A rebel yells about pollution: Billy Idol stars in New York anti-idling ads

NEW YORK — Rocker Billy Idol is the face of an anti-idling campaign launched Thursday in New York City.

“Billy never idles, so why should you?” the ’80s MTV star growls in a public service announcement intended to shame New Yorkers into shutting the engine off.

The platinum-haired British American singer of “White Wedding” led a chant of “Shut it off! Shut it off!” at a news conference announcing the campaign in front of City Hall.

City officials said the $1 million #Billyneveridles campaign will include billboards, TV and radio spots and social media ads.

“If you’re not driving, shut your damn engine off!” Idol says in the public service announcement. “I mean, bollocks, are you trying to choke us all?”

New York City law prohibits idling longer than three minutes, or one minute in front of a school.