In the midnight hour, she cried POLL, Poll, poll - Billy Idol - Rebel Yell poll

New Wave 1:

Depeche Mode - Music for the Masses poll
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Organisation poll
You can put your lipstick all over my designer POLL - Talking Heads - True Stories poll
Everything Is POLLable - Simple Minds - New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84) poll
Devo - Freedom of Choice poll
The Smiths Albums + poll

This set is New Wave with no one artist albums poll to close. Just going to run thru six albums, all from around the same time. I really wanted to repeat two of the above bands but will regrettably delay Simple Minds. I almost ran an artist poll instead as I actually do have the time to run one. But running this after Post-Punk with not really a break in the time line was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

Surprised myself by choosing Flesh For Fantasy

I think Eyes Without A Face is the better song but somehow FFF feels like the better Billy Idol song

Eyes Without a Face by a country mile, better yet the remix that drags that dreamy vibe out for as long as possible. I would happily never hear any other Billy Idol song again but EWaF ruuuuules

The excitable bit in the middle eight is a bit rubbish tho

I was confused by the "Singles 1981-1993" header, because it's missing so much! But it's just the first album, lol.

I like this album and love EWAF, but I gotta be obvious and go with the title track. One of the three iconic Idol rockers. (White Wedding, Dancing With Myself)

xp this is his second album. the first album was the one with White Wedding and Hot In The City on it

Ah! Good to know. Billy Idol is one of those artists with so many songs in constant circulation here and there that I've never felt the need to listen to a record. Off the top of my head I know at least 9 Idol songs from the title alone. That's as many as I can hum by Bryan Adams, and he had a lot of hits, too!

When I was a kid I liked some of his songs but I never could keep his first two albums straight. They came out a year apart so they kind of blurred together in my mind, and I never actually owned either one. Then he took three years to make his third album, which in the '80s was an eternity.

The excitable bit in the middle eight is a bit rubbish tho

― 99 gram lychee (Noodle Vague), Thursday, July 30, 2026 7:44 AM (seven hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

readin' murda books tryin' to stay hip

I never could keep his first two albums straight

I believe that on the back of this album the sides were credited as "3" and "4", as if this isn't just another record but the latest chapter of the Saga of Billy Idol. Whiplash Smile might have had sides "5" and "6".

I got the reissue of this out of the library a few months ago, and (like She's So Unusual) it was strange to listen to a record where you heard four of the songs regularly more than 40 years ago, and never heard five of them. Those non-singles aren't terrible but I'd be surprised if they attract more than 1 vote apiece.

It was interesting to hear him in the light of what he took from Alan Vega. "Les Yeux Sans Visage" is obviously his magnum opus (one little Steve Stevens detail I love are the 12-string guitar harmonics in the 2nd verse), and I'd like to celebrate Billy tumbling into a smoke-filled armoire in the "Catch My Fall" video, but "Flesh for Fantasy" actually still has a sense of mystery. I like the way it fades out on an ominous verse instead of another chorus.

Whiplash Smile might have had sides "5" and "6".

It did!

I'd imagine it's going to come down to the title track vs. Eyes but Blue Highway is such a great song, love the chorus and Stevens' guitar just soars on this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3Vfx3TAkQw

Flesh For Fantasy really only has a great chorus, while Eyes Without A Face has a great everything.

"Blue Highway" sounds like something from Iggy Pop's Blah-Blah-Blah. I might need to listen to this whole album!

EWaF is such a great song, and its middle eight is such shit, yet its shit middle eight somehow enhances its greatness

the middle eight is not just shit; it is so long

still voted for EWaF tho

Aw I like the middle eight.

Not on this album, but as far as Billy ballads go I think "Hot in the City" gets overlooked a bit. I think it was his first U.S. single, or the first one I remember hearing on the radio.

Sorry, going to chase this derail for a moment — I did not know this about "Hot in the City" (from the Wiki page):

Although the released version of the song has Idol shouting "New York!", other versions of the song were recorded for various radio stations, including ones for such cities as "Amarillo", "Boston", "Chicago", "Cleveland", "Minneapolis", "New Haven", "Phoenix", "Philly", "Chattanooga", and "Sioux Falls"

I so want to hear these. Chattanooga!

Can’t wait until we poll Cyberpunk.

I enjoy the middle part of EWAF precisely because of how silly it is.

I think in Eyes Without a Face in the song he's on a Greyhound bus and has fallen asleep and he's dreaming about eyes without a face and then in the middle part he wakes up then he starts falling asleep again in the say your prayers part, then he says now I close my eyes and he's back in the dream

i'm glad it's not just me who has thought so hard about EWaF

Excellent interpretation ums

I love the middle eight. Steve Stevens the MVP here, casually tossing off righteous 80s chorused riffs left and right.

It's not the riffage that's the problem tbf, tho it does still interrupt the reverie

There's an interesting quote on the song's Wikipedia page that suggests that the subject of the lyric is actually Idol himself:

"Perhaps I was reflecting on my own touring infidelities. In a way, those [types of relationships] can leave you feeling soulless, especially if you're already in a relationship that you value but are degrading by looking elsewhere for additional sexual kicks."

I like that you can still sing 'Les yeux sans visage' to the tune of Eyes Without a Face

Isn't that what the backing vocalist is doing in the chorus?

EYES WITHOUT
A FACE
face
face
face

i want a lead guitarist named Frank Frankens

Isn't that what the backing vocalist is doing in the chorus?

Took me forever — or at least until I saw the movie — to figure that out.

Catch My Fall is another really good one, the intro/verse music is the most JD/New Order he ever got, and the chorus is a classic 80s rock sax moment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiMFvx43vpw

It's funny that I actually did poll Billy Idol. The only reason he was on my radar is because he is going into the R&R hall of fame this year. So this is my nod to him and I have a story that I might share later. Originally was going to poll Generation X in the post punk poll but would have had to bump someone and just couldn't. Also they are more punk than post.

So congratulations Billy Idol to your nomination, this is the album that got you there.

And after reading UMS description of "Eyes Without a Face" maybe he is a brilliant song writer.

nomination induction

Don't want to short change him here.

Although the released version of the song has Idol shouting "New York!", other versions of the song were recorded for various radio stations, including ones for such cities as "Amarillo", "Boston", "Chicago", "Cleveland", "Minneapolis", "New Haven", "Phoenix", "Philly", "Chattanooga", and "Sioux Falls"

I so want to hear these. Chattanooga!

Minneapolis!

Although the released version of the song has Idol shouting "New York!", other versions of the song were recorded for various radio stations, including ones for such cities as "Amarillo", "Boston", "Chicago", "Cleveland", "Minneapolis", "New Haven", "Phoenix", "Philly", "Chattanooga", and "Sioux Falls"

I so want to hear these. Chattanooga!

Minneapolis!

KROQ top 50 1984:

8. Rebel Yell
26. Flesh for Fantasy
33. Catch My Fall
44. Eyes Without a Face
99. Blue Highway

Acclaimed Music:

20. Album
103. Rebel Yell
118. Eyes Without a Face

Billy Idol did not place in ILM's Top 100 albums or songs from the 80s polls.

For those who don't click on our poll results link:

Interestingly, on the KROQ results EWaF and "Catch My Fall' each got one vote, RY and FfF didn't get a vote. "Blue Highway" wasn't eligible of course.

"Flesh for Fantasy" gets my vote.

I don't know who the genius was that put Daytime Drama second on the tracklist but that was really begging to be buried in the middle of side 2

Do you like good music?
Do you like to dance?

Fuck the Dodgers

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

I ended up voting for "Blue Highway" mainly because I have heard the big three too many times in this lifetime. Don't think "Catch My Fall" was one of the core three from this album. Steve Stevens is the secret weapon here.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Les yeux sans visage!

Was there anyone doing something similar to Billy Idol in the 80s? I can't think of anyone else that hit the sweet spot between synth pop and metal like that.

Robert Plant and David Lee Roth.

Very different vibes, but yeah definitely, especially Plant.

Loverboy

Iggy, on Blah-Blah-Blah and Instinct, but that was a couple of years later. Billy Idol definitely got there first.

Sigue Sigue Sputnik?

He was part of that first wave of MTV stars who seemed like they'd been created for/by music videos.

I remember all my friends with cable talking about the "White Wedding" video, and I had to wait weeks to be over at someone's house to see it.