This Early Billy Idol Hit Was Inspired by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards

In 1984, Billy Idol released “Rebel Yell”. The song, written by Idol and Steve Stevens, is the title track of Idol’s sophomore album.

“Rebel Yell” quickly became a fan favorite, even though it didn’t do as well at radio as some of Idol’s other songs. “Rebel Yell” says in part, “In the midnight hour, she cried more, more, more / With a rebel yell, she cried more, more, more, wow / In the midnight hour, babe, more, more, more / With a rebel yell, she cried more, more, more / More, more, more.“

The beginning of “Rebel Yell” actually goes back a few centuries. It’s a phrase that was used by the Confederates as a battle cry during the Civil War. Later, Rebel Yell became a popular bourbon, one that Idol was reportedly drinking at the home of  Ron Wood. Wood’s fellow Rolling Stones members Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were also in attendance, where they all drank the famous Rebel Yell straight from the bottle, inspiring Idol to write “Rebel Yell”.

How Billy Idol Fought to Get the Right Artwork on “Rebel Yell”

Rebel Yell remains one of Idol’s most important albums. The record also includes “Eyes Without A Face” and “Flesh For Fantasy”. But Rebel Yell may not have ever been the commercial success it became if not for Idol taking matters into his own hands regarding the record’s artwork.

According to Idol, there was something wrong with the picture on the album cover, which led to him taking drastic measures.

“I was saying, ‘There’s a flaw in this picture. And if we blow this up it will get worse,’” Idol recalls to The Guardian. “The record company started to say, ‘We’re leaving it. It’s not that bad.’ I just thought, ‘I’m just not going to let this happen. It’s so silly. They just need to reprint the picture. I’m not listening to what the record company guys say. In fact, I’m gonna blackmail them.’”

Blackmail he did, which fortunately for Idol, worked.

“I went down to Electric Lady in the middle of the night and got to where I knew the tape boxes were,” he recounts. “I took them and left the studio and gave them to my heroin dealer. And then I phoned the record company and said, ‘This guy I’ve given them to, he’ll have them out on the street bootlegged in a couple of days if you don’t change this picture.’ And they relented. Don’t let them walk all over you.”

Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images