Billy Idol says to rock as long as you can
Billy Idol’s father died two years ago, and now Idol, 60, can’t believe he’s the patriarch of his proper British family, considering all the sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll.
“Now I’m head of the family. How ridiculous is that?” Idol tells us. “So now they have the most dysfunctional head of the family that could ever possibly be.”
He does have good genes, says Idol, singing at the House of Blues this weekend on Friday and Saturday.
“I thought my dad would be somebody who’d live to 100, and then in 2014, he died from cancer. That was a bit of a shock. It told me about mortality,” he says.
His healthy mother turned 88 in February, as you can see from a nice family photo he passed around on Instagram.
“Certainly at the end, my dad had a bit of a bad time, and hopefully my mother will be all right,” he says.
Idol hopes he’s just as lucky with longevity.
“I mean, I did all those drugs and everything. Ha!” he says. “I don’t think my parents did all of that. They smoked a bit and drank a tiny bit.
“That’s maybe why we need to play (in concert) now while we’re still in really good shape because you never know what’s going to happen.”
Idol will exist for infinity if his House of Blues show title comes true: “Billy Idol Forever,” or “BIF.”
Idol has on occasion inverted the letters as “BFI,” which stands for “Billy (Expletive) Idol,” correct?
“Yeah,” he says all gravely voiced, like a Billy Idol would.
CINCO DE DRINKO
I was catching up with Mirage headliner David Spade on Cinco de Mayo, and he told me he must be getting older because he wasn’t drunk by 3:30 p.m., unlike his drunken friends in Hollywood.
“My friends are such alkies,” said Spade, whose next Mirage date is May 20 with Ray Romano.
“These guys go, ‘I’ve got such a big day at work tomorrow, and it’s Cinco de Mayo, and I’m going to be so drunk by noon.’”
“Can you not drink?” Spade asked his friends.
“But it’s Cinco de Mayo,” his friends said. “I wish there was a way around this.”
“I guess you’re just gonna be blacked out by 3 and miss work,” Spade snarked, resigned.
“I know,” his friends said. “That’s the only option.”
These aren’t Spade’s famous friends.
“They’re just my sort of (expletive) friends,” he said.
MARVIN GAYE GOLFED?
Four Tops singer Duke Fakir used to perform in Vegas, then stay up all night with friends, go golfing at 6 a.m., stay up during the day, and perform again at night.
At age 80, Fakir doesn’t pull all-nighters anymore, but he still golfs nearly like he used to with Smokey Robinson, Berry Gordy and many Motown greats, says the last original member of the Four Tops, who recently performed in Primm’s Star of the Desert Arena.
Who were the best golfers Fakir knew?
“Billy Eckstine was very good when he would concentrate,” Fakir said. “Marvin Gaye was fairly good. … He was a middle of the road kind of golfer, as most guys are.
“Ronnie White of the Miracles, who passed away early in his life, he was a scratch golfer,” Fakir says. “I didn’t realize it until he took my first betting money.”
Early in Fakir’s music career, a different famous person (he won’t say who) bet Fakir $10,000 on a nine-hole. Fakir had only $6,000 in the bank, so he played a mind trip on the guy.
“I borrowed some money from my buddies, and I came to the golf course with a cashier’s check for $20,000. I said, ‘I’m sorry, the bet now is $20,000.’”
Fakir said the other guy’s knees shook at that bet.
“So we ended up betting $1. I beat him by one stroke in nine holes,” Fakir said, laughing. “I just used the same game he used on me. I just took it another notch.”
TRUMP DENIALS
Donald Trump denied a Las Vegas report the Republican presidential candidate once cheated three times at golf with boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya.
De La Hoya made the claim to radio host Brian Shapiro on KMZQ-AM 670/Yahoo Sports Radio on Wednesday.
Trump has now been accused of golf cheating by Sports Illustrated managing editor Mark Mulvoy, author Rick Reilly, actor Samuel L. Jackson and Alice Cooper, who told The Washington Post last year:
“The worst celebrity golf cheat? … I played with Donald Trump one time. That’s all I’m going to say.”
Trump has denied all cheating accusations, and on Thursday he denied de la Hoya’s claim in an AP interview.
Trump claims he once recorded a 66 on his own course in Florida.
Doug Elfman can be reached at delfman@reviewjournal.com. He blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman. On Twitter: @VegasAnonymous
