“Rebel Yell” by Billy Idol

"Rebel Yell" gave Billy Idol's second album its name and its battle cry in 1983, and Chrysalis wisely put it out front as the lead single. Idol wrote and arranged it with his guitar foil Steve Stevens, and Keith Forsey produced it as pure adrenaline: Thommy Price hammering the kit, Steve Webster and Stevens both credited on bass, Judi Dozier's keyboards pumping underneath, Michael Frondelli engineering and Dave Wittman handling the mix.

It's hard rock with a dance-floor pulse, punk's sneer given a big-budget sheen. Stevens is the secret weapon, wringing shrieks and squeals out of his guitar that sound more like machinery than strings, while Idol whoops, growls and bellows over the top like a man with no brakes.

It was a slow burner. First time out it limped to 62 in Britain and 46 in America, and only a 1985 reissue finally cracked it open, taking it to number 6 in the UK. By 2009 its reputation was settled: VH1's viewers, voting as the public, ranked it at 79 among hard rock's all-time greats, and rock radio's countdowns have never let it go quiet.

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