Billy Idol's top 10 songs, ranked

28 March 2025, 12:36

Few punk rockers ever hit the big time in America.

But Billy Idol can count himself as one of the select few that broke through to the mainstream, becoming an icon of the 80s in the process.

Propelled by the advent of MTV, Idol left London's crumbling punk scene behind in favour of pastures new Stateside.

It paid off - the Second British Invasion saw many British acts break America, with Idol at the forefront.

With his bleached blonde hair, snarling top lip, tough-guy leather fingerless gloves, and hefty wail he became instantly recognisable.

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Idol acted like a rock star of the era too, taking excess to the extreme, living by the credo "live every day as if it's your last, and one day you're sure to be right" referring to the motorcycle accident that nearly ended his life in 1990.

Near-death experiences aside, the peroxide punk that was formerly a member of the Bromley Contingent - the ragtag gang of youths who were ever-present at London's early punk gigs - made a star of himself after leaving his own band Generation X.

Billy certainly had the look, but he also had the ability to merge punk attitude, rockabilly stylings, and danceable electronica with anthemic pop choruses like no other artist could.

With a potential Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction on the horizon, as well as news of his ninth solo studio album, we've ranked Billy Idol's ten very best songs from top to bottom:

1. Shock To The System

   

   Billy Idol - Shock To The System

   The 90s naturally brought a lot of optimism to the western world with technology opening new possibilities, but Billy Idol had a more dystopian vision.

   'Shock To The System' was the second single from his 1993 album, Cyberpunk, which was inspired by a futuristic Los Angeles on the brink of self-destruction.

   The song's concept actually came from the riots in the city the year prior, with Billy later revealing: "The three-quarters of people in L.A. who don't live in Beverly Hills saw one of their number being crapped on by the police and an all-white jury in an all-white neighbourhood. They weren't gonna take it anymore and they actually did something about it."

   It's political message and stylised music video helped 'Shock To The System' become a top ten hit for Idol in both the US.

2. Cradle Of Love

   

   Billy Idol - Cradle Of Love (Official Music Video)

   There's no denying that the lyrics to 'Cradle Of Love' are a bit dodgy, where Billy sings about a sexual relationship with a much younger woman, riffing off the saying "robbing the cradle".

   Released on his 1990 album Charmed Life, Billy might not have been in the right frame of mind when he wrote it given his toils with addiction, but it was a huge hit for him anyways.

   'Cradle Of Love', the saucy doo-wop inspired rock 'n' roll stomper, was in fact Billy's final top ten hit in the US.

   Missing out on the 1991 Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance to Eric Clapton's 'Bad Love', he made up for it in his live performance that year by grabbing his crotch in protest, and changing the lyrics from "I know how to please me" to "This song is so cheesy".

3. L.A. Woman

   

   Billy Idol - L.A. Woman

   Billy Idol never hid his affection for The Doors, lifting much of his 'rock god' persona from Jim Morrison.

   What better way to pay tribute to his hero than cover 'L.A. Woman', paying homage to the city it's named after also and the iconography we've come to know and love about Los Angeles in the accompanying music video.

   His hedonistic lifestyle cost him a major role in Oliver Stone's movie about The Doors too.

   Though he did appear in several sequences as one of Jim Morrison's (played by Val Kilmer) boozing buddies, his role was cut down significantly due to his inability to walk after his motorcycle accident.

4. To Be A Lover

   

   Billy Idol - To Be A Lover (Official Music Video)

   Though you might not assume on the surface, but Billy Idol was influenced by a wide array of musical genres, including reggae.

   Introduced to the George Faith reggae version of 'To Be A Lover' (originally written and recorded by William Bell and Booker T. Jones in 1968), Idol wanted to cover it.

   He did exactly that, albeit removing any of the recognisable reggae elements and transforming it into a seductive, finger-snapping song that would provide the perfect soundtrack for a night-time drive on Los Angeles' highways.

   It was a masterstroke, as 'To Be A Lover' became Idol's second top ten US hit in 1986.

5. Hot In The City

   

   Billy Idol - Hot In The City (Original Version) (Official Music Video)

   Whilst 'Hot In The City' isn't exactly the hardcore punk anthem you'd expect from Idol, his second ever single showed enough pop appeal for the mainstream to accept him.

   Punk was still considered controversial in the early 80s, so Billy teamed up with songwriter and producer Keith Forsey who wrote some of the era's biggest hits like Irene Cara's 'Flashdance (What A Feeling)' and Simple Minds' 'Don't You (Forget About Me)'

   For the US single cover, record executives thought not to scare off potential listeners so instead used an overhead shot of the city streets for the artwork.

   It worked: the song that Idol wrote after relocating to New York City in 1981 after the split of Generation X captured the simmering heat and optimism of the city and the future that the punk rocker was carving out for himself.

6. Mony Mony

   

   Billy Idol - Mony Mony (Live/1987)

   Billy Idol was partial to a cover version, and even early on in his career released his dance-rock rendition of 'Mony Mony' to the world, reaching number seven in the US dance charts.

   The original was a 1968 single by American pop rock band Tommy James and the Shondells, which topped the pop charts in the UK and clearly made an impression on a young Billy - it was playing in the background during a sexual encounter he had as a fumbling youngster.

   When Idol was a bonafide rock icon, he released a live version of 'Mony Mony' which fared far better, topping the US Billboard Hot 100.

   Because of a sweary trend which started when the songs was played live or in clubs, it was eventually banned at high school dances in America. Naughty Billy.

7. Dancing With Myself

   

   Billy Idol - Dancing With Myself

   Though it was technically a song by Generation X, 'Dancing With Myself' became a Billy Idol staple after the band split and helped him get a foothold in America, despite not being a big hit.

   Commonly misconstrued as a song about masturbation, the pop punk track - which features the Sex Pistols' Steve Jones on lead guitar - was actually inspired by a Tokyo nightclub, where Billy saw punters pogo-ing up and down in the mirrors without a care in the world.

   In the years since it's evolved into more than that however - it's an anthem for letting loose and being carefree when the world could easily drag you down.

   Idol later told Rolling Stone magazine: "The song really is about people being in a disenfranchised world where they're left bereft, dancing with their own reflections."

8. Eyes Without A Face

   

   Billy Idol - Eyes Without A Face

   "With 'Eyes Without a Face,'" Billy Idol told The Guardian, "I was just trying to not write an obvious love song."

   It certainly wasn't obvious - inspired by the 1960 French horror film, Les Yeux Sans Visage (Eyes Without a Face), the twinkling punk ballad touches on similar themes to the film like the absence of humanism and how personal vanity can turn the world ugly.

   Idol applies those themes from the influential and poetic film to a central romance in the song's story, that his own vanity and guilt have ruined his relationship.

   One of Idol's most enduring songs still, 'Eyes Without A Face' was a huge hit in 1984, reaching number four in the US Billboard charts.

9. Rebel Yell

   

   Billy Idol - Rebel Yell

   'Rebel Yell' propelled Billy Idol into the big leagues, to this day racking up millions upon millions of streams due to its fist-pumping nature.

   A "rebel yell" was a Confederate battle cry during the American Civil War, and Idol - a self-confessed history buff - reappropriate the term as a "female cry of love" to recount a one-night stand with a young lady who wants "more more more".

   Fans weren't crying out for "more more more" after its initial 1984 release, but a re-release the following year ensured a top ten hit in the UK as well as wide critical acclaim for the hard rock throbber of a track.

   Fun fact: it was The Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger and Keith Richards who inspired the song, after they shared some Rebel Yell whiskey with Idol during a drinking session round Ronnie Wood's gaff in New York City.

10. White Wedding

    

    Billy Idol - White Wedding (Part 1)

    The church bell-like lead guitar, the running bassline, the lyrics that make a mockery of matrimony and the grizzled, sarcastic delivery: 'White Wedding' showed the world that Billy Idol was a true original.

    Of course, his ambitions of taking punk rock to the mainstream was aided by MTV and the iconography of the song's accompanying music video, complete with Billy's distinct leather-strapped peroxide stylings.

    But 'White Wedding' was the song that transformed Billy Idol into a cultural icon of the 80s.

    Starting out as a song title, inspired by his actual sister who recently got married, Billy fleshed out the lyrics in a matter of 20 minutes, needing more songs to present to the record label before a crucial make-or-break meeting.

    What better way to announce your arrival than to lambast the institution of marriage, or rather a "shotgun" marriage, that takes a cynical view of a white wedding being pure or holy.

    The music video director David Mallet was given the brief of "nightmare wedding" and absolutely nailed it, given the level of rotation the song received on MTV.

    Mallet said of Idol in the book I Want My MTV: "In those days, he was the greatest looker and mover since Elvis. Before 'White Wedding,' nobody would have admitted that was even possible. One look at that video and they got him."

    Whilst the US got him immediately, it took the single three releases to become a hit in the UK where it eventually charted at number six.

    'White Wedding' is no doubt Idol's signature song, though people still play it at actual weddings when it's one of the greatest anti-wedding songs ever. Pure punk rock.