Billy Idol awesomely sings 'Rebel Yell' on the top of the Empire State Building

5 August 2024, 13:01

Billy Idol at the top of the Empire State Building. Picture: Getty Images

By Mayer Nissim

Billy Idol marks a special anniversary with very special performance.

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Billy Idol was born in Stanmore and broke through as part of the London punk scene in Generation X, but it was America that really took him to their heart in the 1980s.

His solo hits 'Dancing with Myself' and 'White Wedding' were a massive success on the fledgling MTV, and it's at a US landmark where he decided to celebrate the 40th anniversary of his classic Rebel Yell album.

Billy Idol ascended to the very top of the Empire State Building in New York City (we're assuming he took the lift) to perform the album's title track.

Naturally, they weren't going to fit a drummer or full band on that ever-so-narrow balcony, so it was just Billy and his long-time guitarist Steve Stevens belting out the song.

The video was apparently actually filmed around four months ago in time to mark the re-release of Rebel Yell on physical and digital platforms, but it's only just now been unveiled on his YouTube channel.

Billy Idol – Rebel Yell – Live From the Empire State Building

"When I was a little boy we lived in Long Island for a few years and my mom and dad took me to visit the Empire State Building, probably in 1959," Billy Idol told Time Out.

"Hard to fathom that 65 years later I’d be playing rock n roll on top of the building! Then and now the Empire State Building is an unrivaled jewel of Art Deco magic."

The producer of the video of the performance Steven Gottlieb revealed that the video was shot in just two takes

Billy Idol at the Empire State Building. Picture: Alamy

"It almost feels unreal, as if it's visual effects, but they're not," Gottlieb said.

"It's all real. It's just an angle of the city that you almost never see.

"Everything that Billy does is larger than life and the Empire State Building is probably the most iconic tall building in the world so if you're going to do something like this, this is where to do it."