Top 10 Billy Idol Songs

Photo: By Simone van den Boom [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], from Wikimedia Commons

Our Top 10 Billy Idol Songs takes a look at a rocker that seems to never age in spirit and sound. Billy Idol broke onto the rock scene in the early 1980s with a string of hits backed by an attitude that was twenty-five percent punk, twenty-five percent new wave, twenty-five percent old school rock, and twenty-five percent growl. Billy Idol was an original comprised of the best of what rock had been offering for twenty-five years previously. Billy Idol seemed to fall somewhere between Sid Vicious and Elvis Presley. He was and still is one of the most entertaining rock and roll singers of all time. If we were to choose a rock and roll singer to play a villain in a sci-fi movie just based on character, Billy Idol would be our choice. The charisma Billy Idol displays on stage and video is almost immeasurable.

Regardless of Bill Idol’s dynamic stage presence and personality, none of that would matter if the music Billy Idol recorded was not great. During his 1980’s reign, Billy Idol released some of the decade’s biggest hits. Like his personality, Billy Idol songs crossed the genres of punk, new wave, and classic rock. Our Top 10 Billy Idol Songs list takes a look at some of Billy Idol’s biggest hits and great album tracks that we think stands as some of the best material the great singer ever released.

# 10 – Scream

We open our Top 10 Billy Idol Songs list with the great track “Scream.” The song was released on Billy Idol’s Devil’s Playground album. The Devil’s Playground album was the first record of new Billy Idol material in over a ten year period between 1993 and 2005. The classic Billy Idol sound had been gone for too long and Devil’s Playground served as a welcome return, especially with the man who molded that classic Billy Idol sound – Mr. Steve Stevens.

# 9 – Bitter Pill

The opening track to Billy Idol’s great 2014 album release entitled Kings & Queens of the Underground portrays an incredibly mature Billy Idol sounding wonderfully fresh and still at the top of the game. The great song was co-written by Eric Brazillian of The Hooters and Joan Osborne fame. You’re going to love this one. Billy says you will.

# 8 – Can’t Break Me Down

Another great track from the Kings & Queens of the Underground album. This was a record that turned out to be one of the strongest albums of Billy Idol’s career thirty two years after his debut album first appeared on the record store shelves.

# 7 – Venus

Continuing with our Top 10 Billy Idol songs lits we turn to one of his most underrated albums. The great track “Venus,” was released on the Cyberpunk album. The unheralded album was released in 1993.

# 6 – Cradle Of Love

“Cradle of Love,” was released in 1990 on the Charmed Life album. This was a great track that almost had a bit of a rockabilly feel underneath its rock and roll feel. “Cradle Of Love,” is easily one of Billy Idol’s most overlooked songs.

# 5 – Eyes Without A Face

The great mid-tempo ballad “Eyes Without A Face,” has always been a favorite of Billy Idol fans and stands as one the most loved Billy Idol songs ever released. The song was released on the Rebel Yell album in 1983. The song was released as the second single from the album. It became a top 10 hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1983.

# 4 – Mony Mony

It was amazing how Billy Idol took the old 1968 hit by Tommy James and the Shondells and revitalized it with a fresh 1980s feel and sound that was incredibly successful. Although Billy Idol had previously recorded the song in 1981 on the Don’t Stop EP, it was the live version that was released on his 1987 greatest hits album that became the big hit.

# 3 – Dancing With Myself

The final three songs on our Top 10 Billy Idol songs list could be placed in any order as they represent the core Billy Idol sound at its peak. “Dancing WIth Myself,” is pure pop, punk, dance, party rock all converging in one great track. The song was released as a single only by Billy Idol in 1981. The song had originally been recorded by Billy Idol’s previous band Generation X in 1979.

# 2 – Rebel Yell

Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell,” was the title track from his 1983 album Rebel Yell. The video was also one of the most played videos on MTV of all time. The album and video were both released in 1983. The video really showed just how important Steve Stevens was to the sound of the Billy Idol experience.

# 1 – White Wedding

Everything about the song “White Wedding,” from the guitar licks, lyrics, melody, chord changes, and dark happy punk rock groove screams the best Billy Idol song ever. The song was released on Billy Idol’s first solo album entitled Billy Idol. The album was released in 1982.

Article updated March 25, 2022