Song · Billy Idol
“Don't Need a Gun” by Billy Idol
From the album Whiplash Smile (1986)
“Don't Need a Gun” by Billy Idol appears on 3 radio countdowns from 2 stations between 1986 and 2003. It was first released in 1986 on the album Whiplash Smile. Its best result is #87 on the 91X Top 91 Songs of 1986. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #205 alternative song of 1986 and #4,604 alternative song of all time.
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Billy Idol wrote "Don't Need a Gun" by himself for Whiplash Smile, his third album, from 1986, and in 1987 it became the record's second single: a song about the dangers of firearms, jamming rock, pop and dance together under Keith Forsey's production. Gary Langan mixed it, and Dave Concors, Neil Dorfsman and Dave Wittman engineered.
The seven-inch cut it from 6:15 on the album to 4:28 and put another Whiplash Smile track, "Fatal Charm", on the flip. It fell short of the singles around it, "Sweet Sixteen" among them, but it still climbed to No. 37 on the Billboard Hot 100, and to No. 10 on Mainstream Rock, and Julien Temple's video kept Idol's run on MTV rolling.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | 87 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 1986 | 90 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 1369 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2003 | 1153 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
Also listed as: Don't Need A Gun.
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