Billy Idol discusses the 40th anniversary of his classic album 'Rebel Yell'
Legendary rock and roller and punk icon Billy Idol celebrates the 40th anniversary of his second album, "Rebel Yell," with a new deluxe expanded edition, a treasure trove for fans, featuring never-before-heard unreleased tracks.
Rebel Yell was recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York City and released in November 1983. The album marked a significant artistic and commercial achievement for Idol, featuring memorable tracks such as the title song, "Catch My Fall," "Flesh for Fantasy," and "Eyes Without a Face."
The 40th Anniversary Expanded Edition of Idol's "Rebel Yell" was released on April 26, 2024, in 2 CD, 2 LP, and Limited Edition 2 LP formats.
Idol sat down with ABC News to discuss his love for music and why he reissued this album.
ABC NEWS LIVE: His "Rebel Yell" sent shockwaves around the world 40 years ago. Since then, Billy Idol has continued to revolutionize music, releasing new albums and going on tour.
Now, the legendary rock and roller and punk icon is celebrating the 40th anniversary of his second album, "Rebel Yell," with a brand new deluxe expanded edition featuring never before heard tracks. Billy Idol is kind enough to join us now, in studio. Thank you so much, sir.
IDOL: Yes. Hi there
ABC NEWS LIVE: So what is the special sauce? You have touched generations with your music, still selling out venues. What keeps people wanting more and more and more?
IDOL: Well, hopefully it's, I really love what I do, and, you know, I really believe in what I'm doing, and, well, the music has held up. These songs from "Rebel Yell" really hold up. They're still fun to do, you know? So somehow other "Rebel Yell" lies without a face to them. They don't really get old. They seem to still be fresh somehow. I can't believe it.
ABC NEWS LIVE: And people really know you for your variety. So how do you balance the classics that people are yearning that they want to hear, but also the new sound and and collaborating with with people like Miley Cyrus?
IDOL: Yeah, I think it's a little bit of a balancing act, too. Yeah, well, you want to give them some stuff they know, and then we get to play a few things that kind of it new and interest us, and that's the way to do it, you know. And you can get the best of both worlds.
ABC NEWS LIVE: And you debuted a track from your longtime guitarist and songwriting collaborator, Steve Stevens, from the original "Rebel Yell" recording session. Why release that now?
IDOL: It's really because we found a few extras on the tapes, you know, that we were going to release at the time, but one of the songs "Love Don't Live Here Anymore," we found out Madonna was doing a version of it and we had a full complement of songs, so we decided to leave it. We just never came back to the when we when we looked at the tapes and listen to them. Yeah, all the vocals are there, all the guitars were there. So it just seemed like here it was like a timepiece. Time capsule.
ABC NEWS LIVE: You all have worked together for so long. How has that dynamic changed or very much stayed the same perhaps over the years?
IDOL: I think the thing is, me and Steve is that we give each other space. We don't crowd each other. And, and then I think we're really into what we can do for each other, you know. I, when I met Steve and I really saw how talented he was, what a great guitar player, I just knew he could do anything I wanted to do he could do it in spades. And that meant I could do anything with this guy. And so, yeah, man, we could play together forever. And that's what seems to be going on here.
ABC NEWS LIVE: What's it like for you to celebrate this monumental album, and does it feel like it's been 40 years?
IDOL: Well, no, it does not at all. I mean, there's a few lines and stuff.
ABC NEWS LIVE: Still looking good.
IDOL: It doesn't feel too long, you know? It's amazing. Really? Yeah. I can't believe it; seem to have gone by in a flash. You know.
ABC NEWS LIVE: What made you decide we need to do this again? Rerelease it?
IDOL: Well, it's. Yeah, it's 40 years and way to celebrate the 40 years. And also. yeah, like I say, there's a few things we found as another track. Best way out of here as well that we hadn't put out.
That was more or less all there. So there was enough extras and enough sort of different variations. We found a few, like early versions of the songs that were quite different to how they ended up. So it's nice to be able to show the fans a look what they were like. And then, as we work the album, we decided "Flesh for Fantasy" -- started off as a punk rock song and ended up a groover, you know, so you could see the sort of, yeah, have the songs moved.
ABC NEWS LIVE: And you were really born out of that, that UK punk movement and really filled with challenging societal norms and being a bit rebellious for the younger generation. Would you advise them to to tap into that? What kind of advice do you give to the people who are just coming up?
IDOL: Well, the thing was, we were really, especially in the punk days, we were only doing it to, you know, sort of really had entertainment for the few other people that were into it. There was a very small scene, but then it kind of exploded. We never expected that.
So I think because I started out doing it for sheer for the love of it, it really paid me back in a way. And that's kind of what happened. And then we were able to go on doing it in the same spirit ever since, you know.
ABC NEWS LIVE: You still love it.
IDOL: It's yeah, it's been great. I mean, it's my dream to do it. And, and I've lived my dreams and that's not many people can say that.
ABC NEWS LIVE: Mr. Idol, we thank you so much for your time. What a pleasure to have you on. You can listen to the 40th anniversary edition of "Rebel Yell" wherever you stream your music. And for our viewers in New York City, keep an eye out as the Empire State Building will be specially lit [today] in celebration of the anniversary.
Billy Idol discusses the 40th anniversary of his classic album 'Rebel Yell' originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
