full "Soul Train" character, Silk Sonic. There are also acts making dreamy, atmospheric music with a solid dose of funk, such as Khruangbin’s global sonic collage.

There are many bands that play heavily with funk, creating lush grooves designed to get you moving. Read on for a taste of five current modern funk and nu-disco artists making band-led uptempo funk built for the dance floor. Be sure to press play on the Spotify playlist above, and check out GRAMMY.com's playlist on Apple Music, Amazon Music and Pandora.

Say She She

Aptly self-described as "discodelic soul," Brooklyn-based seven-piece Say She She make dreamy, operatic funk, led by singer-songwriters Nya Gazelle Brown, Piya Malik and Sabrina Mileo Cunningham. Their '70s girl group-inspired vocal harmonies echo, sooth and enchant as they cover poignant topics with feminist flair.

While they’ve been active in the New York scene for a few years, they’ve gained wider acclaim for the irresistible music they began releasing this year, including their debut album, Prism. Their 2022 debut single "Forget Me Not" is an ode to ground-breaking New York art collective Guerilla Girls, and "Norma" is their protest anthem in response to the news that Roe vs. Wade could be (and was) overturned. The band name is a nod to funk legend Nile Rodgers, from the "Le freak, c'est chi" exclamation in Chic's legendary tune "Le Freak."

Moniquea

Moniquea's unique voice oozes confidence, yet invites you in to dance with her to the super funky boogie rhythms. The Pasadena, California artist was raised on funk music; her mom was in a cover band that would play classics like Aretha Franklin’s "Get It Right" and Gladys Knight’s "Love Overboard." Moniquea released her first boogie funk track at 20 and, in 2011, met local producer XL Middelton — a bonafide purveyor of funk. She's been a star artist on his MoFunk Records ever since, and they've collabed on countless tracks, channeling West Coast energy with a heavy dose of G-funk, sunny lyrics and upbeat, roller disco-ready rhythms.

Her latest release is an upbeat nod to classic West Coast funk, produced by Middleton, and follows her February 2022 groovy, collab-filled album, On Repeat.

Shiro Schwarz

Shiro Schwarz is a Mexico City-based duo, consisting of Pammela Rojas and Rafael Marfil, who helped establish a modern funk scene in the richly creative Mexican metropolis. On "Electrify" — originally released in 2016 on Fat Beats Records and reissued in 2021 by MoFunk — Shiro Schwarz's vocals playfully contrast each other, floating over an insistent, upbeat bassline and an '80s throwback electro-funk rhythm with synth flourishes.

Their music manages to be both nostalgic and futuristic — and impossible to sit still to. 2021 single "Be Kind" is sweet, mellow and groovy, perfect chic lounge funk. Shiro Schwarz’s latest track, the joyfully nostalgic "Hey DJ," is a collab with funkstress Saucy Lady and U-Key.

L'Impératrice

L'Impératrice (the empress in French) are a six-piece Parisian group serving an infectiously joyful blend of French pop, nu-disco, funk and psychedelia. Flore Benguigui's vocals are light and dreamy, yet commanding of your attention, while lyrics have a feminist touch.

During their energetic live sets, L'Impératrice members Charles de Boisseguin and Hagni Gwon (keys), David Gaugué (bass), Achille Trocellier (guitar), and Tom Daveau (drums) deliver extended instrumental jam sessions to expand and connect their music. Gaugué emphasizes the thick funky bass, and Benguigui jumps around the stage while sounding like an angel. L’Impératrice’s latest album, 2021’s Tako Tsubo, is a sunny, playful French disco journey.

Franc Moody

Franc Moody's bio fittingly describes their music as "a soul funk and cosmic disco sound." The London outfit was birthed by friends Ned Franc and Jon Moody in the early 2010s, when they were living together and throwing parties in North London's warehouse scene. In 2017, the group grew to six members, including singer and multi-instrumentalist Amber-Simone.

Their music feels at home with other electro-pop bands like fellow Londoners Jungle and Aussie act Parcels. While much of it is upbeat and euphoric, Franc Moody also dips into the more chilled, dreamy realm, such as the vibey, sultry title track from their recently released Into the Ether.

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Living Legends: Billy Idol On Survival, Revival & Breaking Out Of The Cage
Billy Idol

Photo: Steven Sebring

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Living Legends: Billy Idol On Survival, Revival & Breaking Out Of The Cage

"One foot in the past and one foot into the future," Billy Idol says, describing his decade-spanning career in rock. "We’ve got the best of all possible worlds because that has been the modus operandi of Billy Idol."

GRAMMYs/Nov 25, 2022 - 04:19 pm

Living Legends is a series that spotlights icons in music still going strong today. This week, GRAMMY.com spoke with Billy Idol about his latest EP,  Cage, and continuing to rock through decades of changing tastes.

Billy Idol is a true rock 'n' roll survivor who has persevered through cultural shifts and personal struggles. While some may think of Idol solely for "Rebel Yell" and "White Wedding," the singer's musical influences span genres and many of his tunes are less turbo-charged than his '80s hits would belie.  

Idol first made a splash in the latter half of the '70s with the British punk band Generation X. In the '80s, he went on to a solo career combining rock, pop, and punk into a distinct sound that transformed him and his musical partner, guitarist Steve Stevens, into icons. They have racked up multiple GRAMMY nominations, in addition to one gold, one double platinum, and four platinum albums thanks to hits like "Cradle Of Love," "Flesh For Fantasy," and "Eyes Without A Face." 

But, unlike many legacy artists, Idol is anything but a relic. Billy continues to produce vital Idol music by collaborating with producers and songwriters — including Miley Cyrus — who share his forward-thinking vision. He will play a five-show Vegas residency in November, and filmmaker Jonas Akerlund is working on a documentary about Idol’s life. 

His latest release is Cage, the second in a trilogy of annual four-song EPs. The title track is a classic Billy Idol banger expressing the desire to free himself from personal constraints and live a better life. Other tracks on Cage incorporate metallic riffing and funky R&B grooves. 

Idol continues to reckon with his demons — they both grappled with addiction during the '80s — and the singer is open about those struggles on the record and the page. (Idol's 2014 memoir Dancing With Myself, details a 1990 motorcycle accident that nearly claimed a leg, and how becoming a father steered him to reject hard drugs. "Bitter Taste," from his last EP, The Roadside, reflects on surviving the accident.)

Although Idol and Stevens split in the late '80s — the skilled guitarist fronted Steve Stevens & The Atomic Playboys, and collaborated with Michael Jackson, Rick Ocasek, Vince Neil, and Harold Faltermeyer (on the GRAMMY-winning "Top Gun Anthem") —  their common history and shared musical bond has been undeniable. The duo reunited in 2001 for an episode of "VH1 Storytellers" and have been back in the saddle for two decades. Their union remains one of the strongest collaborations in rock 'n roll history.

While there is recognizable personnel and a distinguishable sound throughout a lot of his work, Billy Idol has always pushed himself to try different things. Idol discusses his musical journey, his desire to constantly move forward, and the strong connection that he shares with Stevens. 

Steve has said that you like to mix up a variety of styles, yet everyone assumes you're the "Rebel Yell"/"White Wedding" guy. But if they really listen to your catalog, it's vastly different.

Yeah, that's right. With someone like Steve Stevens, and then back in the day Keith Forsey producing... [Before that] Generation X actually did move around inside punk rock. We didn't stay doing just the Ramones two-minute music. We actually did a seven-minute song. [Laughs]. We did always mix things up. 

Then when I got into my solo career, that was the fun of it. With someone like Steve, I knew what he could do. I could see whatever we needed to do, we could nail it. The world was my oyster musically. 

"Cage" is a classic-sounding Billy Idol rocker, then "Running From The Ghost" is almost metal, like what the Devil's Playground album was like back in the mid-2000s. "Miss Nobody" comes out of nowhere with this pop/R&B flavor. What inspired that?

We really hadn't done anything like that since something like "Flesh For Fantasy" [which] had a bit of an R&B thing about it. Back in the early days of Billy Idol, "Hot In The City" and "Mony Mony" had girls [singing] on the backgrounds. 

We always had a bit of R&B really, so it was actually fun to revisit that. We just hadn't done anything really quite like that for a long time. That was one of the reasons to work with someone like Sam Hollander [for the song "Rita Hayworth"] on The Roadside. We knew we could go [with him] into an R&B world, and he's a great songwriter and producer. That's the fun of music really, trying out these things and seeing if you can make them stick. 

I listen to new music by veteran artists and debate that with some people. I'm sure you have those fans that want their nostalgia, and then there are some people who will embrace the newer stuff. Do you find it’s a challenge to reach people with new songs?

Obviously, what we're looking for is, how do we somehow have one foot in the past and one foot into the future? We’ve got the best of all possible worlds because that has been the modus operandi of Billy Idol. 

You want to do things that are true to you, and you don't just want to try and do things that you're seeing there in the charts today. I think that we're achieving it with things like "Running From The Ghost" and "Cage" on this new EP. I think we’re managing to do both in a way. 

**Obviously, "Running From The Ghost" is about addiction, all the stuff that you went through, and in "Cage" you’re talking about  freeing yourself from a lot of personal shackles. Was there any one moment in your life that made you really thought I have to not let this weigh me down anymore?**

I mean, things like the motorcycle accident I had, that was a bit of a wake up call way back. It was 32 years ago. But there were things like that, years ago, that gradually made me think about what I was doing with my life. I didn't want to ruin it, really. I didn't want to throw it away, and it made [me] be less cavalier. 

I had to say to myself, about the drugs and stuff, that I've been there and I've done it. There’s no point in carrying on doing it. You couldn't get any higher. You didn't want to throw your life away casually, and I was close to doing that. It took me a bit of time, but then gradually I was able to get control of myself to a certain extent [with] drugs and everything. And I think Steve's done the same thing. We're on a similar path really, which has been great because we're in the same boat in terms of lyrics and stuff. 

So a lot of things like that were wake up calls. Even having grandchildren and just watching my daughter enlarging her family and everything; it just makes you really positive about things and want to show a positive side to how you're feeling, about where you're going. We've lived with the demons so long, we've found a way to live with them. We found a way to be at peace with our demons, in a way. Maybe not completely, but certainly to where we’re enjoying what we do and excited about it.

[When writing] "Running From The Ghost" it was easy to go, what was the ghost for us? At one point, we were very drug addicted in the '80s. And Steve in particular is super sober [now]. I mean, I still vape pot and stuff. I don’t know how he’s doing it, but it’s incredible. All I want to be able to do is have a couple of glasses of wine at a restaurant or something. I can do that now.

I think working with people that are super talented, you just feel confident. That is a big reason why you open up and express yourself more because you feel comfortable with what's around you.

Did you watch Danny Boyle's recent Sex Pistols mini-series?

I did, yes.

You had a couple of cameos; well, an actor who portrayed you did. How did you react to it? How accurate do you think it was in portraying that particular time period?

I love Jonesy’s book, I thought his book was incredible. It's probably one of the best bio books really. It was incredible and so open. I was looking forward to that a lot.

It was as if [the show] kind of stayed with Steve [Jones’ memoir] about halfway through, and then departed from it. [John] Lydon, for instance, was never someone I ever saw acting out; he's more like that today. I never saw him do something like jump up in the room and run around going crazy. The only time I saw him ever do that was when they signed the recording deal with Virgin in front of Buckingham Palace. Whereas Sid Vicious was always acting out; he was always doing something in a horrible way or shouting at someone. I don't remember John being like that. I remember him being much more introverted.

But then I watched interviews with some of the actors about coming to grips with the parts they were playing. And they were saying, we knew punk rock happened but just didn't know any of the details. So I thought well, there you go. If ["Pistol" is]  informing a lot of people who wouldn't know anything about punk rock, maybe that's what's good about it.

Maybe down the road John Lydon will get the chance to do John's version of the Pistols story. Maybe someone will go a lot deeper into it and it won't be so surface. But maybe you needed this just to get people back in the flow.

We had punk and metal over here in the States, but it feels like England it was legitimately more dangerous. British society was much more rigid.

It never went [as] mega in America. It went big in England. It exploded when the Pistols did that interview with [TV host Bill] Grundy, that lorry truck driver put his boot through his own TV, and all the national papers had "the filth and the fury" [headlines].

We went from being unknown to being known overnight. We waited a year, Generation X. We even told them [record labels] no for nine months to a year. Every record company wanted their own punk rock group. So it went really mega in England, and it affected the whole country – the style, the fashions, everything. I mean, the Ramones were massive in England. Devo had a No. 1 song [in England] with "Satisfaction" in '77. Actually, Devo was as big as or bigger than the Pistols.

You were ahead of the pop-punk thing that happened in the late '90s, and a lot of it became tongue-in-cheek by then. It didn't have the same sense of rebelliousness as the original movement. It was more pop.

It had become a style. There was a famous book in England called Revolt Into Style — and that's what had happened, a revolt that turned into style which then they were able to duplicate in their own way. Even recently, Billie Joe [Armstrong] did his own version of "Gimme Some Truth," the Lennon song we covered way back in 1977.

When we initially were making [punk] music, it hadn't become accepted yet. It was still dangerous and turned into a style that people were used to. We were still breaking barriers.

You have a band called Generation Sex with Steve Jones and Paul Cook. I assume you all have an easier time playing Pistols and Gen X songs together now and not worrying about getting spit on like back in the '70s?

Yeah, definitely. When I got to America I told the group I was putting it together, "No one spits at the audience."

We had five years of being spat on [in the UK], and it was revolting. And they spat at you if they liked you. If they didn't like it they smashed your gear up. One night, I remember I saw blood on my T-shirt, and I think Joe Strummer got meningitis when spit went in his mouth.

You had to go through a lot to become successful, it wasn't like you just kind of got up there and did a couple of gigs. I don't think some young rock bands really get that today.

With punk going so mega in England, we definitely got a leg up. We still had a lot of work to get where we got to, and rightly so because you find out that you need to do that. A lot of groups in the old days would be together three to five years before they ever made a record, and that time is really important. In a way, what was great about punk rock for me was it was very much a learning period. I really learned a lot [about] recording music and being in a group and even writing songs.

Then when I came to America, it was a flow, really. I also really started to know what I wanted Billy Idol to be. It took me a little bit, but I kind of knew what I wanted Billy Idol to be. And even that took a while to let it marinate.

You and Miley Cyrus have developed a good working relationship in the last several years. How do you think her fans have responded to you, and your fans have responded to her?

I think they're into it. It's more the record company that she had didn't really get "Night Crawling"— it was one of the best songs on Plastic Hearts, and I don't think they understood that. They wanted to go with Dua Lipa, they wanted to go with the modern, young acts, and I don't think they realized that that song was resonating with her fans. Which is a shame really because, with Andrew Watt producing, it's a hit song.

But at the same time, I enjoyed doing it. It came out really good and it's very Billy Idol. In fact, I think it’s more Billy Idol than Miley Cyrus. I think it shows you where Andrew Watt was. He was excited about doing a Billy Idol track. She's fun to work with. She’s a really great person and she works at her singing — I watched her rehearsing for the Super Bowl performance she gave. She rehearsed all Saturday morning, all Saturday afternoon, and Sunday morning and it was that afternoon. I have to admire her fortitude. She really cares.

I remember when you went on "Viva La Bamback in 2005 and decided to give Bam Margera’s Lamborghini a new sunroof by taking a power saw to it. Did he own that car? Was that a rental?

I think it was his car.

Did he get over it later on?

He loved it. [Laughs] He’s got a wacky sense of humor. He’s fantastic, actually. I’m really sorry to see what he's been going through just lately. He's going through a lot, and I wish him the best. He's a fantastic person, and it's a shame that he's struggling so much with his addictions. I know what it's like. It's not easy.

Musically, what is the synergy like with you guys during the past 10 years, doing Kings and Queens of the Underground and this new stuff? What is your working relationship like now in this more sober, older, mature version of you two as opposed to what it was like back in the '80s?

In lots of ways it’s not so different because we always wrote the songs together, we always talked about what we're going to do together. It was just that we were getting high at the same time.We're just not getting [that way now] but we're doing all the same things.

We're still talking about things, still [planning] things:What are we going to do next? How are we going to find new people to work with? We want to find new producers. Let's be a little bit more timely about putting stuff out.That part of our relationship is the same, you know what I mean? That never got affected. We just happened to be overloading in the '80s.

The relationship’s… matured and it's carrying on being fruitful, and I think that's pretty amazing. Really, most people don't get to this place. Usually, they hate each other by now. [Laughs] We also give each other space. We're not stopping each other doing things outside of what we’re working on together. All of that enables us to carry on working together. I love and admire him. I respect him. He's been fantastic. I mean, just standing there on stage with him is always a treat. And he’s got an immensely great sense of humor. I think that's another reason why we can hang together after all this time because we've got the sense of humor to enable us to go forward.

There's a lot of fan reaction videos online, and I noticed a lot of younger women like "Rebel Yell" because, unlike a lot of other '80s alpha male rock tunes, you're talking about satisfying your lover.

It was about my girlfriend at the time, Perri Lister. It was about how great I thought she was, how much I was in love with her, and how great women are, how powerful they are.

It was a bit of a feminist anthem in a weird way. It was all about how relationships can free you and add a lot to your life. It was a cry of love, nothing to do with the Civil War or anything like that. Perri was a big part of my life, a big part of being Billy Idol. I wanted to write about it. I'm glad that's the effect.

Is there something you hope people get out of the songs you've been doing over the last 10 years? Do you find yourself putting out a message that keeps repeating?

Well, I suppose, if anything, is that you can come to terms with your life, you can keep a hold of it. You can work your dreams into reality in a way and, look, a million years later, still be enjoying it.

The only reason I'm singing about getting out of the cage is because I kicked out of the cage years ago. I joined Generation X when I said to my parents, "I'm leaving university, and I'm joining a punk rock group." And they didn't even know what a punk rock group was. Years ago, I’d write things for myself that put me on this path, so that maybe in 2022 I could sing something like "Cage" and be owning this territory and really having a good time. This is the life I wanted.

The original UK punk movement challenged societal norms. Despite all the craziness going on throughout the world, it seems like a lot of modern rock bands are afraid to do what you guys were doing. Do you think we'll see a shift in that?

Yeah.  Art usually reacts to things, so I would think eventually there will be a massive reaction to the pop music that’s taken over — the middle of the road music, and then this kind of right wing politics. There will be a massive reaction if there's not already one. I don’t know where it will come from exactly. You never know who's gonna do [it].

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