Billy Idol Revisits “Eyes Without a Face” 40 Years After ‘Rebel Yell’

Punk rock icon Billy Idol takes viewers behind the scenes of the official music video for his first top 10 hit, “Eyes Without A Face,” in the latest installment of Vevo Footnotes.

In the video, Billy discusses his intention to write an anti-love song because the ’80s were already filled with drippy, soppy love songs. He describes “Eyes Without A Face” as almost like a murder song. He shares that he drew influence from many silent films he enjoyed watching, noting their similarities in achieving impactful effects with limited resources and budgets.

Billy Idol also reveals a story about falling asleep with bleach in his hair the night before the shoot and waking up with fried hair but somehow making it work. Additionally, he recalls his struggle to find a bassist who could interpret his reggae-inspired bassline on the song until he met Sal Cuevas, who was a member of the Dreamgirls Broadway band at the time.

Finally, he shares a story that Miley Cyrus has told him that some of his videos are among her favourite sexiest music videos and says, “Thank you, Miley.”