Unlike other punk bands, Generation X wasn't afraid to turn a blind eye to the supposed "accepted" ideals by punk rockers as they covered a John Lennon song on their debut ("Gimme Some Truth") and even hooked up with veteran rocker Ian Hunter to handle the production chores for their sophomore effort, 1979's Valley of the Dolls. Perhaps as a result, however, the group's musical direction became cloudy (some wanting the group to remain true to their punk roots, while others feeling that they should pursue a heavier rock sound) and bandmembers began to leave one by one, until Idol and James were the only remaining original members. Generation X managed to squeeze out one final album, 1981's Kiss Me Deadly (which contained the original version of a song that Idol would later cover as a solo artist and score a massive hit with, "Dancing With Myself"), before splitting up.

After the group's breakup, James later turned up as a member of '80s glam-punkers Sigue Sigue Sputnik, while Idol relocated to New York and embarked on his aforementioned solo career. As Idol's solo success created interest in his first band, numerous Generation X best-of and rarity collections began to crop up, including 1985's Perfect Hits: 1975-1981, 1998's Sweet Revenge, and 2000's Original Debut, the latter of which was a reissue of the U.K. version of Generation X's self-titled debut.