Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Billy Idol : Kings And Queens Of The Underground (First Edition)”?
Artist Statement
18 x 24 inch screen print, numbered edition of 400. Metallic silver ink on grey stock. Signed by Shepard Fairey. Limit 1 per person / household. $50. Based on a photo by Michael Muller.
Summary
Billy Idol: Kings And Queens Of The Underground is a 2015 screen print, 24 x 18 inches, printed in metallic silver ink on grey stock in a numbered edition of 400 at $50, published by Obey Giant. Signed by Shepard Fairey and based on a photo by Michael Muller, it was released with a limit of one per person or household. The work renders the punk and new-wave icon Billy Idol in Fairey's graphic portrait style, tied to Idol's album Kings And Queens Of The Underground.
Why It Matters
This print extends Fairey's long-running engagement with punk and new-wave music figures into a polished collectible. The source documents a distinctive material approach, metallic silver ink on grey stock, which gives the edition a specific visual identity beyond a standard color screen print. It is built on a photograph by Michael Muller, continuing Fairey's pattern of working from named photographers' source images, and it ties directly to Billy Idol's album Kings And Queens Of The Underground, anchoring the portrait to a real release. The one-per-household limit noted in the source suggests it was managed for fair distribution, a detail collectors associate with sought-after music editions. For those who collect Fairey's music portraits, Idol is a marquee subject whose punk and new-wave legacy aligns squarely with Fairey's counterculture roots. While the record does not establish auction performance, the combination of a recognizable icon, a documented photographer collaboration, and a metallic-on-grey treatment makes this a notable entry in Fairey's portrait and music output.
Collector Perspective
This print appeals to Fairey collectors who focus on music portraits and to Billy Idol and punk and new-wave fans. The metallic silver ink on grey stock gives it a distinctive look that stands out on a wall, attractive to display-minded buyers. At $50 with an edition of 400 and a documented one-per-household limit, it sits in an accessible but managed tier that portrait collectors tend to value. The Michael Muller photo credit adds appeal for those who follow Fairey's photographer collaborations. It fits naturally in a music-themed collection alongside Fairey's other counterculture and rock portraits.
Historical Context
Released January 21, 2015, this portrait connects to Billy Idol's album Kings And Queens Of The Underground and continues Fairey's mid-2010s run of music-icon screen prints. The use of metallic silver ink on grey stock reflects the period's experimentation with materials to differentiate music editions. Building the image on a Michael Muller photograph follows Fairey's established practice of collaborating with photographers for his portrait base. Idol, as a punk and new-wave figure, aligns with the counterculture lineage Fairey has drawn on since his early years, situating the print within his broader catalog of music and counterculture portraiture. It stands as a representative example of how Fairey paired marquee musical subjects with carefully chosen print materials during this stretch of his Obey Giant releases.
FAQ
What makes this Billy Idol print visually distinctive?
Per the source, it is printed in metallic silver ink on grey stock, a specific material treatment that sets it apart from standard multi-color screen prints. It measures 18 x 24 inches and was produced in a numbered edition of 400, signed by Shepard Fairey.
Whose photograph is the image based on?
The source states the image is based on a photo by Michael Muller. This continues Fairey's frequent practice of building his graphic portraits on source photographs by named photographers, here tied to Billy Idol's album Kings And Queens Of The Underground.
Was there a purchase limit?
Yes. The source notes a limit of one print per person or household, a distribution control often applied to in-demand music editions. The print was priced at $50 and published by Obey Giant, released January 21, 2015.
What is the edition size?
According to the source, it is a numbered edition of 400. The print is signed by Shepard Fairey and measures 18 x 24 inches, printed in metallic silver ink on grey stock.
Related Works
About the Artist
Shepard Fairey (b. 1970, Charleston, South Carolina) is an American street artist, graphic designer, and activist, and a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design. His 1989 “André the Giant Has a Posse” sticker grew into the global OBEY GIANT campaign — an ongoing experiment in propaganda, obedience, and visual culture. He reached worldwide recognition with the 2008 “Hope” portrait of Barack Obama, now held by the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. Across screen prints, stencils, murals, and collage, Fairey channels propaganda aesthetics toward themes of peace, justice, environmentalism, and civil rights. His work is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Victoria & Albert Museum, and LACMA.