Billy Idol and Drew Barrymore reminisced about their experiences in the 1980s New York City club scene during a recent appearance on “The Drew Barrymore Show.” Idol, the punk rock icon, joined Barrymore to reflect on their past shared experiences in iconic venues like Studio 54 and Limelight. Although Barrymore was a child at the time, she often found herself in the company of musicians like Idol.
“Please, control room, tell me you have the picture of me and Billy at Limelight, the club,” Barrymore said, as a black-and-white photo from 1986 appeared onscreen. “Yes! I mean, Billy, that is where I see us when I think of you in my mind is back in the old club days. What the hell do you remember from those days?”
“Not very much,” Idol replied with a laugh, prompting Barrymore to joke, “Me neither—I was hoping you could color stuff in for me.”
Despite the hazy memories, Idol recalled the freedom of the era vividly. “It was a really incredible time. I really enjoyed those ’80s years. New York was kind of bankrupt so anything kind of went. It was like post-apocalyptic… you felt like the end of the world had sort of happened.”
Barrymore smiled as she reminisced about Idol’s influence on her. “The only thing I knew was that I loved you, I got to hang out with you, we were obviously playful and silly.”
The two later reunited when Idol made a memorable cameo in the 1998 film “The Wedding Singer,” which starred Barrymore alongside Adam Sandler. “I was so excited to be together again,” she said. “It felt like, ‘Oh! Just yesterday we were like, out in the clubs together!’”
As the conversation concluded, Barrymore became visibly emotional. “I’m really in a very nostalgic sort of avalanche in my mind,” she said. “It just doesn’t feel like any time has gone by. I feel like we’re back in the club, we’re at ‘The Wedding Singer,’ we’re doing our thing. You don’t look any different. You look good!”
She added, “God, I miss dancing so much. I miss the clubs! And those places played, as we said, every type of music, but you really pushed through and… changed the world. We all thank you for that.” Idol responded, “It was a super fun time.”