David Bowie's punky nephew is a perfect description! God bless you both!

@jaquestraw1

Жыл бұрын

Truly

@Max_Flashheart

Жыл бұрын

wow just wow

@cmortenson3647

Жыл бұрын

that is the greatest thing I ever heard

@BRAM-co5zg

Жыл бұрын

you guys are great

@jaizarulrohayu44

Жыл бұрын

Generation x

I can confirm that dancing was EVERYTHING in the 80's! It was how we got our exercise.

@mikemantle

Жыл бұрын

It's how we solved our problems.

Brad hit it right: Dancing was a serious thing in the 80's. The dance-offs were pretty epic, as they drew in some seriously talented footwork....aaaaaand pretty hot girls, cant forget them haha.

@cmortenson3647

Жыл бұрын

and substances. hahaha. I saw billy idol a few times live,. Maybe 5 or 6 times, I can't hardly remember them for all the substances , but as a 15 and 16 year old, I thought he was the coolest thing I ever saw. plus that tattoo was dope. the 80s were a simpler time for sure. sometimes it was rough but it was pretty cool.

This song was a staple at the dance clubs in the '80s for sure. In fact, it was one of our songs to get fired up in the dorms before we'd head out to the bars in college.

@s.mcpherson6354

Жыл бұрын

We were so lucky back then. It shows up in the positivity of the music. it's not like there aren't great things going on now, but it sure seems like it was much easier to be happy and have fun then. It was like the culture fostered more happiness and less judgment.

Best description of Billy Idol ever " David Bowies nephew " I love it, and I can tell you that we had really ridiculous dance moves in the 80's, thank god there were no cell phones with camera

*Lex is the most adorable girl on KZread!* *Brad is 100% right about dancing in the '80's!!!* *"Flesh for Fantasy" next, please!* 💜💫✌🏼🎵

The RnR ode to self love. Steve Stevens is such a criminally underrated guitarist.

@hays9008

Жыл бұрын

Incorrect Billy got the idea after watching Japanese kids at a Tokyo disco "dancing with themselves" in a nightclub. The kids would dance in a pogo style up and down, and there were mirrors in the club so they could watch themselves doing it.

@99bigjim

Жыл бұрын

no Stevie here.... this is a Gen-X song

"Flesh for Fantasy" is my favorite Billy Idol song, but this one will do just fine. 🙂

@k_spats

Жыл бұрын

*ME TOO!* ⬆️⬆️⬆️

@k_spats

Жыл бұрын

@TimeSentinel *DEFINITELY.* ⬆️⬆️⬆️

This song dominated Mtv in the early days. They played it at least every hour. Back when they only played music videos.

@terrylandess6072

Жыл бұрын

It's sad that where ever people find enjoyment, the corporate advertising world takes over.

@On_Dust

Жыл бұрын

​@@terrylandess6072WE WANT OUR MTV

Back in the 80's when there was a lot of experimental electronic music Billy Idol just rocked. I think it stands the test of time. It's still great music.

Back when punk/new wave music came out in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, a lot of people did dance by themselves at clubs, so these lyrics described the club scene.

We used to dance the sh** outta this in the 80’s!

Per Songfacts Billy got the idea for this song after watching Japanese kids at a Tokyo disco "dancing with themselves" in a nightclub. The kids would dance in a pogo style up and down, and there were mirrors in the club so they could watch themselves doing it. This song is about more than just dancing. Idol told Rolling Stone: "The song really is about people being in a disenfranchised world where they're left bereft, dancing with their own reflections."

@gravlaks

Жыл бұрын

Oh wow. I always thought this song was about fapping :P

@OtherSideOfMorning

Жыл бұрын

Or...it's about masturbation.. That was always my take on it

Generation X to Billy Idol. Great singer. Followed them when I was a punk in the 70/80's. His guitarist [Steve Stevens] played with Michael Jackson in "Dirty Diana" among a load of other famous artists. Another underrated guitarist.

@cmortenson3647

Жыл бұрын

Gen X was such a great band. I loved all their albums. valley of the dolls was dope. such a long time ago....hard to believe that stuff is 45 years ago. 45 years. dang

So many memories of being a teenager tied this song. What a time to be .. then.

@wadesnider5218

Жыл бұрын

Great times. Glad I was a teen in the 80’s

Billy Idol started as part of the 'Bromley Contingent' a group of punks who followed the Sex Pistols and made punk fashion popular. They were also big fans of yes you guessed right Lex, David Bowie, plus Roxy Music. Billy then went on to become a popstar in his own right as did Siouxie Siouxie and Steve Severin, other members of the Bromley contingent, who formed Siouxie & the Banshees. You really need to check out Siouxie sometime, she's cited by many female artists as an inspiration as a ground breaking frontwoman. Robert Smith of The Cure was also a Bashee for a while and learnt how to be a frontman by watching Siouxie. 'Spellbound' would be a great Banshee's track to start you off, or perhaps 'Israel'. 'Rhapsody' is a great track to show off her vocal range and a personal favourite.

@evilfantasy69

Жыл бұрын

Billy Idol started out as pure pink rock. One of hos first bands were recording at the same studio where Led Zeppelin were recording and they would hurl insults at the guys in Zeppelin calling them geezers and stuff like that. His roots are in punk but (my opinion) he was smart enough to know how to market himself to a wide audience so we get songs like this.

@joegillam1497

Жыл бұрын

Spellbound is fantastic. One of my favourite songs. JuJu is a brilliant album

@joesmith8725

Жыл бұрын

"Spellbound" is a much better introduction to Lex, she's like it. It's more typical sounding for Sioxsee and the Banshees. Gothic, darkwave, post-punk.

@MrVicDog

Жыл бұрын

@@evilfantasy69 Generation X was his band

@andrewgarrett3555

Жыл бұрын

Siouxsie Sioux, not Siouxie.

I freaking love this song!

Billy Idol was inspired by a visit to a japanese club and seeing people dance by themselves there for this song

@revwillyg6450

Жыл бұрын

I always thought this song was about slappin' it.😂🤣 sorry, I have a dirty mind

@patrickgallagher4212

Жыл бұрын

@@revwillyg6450 it is

Man, I loved Billy Idol. He was so refreshing in a sea of hideous classic rock bands at the time. He looked great, he sounded great, he wrote amazing songs and had one of the greatest guitarists ever in Steven Stevens (and they still perform together).

@terrylandess6072

Жыл бұрын

Lol, sorry - your description on the times makes me think you were probably around 14 or younger. Eddie Van Halen was in his prime - but I guess he was hideous as well. :) I was around 25 and saw Idol as part of the explosion of music genre's which flooded MTV back then. No hate - just amused by this post.

It was the Generation X time, the lucky generation who got all the best musical pop music ever. The discos, nightclubs as teens. No cellphone. Freedom. Yeh this was intense, away from boredom. From Generation Y it was already too late to enjoy this particular mood

David Bowies punk rock nephew. 😆 Billy Idol was awesome. New wave punk music. He was huge when I was a kid. Yes we danced a lot on the '80s and '90s. That why we were more thin and fit back then 😆. We danced to everything. New wave, punk, ska, freestyle music, funk, disco, rap, r&b, etc. Carefree times.

It's so obvious Lex is definitely a Billy Idol fan

My band played this song in the 80's. It filled the dance floor every time!

We wore ourselves out in the 80s going crazy to this song!!! Such good memories!!🤘🤘

Brad, you are so right. Dancing was the shit in the 80’s and I remember dancing to this song “when there’s no one else in sight, on a crowded lonely night”.

Billy was a "Punk Rocker" in England, and he became a world beater after that !!!!!

Brad & Lex, you'll love his "Flesh For Fantasy"!!

I'm so thankful we didn't have smartphones and social media when I was growing up.

This is my favorite Billy Idol song. There are lots of really good ones. And yeah... I was doing the Billy Idol fists and punching along with the song ;)

He originally recorded this song with his band Gen X (formely Generation X), before he went solo. He was a punk rocker, but punk was dying. He went to NYC (from the UK) and saw how vibrant the dance scene was, so wanted to mix punk with dance, and this is what he came up with.

@jeffreekoch9298

Жыл бұрын

Yup. New wave punk. 🎶

@jenniferfoster1692

Жыл бұрын

Love Gen X, had the vinyl albums back in the day. Just great songs.

God I miss the 80’s. Glory Days!!

Yes we did love to dance in the 80s

This is a young Billy Idol with one of his first big hits in 1981! Some people think Dancing With Myself in this song meant self-pleasure but I’m not sure so don’t quote me! ❤️❤️

@deankrause8029

Жыл бұрын

I believe that you are correct

@jd0604

Жыл бұрын

Its 100% a wank song

Clubs were still huge when this song came out.....the dance floor immediately was full and jumping....great times

He was so young here! Look at that baby face, lol. White Wedding, Mony Mony, LA Woman, To Be A Lover, and Rebel Yell. So many songs. He did a ballad, Sweet 16, which is pretty and is a great video. But especially Rebel Yell, lol. In the midnight hour she cried MORE MORE MORE! To Be A Lover is great too, but you MUST watch the official video and see Billy in action. Bwahahaha!

This Song Always reminds me of watching a Friend Dancing by Herself under a Disco Ball inside a Nightclub (El Ritz) that had been transitioning from Disco to Punk Rock. The rest of us couldn’t get into the Club because we had no $.

Rock n Roll in the 80s was TOP TIER

In the 80's, when this song was a hit, we watched a lot of TV. Not saying that screen time hasn't increased over the decades with the introduction of the internet and smartphones, but it may be less than you think.

Billy Idol is David Bowies nephew from another city ...that made my day

That’s why we GenXers felt so much excitement every single time we got a new album precisely because we didn’t have quick access and instant gratification like cell phones lap tops and tablets give this generation. Even the anticipation of waiting for the next album even if we had to walk or take the bus to pick it up at record store was awesome and in a time when there were so many good bands. I loved all the large pictures and lyrics that came inside the album and couldn’t wait to get home to play it then brag to my cousins and brother that i had the latest album

Concerts in the 80s were jam fests. People never sat down, they danced in the isles, they danced on their chairs. If they happened to be out on the concourse they danced there. It was like a giant organism in constant motion. Those that lived through this time know what I'm talkin' about. A Billy Idol show was no diff. Loved it! Did a show with this group. Walked into the production office after the crowd came in and there were like 5 big cardboard boxes full of leather wrist and neck paraphernalia with the spikes all over the stuff. It was considered weapons and was confiscated at the door. They could take it back to the car but the walk was so far most just gave it up. Great show though. Definitely an energetic punk type crowd.

My cousin played in Billy's band for years and as a result, I saw Idol live many times and the guy always put on a great show.

@mikehollingworth2262

Жыл бұрын

liar

Ya we loved to dance. The 80’s was a lot of fun. Miss those times.

Dance clubs in the 80's were huge. Today, we're not even allowed to gather in small groups.

I dance every day at work, while I'm cooking. I was 10 yrs old in 1980. Yes, it was all about dancing back then. I've put a lot of time in, over the years, to cutten the rug.

Way back Sting did an impression of Billy Idol on SNL and it was hilarious.

Billy Idol became the face of commercial punk (and probably got people to give the punk genre a try), he was great prior to this in the group Generation X. :)

@jayconant3816

Жыл бұрын

Gen x was awesome

The inspiration for the song occurred during a tour of Japan by the English post-punk band Generation X in mid-1979, when its vocalist/frontman Billy Idol and its bassist Tony James were struck by the sight of the young crowd in a Tokyo discotheque dancing with their own reflections in walled mirrors rather than with one another.

Billy is still around and sounds and looks great

This song got airplay on the radio and MTV because it's upbeat and catchy and talks about dancing...but pretty much everybody who was young at the time thought it was really talking about masturbation. Listen to it again with that in mind, and once you hear it that way, you can't unhear it!

Originally recorded by the punk band Gen X.. billy idol re-released it as a solo artist. An insanely fun song. EDIT: To make it clear. Billy Idol was the singer in Gen X and wrote this song with that band's bassist Tony James.

@jenniferfoster1692

Жыл бұрын

Just to be clear, Billy Idol was in Gen X, so it wasn't a cover, he wrote it! Loved Gen X, had their vinyl.

@THEDEEPDIVE

Жыл бұрын

@@jenniferfoster1692 thanks Jennifer. You are correct. Billy idol and Gen X bassist Tony James are the songwriters for this song. I encourage folks to listen to the Gen X version of the song. A lot of us like that version better.

good grasp on the 80s brad.. music and dancing was a much bigger part of life than today

Love the "David Bowie's punk nephew" description. Billy is great. I swear he's released more "greatest hits" albums than originals. lol

@RSpracticalshooting

Жыл бұрын

Almost. He has 6 compilation albums and 8 studio albums

@dustinierardi4028

Жыл бұрын

But he’s also WAY more than his greatest hits. He has so many good songs that a lot of people don’t even know about.

In the 80's you had to wait for the radio or MTV to play your favorite song if you couldnt afford to buy the record

@THEDEEPDIVE

Жыл бұрын

I used to tape the radio stations to grab songs.

When I first heard this song in high school I got the impression that he was at the club and couldn't find a girl, so he had to go home and "dance with himself" (wink, wink).

Most group of friends had a boombox with them in the 80's. Especially in the city.

There is a great VH1 story tellers with Billy Idol, where he does exactly that: telling the stories behind the songs.

If I had the chance, I'd ask the world to dance.....AND I'LL BE DANCIN WITH MYSELF.....

You never know when a dance is gonna break out. That would be a great t-shirt.

Been a fan of Billy since the 80’s. These are my favourite songs of his

In the 80's we danced as much as we could! I was 20 in 1982 so going to the club on Friday nights was what we did!

FLESH! ✊ FLESH! ✊

YES!! BRAD!! Dancing WAS EVERYTHING in the 80's!!! #soproud

Billy Idol is a rock god

Funnily enough Bowie and Billy Idol were both from the same suburb of the same city - Bromley in London.

One of my favorite singers when I was stationed in 🇩🇪

"David Bowie's nephew who is really into substances" Lex is on point as usual.

I was doing back flips on the dance floor!!! lol

New wave/punk , dance-punk music. Power pop, '80s pop-punk. Whatever yall want to call it. Billy Idol had great music, '80s and '90s solo career, too. . We definitely danced to a lot of different types of music back in the days. All kinds of genre. LOL. Why do yall think we were so skinny and in shape back in the '80s and '90s. It was exercise and fun. Huge hit back when I was a kid. David Bowie's punk rocker nephew indeed! Idol was also in a post-punk band Generation X during the '70s and early '80s, check out their songs/Videos. Billy Idol has punk rock roots.

Billy Idol is like music you don't want to get into coz he's so cheesey but the songs are so damn catchy you physically can not help it... genius.

The 80's were so much fun with this music I remember the first time I heard this song I fell in love with it that was in the mid to upper 80's hanging out in the clubs..such an awesome time to be in my 20's

Billy Idol was in a group called generation x. He was the lead singer and so… as happened many times before he went solo. This was one of his first songs. Guess what happened MTV. They were on 24 hours a day and guess who they put on the tv? Bands who had music videos. So many bands wouldn’t lower themselves to put their music on a damn tv screen. Madonna did . Cyndi layperson did. Others did and other came along after .

Lots of memories for me. I've been an Idol fan since the early '80s. 👍

Brad, you are not wrong about the dancing in the 80's and love Lex's descriptions of dancing.

Ok, Billy finally explained that this song is all about self love. Great song. Gotta go and do some solo dancing.

So I've always been a Billy Idol fan and he's incredible to see live. Saw him a few times when I was a teen/early 20's and took my girls to see him when they were in their teens and they loved him too! One night way back when...was at a bar in cottage country and the place wasn't overly busy when this song came on. Had to dance, so up I hopped and was Dancing with Myself (along with a pool cue!) when some guy hops up and joins me. Had no idea who he was but what a blast! We were so in sync (even with the pool cue!) and dancing with ourselves & each other we ended up getting a round of applause and drinks bought for us the rest of the night! Different times, and Brad is so right, music was something we felt through to our bones. Love that you are both so open to hearing all the great tunes out there 🥰

Dancing in the 80's was definitely a big thing, and still is. I recently went to an '80's dance. When the DJ played David Bowie's "Let's Dance", I danced. When he played Van Halen's "Jump", I jumped. It was when the DJ played "Come On Eileen" that I got thrown out.

@pauligrossinoz

Жыл бұрын

... but ... why??? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Brad you are spot on. I grew up as a teen in the 80's and we lived for the weekend house parties where there was dancing and beer.

@goldenageofdinosaurs7192

Жыл бұрын

We did, but I always thought this sing was an ode to masturbation.

I think if you got any more 80s than this you'd time travel.

You've tapped in,to my all time playlist!The music that helped keep me sane to age 60!!

No way, was just thinking about this song and how i'd like to see your reaction to it, great👌

"Rock the Cradle of Love"...greatest video ever made for mankind!!

I was in HS when this song came out!

Billy Idol is great. I personally thing he is underrated

This is actually a song he did before his solo stuff in a band Generation X released a year before the "Billy Idol" version

Billy still performs to this day

In my car. Every time. Dancing like a fool. I am a dancing fool ❤

Billy Idol is a serious punk 👊

“David Bowie’ nephew who grew up in another city, or something”. Or, another planet, maybe.

Listen to Eyes without a face, Rebel Yell, White Wedding etc. Billy Idol is a legend. My fav is Eyes without a face. It's a gem.

Damn straight! Stops the world I gots to get off and dance!!!

This song is about "taking care" of yourself in an intimate fashion.

Brings back so many memories from college and one dance spot in particular. And, hey! I had my moves!

Brad's right 100 percent. if I missed a week I was worried.

LOL Billy is like the Punk Elvis :-D

I wouldn't be surprised if there were a DNA match out there.

I had read this was about a fad in Japan of dancing by yourself with your own image in a mirror in the late 70s early 80s

Yes! We loved to dance in the 1980s! Even as a kid in the 1970's we were into dancing and we practiced in school at lunchtime or break time. In the 1980s, we lived to going out dancing, about 3-4 times a week I was out at different dance clubs in San Francisco with my friends - we danced for hours. As I got older I got hooked on salsa dancing and would go with my husband. It seems young people now don't dance much or they don't know how to dance.

@THEDEEPDIVE

Жыл бұрын

dance clubs, rave culture, etc are still a big deal with young folks today.

All those zombies in the video are like all the guys like me in High School that were afraid to go out on the floor at prom or whatever. Great song.

Billy Idol is like a cross between Bowie and wilder Elvis!