As Billy Idol remembers it, his breakthrough single 'Dancing With Myself' bombed in his native U.K., and he had no expectations of it doing much better in the U.S.

But as he recalls in a video from his upcoming 'Guitar Center Sessions' episode, which premieres tonight, he was in for quite a shock when he was hanging out in New York. "I went to [a club] to kill the blues, have a few drinks," he says. "Suddenly, this music came on, and the bar suddenly deserted, and these people are going ... over tables and chairs and couches and armchairs to get on the dance floor and start dancing. I was left alone with my drink, standing at the bar going ... 'What the f--- just happened?'"

What happened was that everyone was rushing to the floor to shake their moneymakers to 'Dancing With Myself,' which ended up becoming Idol's breakthrough hit.

Idol also discusses the moment when he discovered "this dance movement" in the U.S., music that bridged punk, post-punk and New Wave and gave many forward-thinking artists at the time their big breaks.

You can watch the video -- an exclusive premiere -- above. The entire episode, which also includes performances by Idol, airs at 9PM ET tonight on DIRECTV.

You Think You Know Billy Idol?

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