“Can't Break Me Down” by Billy Idol

"Can't Break Me Down" was the lone single from Kings & Queens of the Underground, Billy Idol's eighth album, and in 2014 it put him back on a chart for the first time in almost a decade, since "Scream" in 2005, climbing to 15 on the Adult Alternative Songs chart. Greg Kurstin cut it at Echo Studios, his home studio in Los Angeles, and did nearly everything himself: producing, engineering and mixing, and playing drums, bass, keyboards and guitar alongside Steve Stevens. Idol wrote it with Kurstin and Daniel Nigro and called it a fun one to record, and the swagger shows.

Jason Trucco directed the video at Santa Clarita Studios in Valencia, California, borrowing the climax of The Lady from Shanghai, a 1947 film noir, for a tale of love gone bad starring Idol, Izabella Miko and Ryan Heffington, who also choreographed it.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.