LEGENDS!…staring in the devil’s eyes, BILLY IDOL Bitter Taste
Billy Idol – Bitter Taste [The Roadside EP] available at Dark Horse Records.
by Walter Price
Looking back at how many lives one has lived could result in a sappy song about woe is me or, if you’re seminal rocker Billy Idol, you co-pen an introspective love letter to all the good, bad, and uglies of facing death and navigating rebírth. Taken from his forthcoming EP, ‘The Roadside’, expected September 17th via the legendary label, Dark Horse Records, this Butch Walker-produced track is a meticulous blend of noir meets 1960s AM radio pop and its personal.
Hello, goodbye
I was staring in the devil’s eyes
Should’ve left me way back
Should’ve left me way back
by the roadside
It’s a bitter taste
Jagged stain
On my skin
Broken leg
Born again
Wide glide
Upside down
Twisted frame
My new crown
Lyrics that clearly reference Idol’s February 1990 motorcycle accident in Hollywood that nearly cost the former Generation X member his leg and possibly ending his meteoric rock star ascension. This single, his first in seven or so years is quite possibly his best single to date. Age, a twisty career full of all the prerequisite highs and lows, family and tabloid hounds, and all stops in between all make for this singer to get this real at a time when many of his contemporaries are fading into the shadows. And the results speak for themselves.
The accompanying music video, directed by Steven Sebring, is a dark road film that takes the “Eyes Without a Face” singer back to the scene when everything went awry. There’s a certain Lynch cinematic style to the visuals and being that having a second chance at life is a surreal experience in itself, so should be this song’s video.
You can stream “Bitter Taste” and see its music video now at GTC.
BILLY IDOL Bitter Taste
Artist photo via YouTube // Quote courtesy of Dark Horse Records
Produced by Butch Walker
Written by Billy Idol, Steve Stevens, Tommy English, and Joe Janiak
Video directed by Steven Sebring
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“I think everyone has been feeling more reflective (during the pandemic). So, it seemed quite logical and natural to write something about my motorcycle accident. Certainly, the motorcycle accident was the catharsis, the wake-up moment. A little bit of me got left on that roadside. But it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing in the end; it was a wake-up call. Maybe on that roadside, I left behind the irreverent youthful Billy and opened the door for a more attentive father and a more sensitive musician.” – Billy Idol