Dancing with Myself
| Dancing with Myself | |
|---|---|
| Gen X | |
| publication | 3rd October 1980 |
| length | 3:30 (7 "single) 4:06 (12" single) 3:45 (album) |
| Genre (s) | Pop-punk , new wave |
| Author (s) | Billy Idol , Tony James |
| Producer (s) | Keith Forsey |
| Label | Chrysalis Records |
| album | Kiss Me Deadly |
| Cover version | |
| 1982 | Billy Idol |
Dancing with Myself is a pop-punk song that was first released commercially in Great Britain in October 1980 by the new wave band Gen X , where it reached number 60 on the singles charts . It was remixed and re-released by the band's lead singer, Billy Idol in 1982.
In 2014, Billy Idol named his autobiography after the song.
Origin and content
The song was inspired by a Japan tour of the English post-punk band Generation X in mid-1979, when their singer / frontman Billy Idol and bassist Tony James were struck by the sight of the young crowd in a Tokyo nightclub. People danced with their own reflections in walled mirrors and not with each other.
The song was written and recorded for the first time by Generation X during the demo sessions in mid-1979 at Olympic Studios in West London . This demo recording was first published commercially on the long player KMD-Sweet Revenge (1998). After that band split later that year, Billy Idol and Tony James renamed the act Gen X, and in mid-1980 production sessions with Keith Forsey for a new long player at AIR Studios in London , the song was considered for commercial release Single newly recorded. The guitar parts of the song were a mix of the play of three guitarists with distinctly different styles: Steve New plays the lead tracks, Steve Jones plays the rhythm, and Danny Kustow adds another layer. When sales began in October 1980 as a pre- single of Kiss Me Deadly (1981), the new band's upcoming long player, the single reached number 60 on the UK Singles Charts. The portrait image of Billy Idol on the cover of the 1980 publication was photographed by Iain McKell . A 4:50 minute long remix of the 6:05 minute Gen X extended version was released on December 3, 1981 on Idol's EP Don't Stop .
Version of Billy Idol
In late 1981, Idol, who was now a solo artist after the breakup of Gen X, had Forsey remix the album for its release as a single in the US. The guitar and bass tracks from the 1980 British release were mixed into the background, but the vocal and percussion tracks were emphasized to create a more rhythmic sound for the American market. It became Idol's first hit single in the US and started his career there. The single, which was released in 1982 and reissued in 1983 for various markets, reached number 27 on the Hot Dance Play charts and in 1983 number nine on the New Zealand charts. Different versions were released: a 3:20 minute single version and the 6:05 minute 12 "version. A 12" remix (3:07) appeared on the compilation Heat-Hits in 1984 , and the 5:57 Minute uptown mix appeared on the Vital Idol compilation, among others . There are also live versions.
Music video
For the US single in 1982, a music video was directed by Tobe Hooper for the recently launched music channel MTV , in which Billy Idol played a lonely character in a post-apocalyptic cityscape in a scenario from the 1971 movie The Omega Man . On a skyscraper roof he is besieged by mutant figures in the street below. The official music video has been viewed more than 48 million times on YouTube (as of March 2020).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Billy Idol Unplugged , 2001
- ↑ a b Billy Idol: Dancing with Myself . Simon & Schuster, 2014.
- ↑ Interview with Tony James, April 2002, Generation X Anthology , 2003
- ↑ Generation X , officialcharts.com
- ↑ Billy Idol - Don't Stop , hitparade.ch
- ^ Billy Idol - Dancing with Myself , discogs.com
- ↑ a b Billy Idol - Dancing with Myself , hitparade.ch
- ↑ Official music video on YouTube