Billy Idol has debuted an official lyric video for “Rita Hayworth,” one of the four brand-new songs featured on the pop-punk veteran’s recent released EP, The Roadside.
The clip, which you can watch now on Idol’s official YouTube channel, mixes grainy footage apparently taken from the car driving around the streets of Hollywood mixed with ominous cartoon animations depicting the song’s theme of a young woman navigating the seedy side of the movie business.
In the hard-driving tune, Idol sings about the woman being approached by “some nothin’ producer” who tells her she looks like Hollywood legend Rita Hayworth. “You’re swimming with Jaws/ This dream town will swallow you whole,” Billy belts out in the chorus. “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”
Idol co-wrote “Rita Hayworth” with his longtime lead guitarist Steve Stevens, along with songwriters Sam Hollander and Grant Michaels.
The Roadside was released on September 17, and also features songs titled “Bitter Taste,” “U Don’t Have to Kiss Me Like That” and “Baby Put Your Clothes Back On.”
The bulk of the EP was written, recorded and mixed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The record, which was produced by Butch Walker, is Idol’s first collection of new original songs since his 2014 album Kings & Queens of the Underground.
Idol currently is halfway through a four-date Las Vegas residency at The Cosmopolitan that will wrap up this week with shows on Friday and Saturday. Billy then will head to Playa Mujeres, Mexico, for an October 26 performance at the star-studded 80s in the Sand festival. Idol also has acoustic duo gigs with Stevens in four U.S. cities in late November and early December.
Visit BillyIdol.net for his full schedule.
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