Billy Idol Talks ‘Rebel Yell’ On The Classic Album’s 40th Anniversary

When British rocker Billy Idol was recording his second full-length solo album in 1983, he lived in New York City decades before it became a gentrified tourist attraction. At the time, the former lead singer of late-'70s punk band Generation X was riding high on the success of his self-titled 1982 album. Forty years later, Idol says the experience of living in the Big Apple influenced the songwriting in what would become Rebel Yell.

“The second album was about me coming to America, coming to New York, and then writing about my life at the time,” he says today. “What else was there to talk about but your everyday life at the time? We were really figuring out where we could go with the music.”

Recorded at New York's Electric Lady Studio and later released in November 1983, Rebel Yell represented both the artistic and commercial triumph of Idol thanks to such memorable songs as the title track, “Catch My Fall”, “Flesh for Fantasy” and “Eyes Without a Face”. An important turning point in his career, Rebel Yell elevated Idol to a popular pop/rock superstar during MTV's golden age. On its 40th anniversary, Rebel Yell now reissued with a bonus disc of unreleased tracks and demos.

“We were trying to follow Billy Idol's first solo album [Billy Idol]”recalls the singer of that period, “which he had done well, with 'Hot in the City' and 'White Wedding' in particular, to really mark the style of music we were making”.

And like the Billy Idol album, Rebel Yell it was a fusion of hard rock, New Wave and pop. It also continued the fruitful collaboration of Idol, guitarist Steve Stevens and producer Keith Forsey: “working very closely together and extending beyond what we did on the first album,” says Idol. “And I think that's why it's lasted so well because we were in a great place when we were doing this.”

The singer's experiences, particularly in the Big Apple, found their way into songs for the album, including “Rebel Yell,” the title of which was inspired by his encounter with members of the Rolling Stones at a party in Ron Wood's house in Manhattan.

“At some point in this party, in front of me was Ronnie Wood, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, and they were all drinking this big bottle. [of bourbon]”, recalls Idol. “I followed the label to his mouth, kind of like, 'What are you all drinking?' What is this? Then I saw it on the label: a Confederate cavalry officer with a plume on his head riding away. And I could see that these things are called 'Rebel Yell'. I was just going to say, “Wow.” As soon as I saw it, I was like, “That's a great title.”

Idol thought he wasn't going to make the song about the Civil War, but “'I'm going to make it about my girlfriend, Perri [Lister], who is a dancer. I will make it all about our love affair. And the “Crit rebel” will be the cry of love.' It's really about Perri in a way: “Last night a little dancer” – she was the little dancer.”

After the party, Idol worked on the song the next day and came up with the verse and some of the indelible singing of “More, more, more.” “Then I took it to Steve and we worked on it a bit,” he adds. “And we put the middle at the beginning of the song. Later, when we were recording it, we added the final piece, the “I walked into the room for you baby” and everything And it turned out fantastic. It was just one of those things where you said, 'Wow, this is what we're looking for.'”

In addition to the title track, “Eyes Without a Face” has become one of Idol's signature songs. An uncharacteristic ballad with a guitar solo from Stevens and a spoken rap in the bridge, “Eyes” took its name from the 1960 French horror film. Les Yeux Sans Visage. The song's lyrics, however, had nothing to do with the film's narrative but about a relationship at the crossroads.

“I bounced around that title because it was about the end of something, that something was missing,” Idol explains. “The relationship had ended up falling apart. And so if I was going to try to write that kind of killer love song, it would be that title.

“I was trying not to write an obvious song,” he continues. “And it worked. I think my manager took it to some DJ. I was trying to figure out which songs would be singles. And this DJ in New York said he thought 'Eyes Without a Face' was a single and he was right “.

At its launch, Rebel Yell became another hit album for Idol, while “Eyes” peaked at number four on the billboard chart, marking the singer's US Top 10 debut. “It was a huge breakthrough,” he says of the reception. “It just solidified the kind of working relationship we had between us: Keith, me and Steve. We were getting somewhere working together. We felt that.”

Equally important to the success of the Rebel Yell The album was the stylish videos of the singles. “We had really gotten the ball rolling with 'Dancing With Myself' and 'White Wedding,'” he says. “We were kind of flowing in terms of the videos we were making … like with visuals and stuff. And we continued that way with this new album.”

The popularity of Rebel Yell The album and its singles transformed Idol into a popular rock and pop act, as proof, he later appeared on the cover of rolling stone. “We were getting somewhere,” he says. “At the White Wedding tour, it was mainly a club tour. But with Rebel Yellwe went from clubs to small theaters to arenas, which was pretty amazing.”

Along with the demos of the aforementioned hits, the new Rebel Yell The reissue contains two never-before-heard songs, one of which is the rhythmic, dance-oriented “Best Way Out of Here.” “I really liked Prince, and I'm sure Steve did,” Idol says of this lost track. “I think that's what we were bouncing off of a little bit of Prince: 'Billy Idol does Prince.'laughs) And Steve is an amazing syncopated guitarist.

Another unearthed track on the new reissue is Idol's raw and soulful cover of Rose Royce's 1978 song “Love Don't Live Here Anymore.” “Obviously I had heard it in the '70s, and maybe somewhere in the back of my mind I had it as a song that I could probably cover and make it my own somehow,” Idol explains. “I was always looking for a soul/R&B song to cover.”

Coincidentally, while Idol was recording “Love Don't Live Here Anymore” during the Rebel Yell sessions, Madonna had done her version of the same song for her 1984 like a virgin album; Idol ended up putting his interpretation on the shelf. “We had 'Crank Call' and stuff like that,” he says now. “We had a full complement of songs. So it meant we could drop 'Love Don't Live Here Anymore'. We were planning to come back for [my 1986 album] Whiplash smilebut we never did.

“I hadn't heard his version [at the time]”, he continues on the cover of Madonna. “And of course I just recently listened to it and I was like, 'Wow, she didn't do it that differently than Rose Royce…I really made her my own with a crazy voice that I think would have surprised people, In fact”.

In the following four decades Rebel YellThe release of, Idol continues to perform the album's hit songs and remains in the public eye: In 2023, his Hoover Dam concert was released as a film titled Billy Idol: State Line. That same year, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. And not resting on his laurels, Idol is currently working on new music that he considers his best work yet. But the importance of Rebel Yell because what he did for his career is not lost on him.

“I mean, it's wild,” he says today of that period 40 years ago. “It was really important for me, that sophomore album, to come to America and try to be successful there. It's really exciting.”