Happy November, friends! Today, the Dial
turns its receiver to capture a signal containing a huge hit from one of the ‘80s
most dynamic rockers, a song that seems to have been forgotten by current radio
programmers, at least in my personal experience. Turn the calendars back to
1984 for William Michael Albert Broad (we know him as Billy Idol), and his “Eyes without a Face”!
“I’m all out of hope… one more bad dream,
could bring a fall…”
“Eyes”
was the highest charting single extracted from Idol’s third LP, 1984’s Rebel Yell, reaching US #4 pop, US #5
rock, and UK #18. It would also prove to be Billy’s third biggest hit in the US
overall, following 1987’s live rendition of “Mony Mony”, and 1990’s “Cradle
of Love”, #1 and #2 pop hits, respectively.
With
lyrics concerning a collapsing romance, “Eyes” introduces the listener to a man
whom is accusing his lady of being deceitful. He admits he is still in love with
the woman he used to know (and that she used to be), even as he
acknowledges that the love has gone from her eyes. Even still, the woman continues
to have a kind of mental and emotional hold over him.
Eventually,
he snaps, and makes some very questionable choices, involving robbery, car
theft, drinking and using drugs, and reading what he terms to be “murder books”
(!!!), which culminates in him threatening the woman by repeating the line “Say your prayers…” ominously. And all of
that happens in the bridge section of the song! *shudder*
“When I’m far from home… don’t call me on the
phone… to tell me you’re alone.”
Billy’s
expert blend of synthpop and hard rock possesses a brooding and mysterious tone,
which is echoed in Idol’s resigned delivery, and a spooky call and response
section in the chorus from Perri Lister, Idol’s girlfriend of the time.
In
fact, concerning that call and response… Perri is singing a line in French, “Les Yeux Sans Visage”, which is the
exact translation of “Eyes without a Face”.
However,
for years, I misheard the line as this English sentence…
“Last year’s all we’ve got.”
Since
I didn’t own the album, or the lyrics sheet, nor did I hear any disc jockeys
mention that the woman was singing in French, my ears interpreted the French
words into an English line that seemed to fit the content of the song.
I
was sure this meant the woman was trying to let Billy’s character down easy by stating
that their time as a couple was in the past, and that they have no future
together. Even now, when I listen to “Eyes”, I still hear the line as my original
interpretation… old habits die hard, I suppose.
Anyway,
I consider “Eyes without a Face” to be Idol’s greatest single, but I rarely catch it on the radio, hence the Radio Dial spotlight. However, I've noticed that it is starting to pick back up on my local Columbus Ohio classic hits and classic rock radio stations. It's still not a common song to hear, but it's nice that it's added back into the playlists.
“Now I close my eyes and I wonder why… I
don’t despise…
Now all I can do, is love what was once, so alive in you."
Now all I can do, is love what was once, so alive in you."
So,
take a flashback to one of the more unique sounding top 10 hits of ’84, and click
the video below. And while you watch that, consider this… reportedly due to the
harsh conditions of the music video shoot, Billy’s contact lenses fused to his
eyeballs (!!!!), which necessitated surgery to remove them! This left his eyes bandaged
for three days, creating an easy joke regarding how “Eyes without a Face” resulted
in a “Face without Eyes”… but I shall take the high road here. (Except I really
didn’t… Sorry.)
Anyway,
stay tuned to the Dial later this month for a contemporary pop treatment of a 1930’s
American standard, featured as the theme song to a late ‘80s teen movie!
Kyle’s
Radio Dial… The more you listen, the MORE you remember!
“Eyes without a face… got no human grace…
your eyes without a face.”
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