Billy Idol scored his one and only No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with a live version of the 1968 Tommy James & the Shondells pop-rock classic “Mony, Mony.” Idol’s live cover was released as a standalone single around the time his Vital Idol best-of compilation came out.
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“Mony, Mony” ascended to the top spot of the Hot 100 on November 21, 1987. Interestingly, Idol’s rendition of “Mony, Mony” replaced teen pop star Tiffany’s cover of a 1967 Tommy James & the Shondells tune, “I Think We’re Alone Now,” at No. 1 on the tally. “Mony, Mony” was knocked from the top of the Hot 100 after one week by the Bill Medley-Jennifer Warnes duet “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life.”
Idol originally released a studio version of “Mony, Mony” in 1981, as part of his debut solo EP, Don’t Stop. The original version reached No. 7 on the Billboard dance songs chart. Before launching his successful solo career, Billy was the lead singer of the U.K. punk band Generation X.
More About the “Mony Mony”
Tommy James co-wrote “Mony Mony” with producers Ritchie Cordell and Bo Gentry, and singer/songwriter Bobby Bloom. In a 2009 interview with Songfacts, James explained the origins of the party anthem’s title.
He recalled that one night, he and Cordell were at his New York City apartment and were struggling to come up with a two-syllable name that fit into the song. Eventually, they got frustrated, and went to take a cigarette break on James’ terrace.
“[W]e light up a cigarette, and we look up into the sky,” Tommy recalled. “And the first thing our eyes fall on is the Mutual of New York Insurance Company [sign,] M-O-N-Y. … With a dollar sign in the middle of the O, and it gave you the time and the temperature.”
He continued, “I had looked at this thing for years, and it was sitting there looking me right in the face. We saw this at the same time, and we both just started laughing. We said, ‘That’s perfect! What could be more perfect than that?’ Mony, M-O-N-Y, Mutual of New York.”
James and the Shondells’ version of “Mony, Mony” reached No. 3 on the Hot 100.
More About Idol’s Cover of “Mony, Mony”
Idol’s hit live version of the song features a blazing solo by his longtime guitarist Steve Stevens.
At some point, when Idol performed “Mony, Mony” live or when the song was played in clubs, it became popular for fans to scream the obscene phrase “Hey, get laid, get f—ed!” during breaks in the tune.
In 2018, Idol released a remix album titled Vital Idol: Revitalized. The digital edition of the album included a remix of “Mony, Mony” created by Idol and Stevens that incorporated the lewd phrase into the track.
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