Billy Idol‘s hit 1983 album Rebel Yell is turning 40: It was released November 10, 1983. Idol is planning to mark the milestone with a special release, but not until 2024.
He tells Yahoo Entertainment that the package will feature “quite a few extras on it,” including a version of the 1978 Rose Royce ballad “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore,” which you may know because Madonna recorded it on her 1984 album Like A Virgin. In fact, that’s why Idol left it off his album: because he found out Madonna had done it.
“It’s not what you expect. My version is a kick-ass f****** rock song. I’m really singing it, and I sound like I mean it,” Idol tells Yahoo Entertainment.
“I don’t remember if something was happening in my life at the time, or why I even wanted to do the song … but if I do say so myself, actually we would’ve p***** all over Madonna’s version, because it’s a rock version.”
Idol also reveals that he didn’t like the cover art for Rebel Yell, and when his record company refused to change it, he stole the master tapes and gave them to his drug dealer. He then told his record company, “This guy’s on the street. He needs money. So, if you mess about too long, he’s just going to bootleg [the tapes]. He’s not going to sit on them forever!’”
Idol actually grabbed the wrong tapes, but his record company believed him and caved. “It was great, frightening them to death,” he says, adding, “And after that, they never f***** with me again!”
Rebel Yell, which features the hit title track, “Eyes Without a Face” and “Flesh for Fantasy,” went on to hit the top 10 and sell two million copies.
Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.