Idol Threat

An hour of Billy Idol aka William Michael Albert Broad or, as Smash Hits would have it in the 1980s, Sir William of Idol.

 

Bad post title pun (Bone Idol was already taken) and trademark snarl aside, there was nothing threatening about Billy Idol and anyone who's endured The Wedding Singer will at least have been rewarded by a star turn from the man, clearly game for a laugh.

 

Billy's also been partial to the remix, and my very first (of admittedly few) Billy Idol records was the Vital Idol compilation in the summer of 1985, compiling seven 12" mixes from previous singles. Vital Idol eventually got to #7 in the UK album charts, propelled by his two biggest singles, both peaking at #6. 

 

At school, the Venn diagram of people's varied musical tastes bizarrely placed Billy Idol firmly in the central overlap. My friend Dave was into 2-Tone and wore a Harrington; we also connected with Billy. All the girls seemed to love Billy and his lovely spiky but soft bleached locks. The boys were fascinated by Billy's tattoo. Note the singular. Remember the time when it was rare for a musician to have a tattoo, let alone covering 90% of your body?

 

White Wedding was Billy's breakthrough hit here, although Eyes Without A Face had just nudged into the Top 20 the previous year. Rebel Yell had only got to #62 first time around in 1984; the success of White Wedding having a considerable impact on the single's fortunes the second time around.

 

Today's picks draw from Billy's 1980s pomp, cutting off just as 1990 marked a downturn in his chart fortunes, in the UK at least. Only 3 from Vital Idol, several from 12" singles. 

 

Eyes Without A Face was a bit of a cop out, as the 'extended version' was the same as the album version. The 9-minute remix of Don't Need A Gun appeared on a limited edition extra 12" single. Likewise, the Rock N' Roll Mix of To Be A Lover featured on a limited edition 12", albeit in Australia and New Zealand. 

Despite the (re)title, Cradle Of Dub is the standard 12" mix of the Cradle Of Love single. The slightly more dubby dub version was called Rock The Cradle Of Dub. 

The selection includes a couple of 21st century edits. The original 12" of Rebel Yell stuck with the album version; Brazilian bootlegger McDoC has fun with Roxio Sound Editor 9 and Audacity software to stretch and tease the multi-tracks into a nine-and-a-minute monster. A tad too long perhaps, but a good effort.

Conversely, the original Shotgun Mix of White Wedding was in two parts over 8 minutes. To keep the selection around the hour mark, I've plumped for the Retro Shock Remix from 2004 instead, at a smidge under 6 minutes. Apart from moving a bit of Part II to the intro and bolting some alternative beats to the undercarriage, it's not tinkered with too much.

My favourite remixes here are probably Flesh For Fantasy and Love Calling, mainly because they are vastly superior to the original versions, sonically speaking. The lyrics though are another matter. 

 

Billy's songs have been questionable, at best: Rebel Yell's crude orgasm reference; Billy's dancing angel "came pumping on the floor", apparently. Billy was 32 when he released 1987 single Sweet Sixteen. 

 

Flesh For Fantasy is the worst of the lot, though: "Face to face and back to back / You see and feel my sex attack". Really? When was that ever going to sound anything other than wrong?

The selection closes with Billy's take on Tommy James & The Shondells' 1968 hit Mony Mony. History didn't immediately repeat for Idol: it was a flop when tucked away on UK solo debut EP Don't Stop. Mony Mony was released again in 1987 as a live version (and remix on the 12") and surprisingly got to #7, his third and final Top 10 hit on this here island.

 

It was only after I had created today's selection and was some way through writing this post that I discovered that it's Billy's 69th birthday next Saturday (30th). I could have saved this post for a week, but I have other plans for next weekend...if I get my arse in gear, that is. So, here it is, starting the celebration seven days early as indeed I hope Billy is also doing.

 

Have a great one, Sir William! 

Anyway, enough preamble, here's the music...

 

1) Rebel Yell (McDoC Evo-XR Twilight Mix) (2009)

2) White Wedding (Retro Shock Remix By Aaron Scofield & CL McSpadden) (2004)

3) Eyes Without A Face (Album Version By Keith Forsey) (1983)

4) Flesh For Fantasy (Below The Belt Mix By Gary Langan) (1984)

5) Love Calling (Rub A Dub Dub Mix By Keith Forsey) (1983)

6) To Be A Lover (Rock N' Roll Mix By Tom Lord-Alge) (Cover of 'I Forgot To Be Your Lover' by William Bell) (1986)

7) Cradle Of Dub (Extended Mix By Keith Forsey & Tommy Vicari) (1990)

8) Don't Need A Gun (The Beyond Melt Down Mix By Steve Thompson & Michael Barbiero) (1987)

9) Mony Mony (Downtown Mix By Keith Forsey) (Cover of Tommy James & The Shondells) (1981) 

 

1981: Don't Stop EP: 9

1983: Dancing With Myself EP: 5

1983: Rebel Yell: 3

1984: Flesh For Fantasy EP: 4 

1986: To Be A Lover EP: 6

1987: Don't Need A Gun EP: 8

1990: Cradle Of Love EP: 7

2004: Retro Shock Volume 3: 2

2009: Rebel Yell EP (bootleg): 1

Idol Threat (1:00:45) (KF) (Mega)