Liner Notes · No. 025
"White Wedding" by Billy Idol: the B-side
Quick hall pass: the song your cousin insisted on at the reception got a rom-com cameo, a Storytellers rewire, a 12-minute remix and a Rock Hall invite. Here's the B-side.
📰 FAST FACTS
- The lead single from Dream Into It was "77," out April 22, 2025, three days ahead of the album. (Wikipedia)
- The Rock Hall ceremony is set to air in December on ABC and Disney+. Plan your couch accordingly. (BrooklynVegan)
- Billy Idol Should Be Dead is due on Blu-ray and DVD on November 3, 2026. (Rock Cellar)
- Los Angeles plans a "Billy Idol Day" on November 13, 2026, the day before the induction, with a free acoustic duo set booked for the steps of City Hall. A sneer on municipal property. Finally. (Rockum)
On this record
TRACK 1 · The cameo
The Wedding Singer, Earl and a 1985 horror movie
Billy Idol played himself in The Wedding Singer, and the song turned up in My Name Is Earl, Blackpool and an Italian horror film.
Keep readingShow less
The plane: The Wedding Singer opened February 13, 1998, and Billy Idol plays himself. In the climax he's a passenger on the plane where Adam Sandler's Robbie tells his story, and he helps Robbie reach Drew Barrymore's Julia. The movie uses "White Wedding" too. A film about a wedding singer, featuring the least wedding-friendly wedding song ever written. Somebody in casting had a sense of humor.
The TV: The song has also turned up in the US sitcom My Name Is Earl and the British drama Blackpool. From a trailer park to a seaside arcade. The sneer travels.
The horror movie: It's also listed in the 1985 Italian horror film Demons (Dèmoni). Honestly the most natural home it's ever had. That video was already halfway to a horror movie.
That's the song's life after MTV. Now one about the song itself. Quiz time.
Why is the song officially called "White Wedding (Part 1)"?
Freebie if you watched the pop-ups. No Googling.
That's Side A. Flip the tape.
Side B is where it gets weird:
- VH1 Storytellers, the 2026 Apple Music re-record with Steve Stevens, and a tour named after the chorus.
- The covers: the Murderdolls, Doro, Queens of the Stone Age, and Billy remixing Billy.
- A 2025 album, a documentary called Billy Idol Should Be Dead, and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Free, every Tuesday. One song, the story you never heard, and a 10-minute hall pass from the doomscroll. Already subscribed? Enter your email to unlock.
▶ SIDE B
TRACK 2 · The live one
Storytellers, Apple Music and a tour named after the chorus
VH1 Storytellers in 2001, a 2026 Apple Music re-recording with Steve Stevens, and a tour named after the chorus.
Keep readingShow less
2001, New York: Idol played it on VH1 Storytellers with his longtime guitarist Steve Stevens, more than half the show semi-acoustic. The album came out in 2002 and was later reissued with a DVD. That's also the night he explained that his sister's wedding only gave him the idea. Billy Idol, unplugged-ish. The hair stayed plugged in.
2026, Los Angeles: On July 14, 2026, Idol and Stevens released a re-imagined "White Wedding," recorded at Apple Music Studios in Los Angeles for Apple Music's Rediscovered series, alongside "Eyes Without a Face." Same two guys, 44 years later, still finding new corners in it.
2026, the road: The summer run was called the "It's A Nice Day To...Tour Again!" tour. It opened August 7 in Scranton, Pennsylvania and was scheduled to wrap September 27 in Albuquerque, with a five-show "Hot in the City" residency at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas from August 28 to September 5. Naming the tour after your own chorus: the most efficient marketing in rock.
TRACK 3 · Cover watch
Billy covers Billy
Doro, Murderdolls, Queens of the Stone Age and a 12-minute Billy Idol remix of himself. Vote below.
Keep readingShow less
- 2000 · Doro. The German metal singer took a swing at it. Wikipedia dates it 2000, WhoSampled 2001. Even the metal archivists can't agree, which is very metal.
- 2002 · Murderdolls. On Beyond the Valley of the Murderdolls (Roadrunner, August 2002). It came out as a single in 2003 and they played it on Top of the Pops. Eyeliner budget: also 1982.
- 2008 · Queens of the Stone Age. A Josh Homme-produced version, listed with the Era Vulgaris material. Desert rock goes to a goth wedding.
- 2023 · Billy Idol, Clubland Extended Remix. A 12-minute remix from the expanded 2CD reissue of the 1982 debut, released with its own video. His own cover of himself, at four times the length. Bring snacks.
▶ WATCH THE CONTENDERS
Battle of the versions: which "White Wedding" wins?
Cast your vote. Results in the next issue. Choose carefully: we're judging you.
TRACK 4 · Where are they now
Where Billy Idol is now
A ninth studio album, a documentary called Billy Idol Should Be Dead, and a spot in the Rock Hall Class of 2026.
Keep readingShow less
The album: On April 25, 2025, Idol released Dream Into It, his ninth studio album, on Dark Horse/BMG. Ninth. The guy whose report card said "idle" has nine studio albums.
The film: The documentary Billy Idol Should Be Dead, directed by Jonas Åkerlund, opened in US theaters on February 26, 2026, after a premiere at Tribeca. It streams on Hulu in the US.
The Hall: In April 2026, Idol was named to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2026, alongside Phil Collins, Iron Maiden, Joy Division/New Order, Oasis, Sade, Luther Vandross and Wu-Tang Clan. The ceremony is set to tape November 14 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. Parents of 1982 who called that video a disgrace: your reply card is in the mail.
Collect hall passes
Share HallPass with friends. 1 makes you a Hall Monitor (power, finally), 3 lets you pick a future Pop-Up Edition, 5 puts your name in the credits.
🎧 Hidden track: know a version we missed? Reply to any HallPass email. The best finds go in the next Liner Notes, with your name on them.
🎟️ Want it to count toward your passes? Use the personal link at the bottom of any HallPass email. That's the one that tracks your friends.
Now playing
