“That song bought you your house and got you your hot wife”: Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens says artists shouldn’t complain about having to play their biggest hits
Steve Stevens doesn’t take too kindly to musicians who complain about playing their biggest hits.
While it isn’t uncommon for artists to suffer from ‘hit fatigue’ – playing the same song night in, night out for weeks, months, or even years after its release can get old, after all – the guitarist argues that artists would do well to remember that those hits are what made their careers.
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“I never understood artists that… Sometimes you’ll see [them talking] in an interview [about] their biggest hit, and how they are so tired of playing that song,” he tells Jeremy White. “That song bought you your house, got you your hot wife.”
The musician, best known for his work as Billy Idol’s guitarist and co-songwriter, says that he’s never had that issue throughout his career, given how different each performance with Idol is.
“That’s a great thing about Billy Idol. No Show is ever the same. And we have enough improvisation built into our tunes. It’s always different. He’s always different on stage, and every gig is unique to that show.”
“The crazy thing is, Idol and I still really, really enjoy the partnership,” he adds, “and we look forward to making new music. I don’t know why, man, sometimes it’s just chemistry or whatever. It’s a lot of mutual respect.”
Like Stevens, Queens of the Stone Age mastermind Josh Homme has also voiced his disapproval of bands who refuse to play their biggest hits.
“I understand that I’m always going to play No One Knows because I still like playing that song and that’s something that it’s an agreement with the audience,” he explained (via NME). “I assume that this is a part of coming here to see us, and here you go.”
“When there’s bands that don’t want to play their big song or their big songs, I always think it’s a little cunty to do that. Acting like a song that a lot of people like is a burden is just a strange reaction to the gift that your fans have given you. Seems like an odd reaction.”
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