Song Lyric Sunday #44

This week’s prompt for Jim Adams’ Song Lyric Sunday Challenge is Old/ New/ Borrowed/ Blue – a wedding theme perhaps? In fact I immediately thought of White Wedding by Billy Idol. Quite possibly not what was intended by the prompt, but never mind!

Billy Idol is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and actor who holds dual British and American citizenship. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer of the group Generation X. Subsequently, he embarked on a solo career which led to international recognition and made Idol a lead artist during the MTV-driven “Second British Invasion” in the United States. The name “Billy Idol” was inspired by a schoolteacher’s description of him as “idle”.

After Generation X disbanded, in 1981 Idol moved to New York to pursue a solo career. His debut studio album, Billy Idol (1982), was a commercial success. Music videos for singles “Dancing with Myself” and “White Wedding” Idol soon became a staple of then-newly established MTV.

Although not Idol’s highest-charting hit, White Wedding is often considered one of his most recognisable songs. In the US, it peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart on 27 November 1982, then reached No. 36 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 2 July 1983 after it was re-issued. In the UK, it reached No. 6 in the UK Singles Chart upon its re-release there in 1985 and again 1988, when it was re-issued to promote the Vital Idol remix album.

Despite rumors to the contrary, this song is not about Idol’s actual little sister. “Little sister” is slang for girlfriend. Idol is singing about a woman/girl he loves marrying someone else while he still loves her. Idol did have a sister who was getting married which gave him the idea for the song. Like many of Idol’s compositions, he started with the title and wrote the song from there.

The video for this song help launch Idol to stardom. It was directed by David Mallet, who had worked with Queen and David Bowie. Idol had little cash, so Mallet cut him a break on his fee. The concept was a “nightmare wedding,” with a Goth guy (Idol) marrying a normal girl, with some vampire imagery thrown in. The bride was played by Perri Lister, who was Billy’s girlfriend. The resulting video contained some of the most indelible images seen on MTV, including the barbed-wire wedding ring and  the motorcycle crashing through the church window.

The song is very anti-marriage, yet many people have it played at their weddings simply because it mentions a wedding. Indeed it was used in the movie The Wedding Singer. After getting dumped at the alter, Adam Sandler tells his friends to “turn this crap off” after the video comes on. Idol later appears in the movie as himself and helps get Sandler together with Drew Barrymore.

Lyrics: White Wedding

Hey little sister, what have you done
Hey little sister, who’s the only one
Hey little sister, who’s your superman
Hey little sister, who’s the one you want
Hey little sister, shotgun
It’s a nice day to start again
It’s a nice day for a white wedding
It’s a nice day to start again