Rock ’n’ roll is as big a piece of the Las Vegas musical landscape right now as it ever has been, and Billy Idol is emblematic of that trend. The punk icon, who emerged from the 1970s London scene as the frontman of Generation X and went on to become one of the most familiar faces of the first generation of MTV stars, played his first Strip residency four years ago at the House of Blues. For the last two years, he’s moved his amped-up show to The Pearl at the Palms, where he closes things out this week on March 13-14. Are you ready to check in with a rock legend?

These are the final shows on your Vegas schedule for now, but are you hoping to come back for more concerts soon, possibly even another residency?

Oh yeah, I’d love to. Doing these shows at the Palms has been great because it’s such a great venue, a really good-sounding room. It’s fantastic. And this group we have together now has been playing together for five years (including longtime guitarist Steve Stevens) so it’s a really solid version of Billy Idol. I’m sure we will (be back).

You’ve said you really appreciate the diverse audiences in Las Vegas. What else makes this a great place for you to play?

It is great because you get some die-hard fans but also a lot of people who never got the chance to see a full-on show. Maybe they’ve seen a couple songs somewhere but never a full show. Vegas draws so many people because there are so many different entertainment venues and types of entertainment, so you get everybody, this vast audience of massively different ages. And in general, people are there for a really good time. We play a majority of stuff people will know, like the greatest hits, but we also put in some deep cuts so if you’re a real fan, you’ll get to hear something we don’t always play.

Are you planning to record any music during your time in Vegas this year?

There will be new music this year and we are writing songs, and we’ve got a couple of producers we’re starting to work with, but I’m not sure if we’ll do it in Vegas. There are so many ways that people see things, how they access things these days. We found out that these days when you put a record out you can’t just put a record out, it has to be a record and a book or some other thing. So we’re actually doing a documentary at the moment and it may not be ready for a couple years, but we’ll be shooting it in Vegas at the Palms during these dates.

What a treat for Vegas audiences! That should make the shows even more interesting.

Another great thing about the Palms is it’s a good place to shoot. One of these audiences will be in the documentary. It’s exciting—this residency is going to be a lot of fun because we’re doing more than just playing.

The fans are no doubt very excited for the new songs. What do they sound like?

I’m just sort of finding that out really. It’s definitely going to be Billy Idol music right down that line. That’s one great thing about Steve Stevens; I can go anywhere with my muse because he can play anything. We stick to what is recognizable as Billy Idol, a style you recognize. Whatever that is, it’s going to be that. Although I never make the same album twice, so it won’t be a carbon copy of the last record.