Toronto woman battling terminal illness meets Billy Idol

By Lindsay Dunn

Billy Idol fans packed the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto on Monday night to hear the White Wedding singer performing some of his greatest hits. There was one fan who experienced the show like no other and it was a moment that Billy Idol himself helped to make happen.

Isabelle Filion has been a fan of the British singer for over three decades. She has seen him in concert five times but wasn’t sure she would be able to see him again. She was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer last May.

“Honestly when the tickets went on sale I didn’t even bother because I didn’t think I would be here,” Filion told CityNews.

“So this was a huge landmark for me. I got to see Billy and I got to meet Billy!”

After months of emails and requests sent to Idol’s crew with no response Filion had given up hope she would meet him. Then last week a few of her friends tweeted at him and much to their surprise they received a response from his account.

“It said for us to contact his management and they were going to set it up so I could meet him! We were all screaming, I mean I’ve loved him since 1980!”

Filion says Idol’s music has helped her persevere through tough times. She has his song title Rebel Yell tattooed on her arm. She would listen to the song and believes it helped her through her intense chemotherapy.

“It really was my rallying cry for me. I would pump my fists and then show the tattoo just hoping it would help me through. I believed it would either cure me or just give me strength because Rebel Yell is such a strong statement.”

So what was it like to finally meet the man whose music helped her in more ways than he would ever know?

“When we got to meet him, he was so kind and held me and he signed two records and everyone there was just amazing! Everyone from his management team was there cheering us on. It was incredible, he looked so good!”

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