Lost Hits of the New Wave #41

"Blue Highway" by Billy Idol

There was a time in the mid-1980s when Billy Idol, despite his look and punk origins with Generation X (yeah, remember when it was a band and not a demographic?), was considered pop music and played to death on the radio and MTV.

Yeah, I loved "Rebel Yell" the first ten times I heard it, but man, the next thousand were downright painful. This song, "Blue Highway," got some minor play on radio and in the clubs, and was a nice change of pace. It still had the strong vocals of Billy and the screeching cool guitar of Steve Stevens, the vibe of "Rebel Yell," all without the overplay souring. It's almost like a new song.



"Blue Highway" has since become, and deservedly so, a staple on 1st Wave Classic Alternative Satellite Radio. And for the record, the above is not the real video, as the song had no video. The clips are from Billy's later album, Cyberpunk, also highly recommended.