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Wendy Rush

New Billy Idol ‘Rebel Yell’ Reissue Includes Previously Unreleased Cover

Author Wendy Rush
Recording artist Billy Idol performs as he kicks off his 10-show residency "Billy Idol: Las Vegas 2019" at The Pearl concert theater at Palms Casino Resort.

Billy Idol fans are going to get a couple of new treats this month with the anniversary reissue of the rocker’s Rebel Yell album. Well, to put it more accurately, they’re going to get a couple of old treats that have been in the treat jar for about 40 years.

The 40th anniversary expanded edition of Rebel Yell is celebrating the original album over 40 years after it was released. The original album dropped November 10, 1983, according to ultimateclassicrock.com, with just nine songs. The reissue will bring those originals back, plus an entire second disc of 13 bonus tracks.

Billy Idol Cover Song Meant For Original Rebel Yell Album

When Idol first released Rebel Yell back in 1984, it was missing several songs that were recorded for the album but never included on it, bravewords.com reported. One of the missing songs was a cover of Rose Royce’s 1974 hit “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore”.

Idol was really excited about doing the Royce cover, but, according to bravewords.com, ultimately decided not to include it on the original Rebel Yell album after he heard Madonna had covered the same song. Which is a shame because Madonna didn’t do it any favors with her version. It was released on her 1984 Like A Virgin album.

Now that Billy Idol is reissuing Rebel Yell for its 40th anniversary, he has decided to dust off the cover he’d almost finished four decades ago. It’s one of a few songs that were originally meant for the album that will finally get their day in the sun with this reissue. Another is a Poolside remix of “Eyes Without A Face”.

There will also be an original song that Billy Idol and his guitarist, Steve Stevens, had done during the initial Rebel Yell sessions. Called “Best Way Out Of Here”, the song has never before been heard but will be the first track on the expanded album’s second disc.

Looking at the track list from billyidolstore.com, we see there is also the session take for “Rebel Yell” on the upcoming album. As well as the original demos for “Blue Highway”, “Catch My Fall” and more.

In honor of the upcoming anniversary album, Billy Idol released an animated video about the “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore” cover. In the video, you hear a conversation between Idol and Stevens, where Idol is talking about the Rose Royce song. Idol also tells the story about when he first heard Madonna had covered it, and how that news hit him.

Idol said that when he found the original version of “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore”, he knew he could “take it and do something with it dramatically different”. Fortunately, when he and Stevens were picking songs for the reissue, the cover was nearly done and didn’t need much more than some extra guitar work, according to bravewords.com.

In the video, Idol also recounts how he went back and listened to Madonna’s version and realized how similar it was to the original that Rose Royce had done. And the fact that he really rocked it out in his version made it an obvious choice for the anniversary release of Rebel Yell.

He definitely did rock it out. But not in the same way he’s done with other covers, like “Mony Mony” (originally done by Tommy James and The Shondells). Idol’s version of “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore” is a slow burn kind of rock song. A ballad without the love part. Kind of like a cool “you blew it and you know it” sort of hate rock ballad, in the best possible way.

The Rebel Yell 40th Anniversary reissue is available for preorder and, according to billyidolstore.com, will be released on or around April 26, 2024.

Want more from this author? Check out her home page.

Wendy Rush is the midday host on one of Vegas's top stations, 96.3 KKLZ. She has been with the station for ten years and comes with a diverse career background. In addition to being a radio host, Wendy has lived the Vegas life as an entertainer. She has been a celebrity impersonator, rock band singer, and improv comedian. As a content creator for 96.3 KKLZ, Wendy writes about music, celebrities, mental health and wellness, and life as a Las Vegas local.

9 Popular Songs That Were Flops Before They Were Hits

It’s no secret that each person’s musical taste is heavily influenced by the era they grew up in. What are considered popular songs by me probably aren’t by my father. Or my daughter, for that matter.

My dad and I often also disagree on which version of a song is better when there’s more than one. Because he will have grown up with the original while I grew up with the cover. And since the cover was my first experience with the song, that version is just as original to me as my father’s is to him.

Popular Songs Haven’t Always Ended Up Where They Started

When a song is written by an artist, most often they intend to sing the song themselves when it’s done. When a separate songwriter is the one who composes a song, they often have an artist in mind to perform it.

Either way, it’s probably more common that the person who was originally intended to sing a song ends up doing so. From time to time, though, it happens that a song just doesn’t work for the person it was originally written for.

When this happens, one of two things will follow. Sometimes an artist or songwriter is just too stubborn to let the song go. So it gets recorded and goes nowhere. Even worse, sometimes it goes straight into the trash. Have you ever heard Aerosmith‘s “My Fist, Your Face”? Don’t. You’ll never be able to unhear it and you don’t want that stuck in your head.

However, if you are a glutton for punishment, here you go. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Other times, when a musician knows that the art must come before their ego, is when magic happens. That’s when a song is given to a different artist to cover. And that’s how some of the most popular songs in music history have come to be.

Some of our favorite hits started in the hands of another artist, or even several. Sometimes the original wasn’t all that bad, and other times we are SO grateful it was rerecorded by someone else.

Songs That Were Hot Only After They Were Not

Here is a list of songs that were done by the original artist first and then handed off to the person who actually made it a hit.

Want more from this author? Check out her home page.

  • 1. Shadows Of The Night

    A year before Pat Benatar made it a hit, “Shadows of the Night” was released by a pop singer named Rachel Sweet (her 1981 And Then He Kissed Me album). And a year before that, it was written for another singer’s album (D.L. Byron’s 1980 This Day And Age album), but never got recorded.

    In this case, the third time was definitely the charm. Pat Benatar picked up her third consecutive Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for this song in 1982 when she released it on Get Nervous.

    The version that was HOT:

    And the one that was NOT:

  • 2. Everytime You Go Away

    Okay I wouldn’t actually consider this one a flop. It’s got a very groovy sound that is perfect for a glass of wine or night in front of the fireplace. But the charts didn’t consider “Everytime You Go Away” a big hit when it was recorded by Daryl Hall and John Oates for their 1980 Voices album. It wasn’t until Paul Young covered it in 1985 that it topped the charts.

    The version that was HOT:

    And the one that was NOT:

  • 3. Der Kommissar

    This one was originally recorded by Falco, the German singer famous for his hit “Rock Me Amadeus”. Falco’s version of “Der Kommissar” was very popular in the dance scene in Europe, but wouldn’t do well in the states. So Falco encouraged American bands to record the song. The version that went to the top of the charts was that of After The Fire. Released in 1982, their recording of “Der Kommissar” became their only hit.

    The one that was HOT:

    And the one that was NOT:

    BONUS: Did you know Laura Branigan also recorded the hit? She completely changed the lyrics, but kept the music.

  • 4. Red Red Wine

    Neil Diamond isn’t a name we normally associate with unsuccessful songs. This one is a rarity in that case. Diamond recorded “Red Red Wine” for his second studio album Just For You, and it peaked only at #62 on the charts. Maybe because the pacing sounds like he’s actually drinking wine while playing the song. Come on, Neil. Pep it up!

    When UB40 released it in 1983, it went to #1 in the UK but wasn’t a hit in the states until it was re-released in 1988. Why are we always behind Europe on this stuff?

    The version that was HOT:

    And the one that was NOT:

  • 5. Got My Mind Set On You

    James Ray was an American R&B singer in the 1960’s. His hit single, “If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody”, landed at #10 on the U.S. Billboard R&B chart as well as #22 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1962.

    Ray’s recording of “I’ve Got My Mind Set On You”, however, didn’t do so well. Written by Rudy Clark, that song didn’t become a hit until George Harrison covered it (then called “Got My Mind Set On You”) in 1987. ‘Cause…you know…if you want a song to be a hit, give it to a Beatle.

    The version that was HOT:

    And the one that was NOT:

  • 6. Torn

    This song has seen a lot of recording studios. It was first recorded in 1993 by Danish singer Lis Sorenson, in 1994 by American rock band Ednaswap, and in 1996 by American-Norwegian singer Trine Rein. The first two versions didn’t make it big, but Rein’s version did go to #10 in Norway.

    However, it was Natalie Imbruglia who brought the song worldwide recognition. Released in 1997, her version peaked at #1 on all kinds of charts and sold four million copies worldwide.

    The versions that were HOT:

    And:

    The versions that were NOT:

    And:

  • 7. The Tide Is High

    This one was written in 1967 by James Holt, who sung lead vocals on it when it was recorded by The Paragons, a rocksteady vocal trio from Jamaica. It didn’t gain international attention until it was covered by Blondie in 1980.

    The version that was HOT:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnP7ZaYBdqc

    The version that was NOT:

     

  • 8. Nothing Compares 2 U

    Prince wrote this song for his side project, The Family, in 1985. It was on their only album, also called The Family, and Prince sang the lead vocals on it. It got very little recognition. Irish singer Sinead O’Connor covered it in 1989 for her second studio album. That’s when it became a worldwide hit.

    The version that was HOT:

    The version that was NOT:

  • 9. Alone

    This song was written and recorded by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, under the band name i-Ten. It was released on their 1983 album Taking A Cold Look. Many others have covered the song since, including John Stamos, Celine Dion, and Alyssa Reid.

    But it wasn’t until the keyboard/guitar prowess of Nancy Wilson, combined with Ann Wilson’s vocals, that the song topped the charts. It went to #1 when Heart covered it in 1987 for their Bad Animals album.

    The version that was HOT:

    The version that was NOT:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONuYXeZdCNw

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