Idol began his music career in late 1976 as a guitarist in the punk rock band Chelsea. However, he soon left the group. With his former bandmate Tony James, Idol formed Generation X. With Idol as lead singer, the band achieved success in the United Kingdom and released three studio albums on Chrysalis Records, then disbanded. In 1981, Idol moved to New York City to pursue his solo career in collaboration with guitarist Steve Stevens. His debut studio album, Billy Idol (1982), was a commercial success. With music videos for singles "Dancing with Myself" and "White Wedding" Idol soon became a staple of then newly-established MTV.
Idol's second studio album, Rebel Yell (1983), was a major commercial success, featuring hit singles "Rebel Yell" and "Eyes Without a Face". The album was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipment of two million copies in the US. In 1986, he released Whiplash Smile. Having accumulated three UK top 10 singles ("Rebel Yell", "White Wedding" and "Mony Mony"), Idol released a 1988 greatest hits album titled Idol Songs: 11 of the Best; the album went platinum in the United Kingdom. Idol then released Charmed Life (1990) and the concept album Cyberpunk (1993).
Idol spent the second half of the 1990s focusing on his personal life out of the public eye. He made a musical comeback with the release of Devil's Playground (2005) and again with Kings & Queens of the Underground (2014).
Flesh For Fantasy
Billy Idol Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Of fantasy and taste
Do you like good music?
Do you like to dance?
Oh, yeah
Hanging out for a body shot at night
Ain't it strange what they do to feel all right?
Oh, yeah
I am experienced
Oh, yeah
Face to face and back to back
You see and feel my sex attack
Sing it
Flesh, flesh for fantasy
We want
Flesh, flesh for fantasy
It's after midnight
Oh, are you feeling all right?
Oh, yeah
Turn on the light, babe
Are you someone else tonight?
Neighbour to neighbour, door to door
Don't ask questions, time for it all
Oh, yeah
Face to face and back to back
You see and feel my sex attack
Sing it
Flesh, flesh for fantasy
We cry
Flesh, flesh for fantasy
Ow
I sing for culture
Father, love his son
Mothers, daughters too
It's an old, old story
Cries the new world too
Flesh, flesh, flesh for fantasy
We want
Flesh, flesh for fantasy
We want
Flesh, flesh for fantasy
You cry
Flesh, flesh for fantasy
Let's go down, let's go down
Let's go down, let's go down
Let's go down, let's go down
Do you like good music?
Do you like to dance?
It's nearly morning
Do you wanna risk a chance?
Neighbour to neighbour, door to door
Enjoy the crime, you do your time
Never been nothing before
The lyrics of Billy Idol's song "Flesh for Fantasy" explore themes of sexual desire, pleasure-seeking, and the strange and often desperate things we do to feel alive. The opening lines of "There's a change in pace of fantasy and taste" suggest that the singer is bored or dissatisfied with their current sex life and is seeking something new and exciting. The line "hangin' out for a body shop at night" implies that they may be seeking a prostitute or some other form of illicit sexual encounter as a means of satisfying their desires.
However, despite the exhilaration of the sexual experience, there is also a sense of desperation and emptiness that pervades the song. The lines "are you someone else tonight" and "enjoy the crime, you do your time, never been nothin' before" suggest that the singer is acutely aware of the transgressive nature of their behavior and the potential consequences that could follow. Nonetheless, they are willing to risk it all in order to feel alive and connected to something primal and raw.
Overall, "Flesh for Fantasy" is a powerful exploration of the human need for physical pleasure and the lengths we are willing to go in order to satisfy it. The song speaks to a universal desire for something beyond the mundane and the everyday, and the intense, almost animalistic drive that exists just beneath the surface of our civilized lives.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a change in pace
Something is different and unexpected
Of fantasy and taste
Involves desires and preferences
Do you like good music
Do you enjoy listening to good songs
Do you like to dance
Do you enjoy dancing
Hangin' out for a body shop at night
Looking for a place to satisfy physical desires at night
Ain't it strange what we do to feel alright
Behavior to feel okay could be unusual or questionable
So when will you call
Asking for communication to proceed with the interaction
I am experienced oh yeah
Being confident due to prior events
Face to face
Having a person to person interaction
And back to back
Also involves a sexual position
You see and feel
Visual and physical senses are very involved
My sex attack
Refers to making sexual advances
Sing it, flesh, flesh for fantasy
The idea of using physical bodies for pleasure and satisfaction
We want flesh, flesh for fantasy
Physical bodies are needed for satisfaction
It's after midnight
The time is very late
Are you feeling alright
Inquiring about physical and emotional state
Turn out the light babe
Asking to turn off the lights for privacy
Are you someone else tonight
Asking if someone is open to trying different things
Neighbor to neighbor, door to door
The interaction with others is happening at different places
Don't ask questions
Implies no conversation, just action
There's time for it all, oh yeah
Implies there is enough time to fulfill desires
I sing for culture
The lyrics refer to a more expressive cultural movement
Father loves his son
Fatherly devotion to his children is endeared by the human race
Mothers, daughters too
Motherly devotion to their children of each gender is also very sentimental
It's an old, old story
Depicts a well worn tale throughout history
Cries the new world too
Implies the same thing happening within new generations
We want, flesh, flesh for fantasy
There is a strong desire for distorting reality
You cry, flesh, flesh for fantasy
It becomes a priority to have the participation of the flesh
Let's go down, let's go down
Let us do what is desired
Do you like good music
Asking if the person has a preference for high-quality songs
It's nearly mornin'
Time has passed and the morning is approaching
You want to risk a chance
Asking if someone wants to try something different
Enjoy the crime
Although taboo, the embrace of the act is inviting
You do your time
Accepting and dealing with the aftermath of actions that can have consequences
Never been nothin' before
Implying a new experience, unlike any previously from memory
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Billy Idol, Steve Stevens, William Broad
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@markarmstrong3374
As a 50 year old guy, I can tell you the 80s had a certain unexplainable magic about it.
@michaelconnolly7681
I totally agree
@jasoninthehood9726
Yea, it’s called America still being a Protestant country and Reagan in office. Period.
@DPRyan-vd5pp
I’m also 50, good times being a kid in the 1980’s… they played all these 80’s jams at the public pool in the summer! Born November 29th, 1972!
@Townchild1
I m 56 and I heard during Motorbike ride a this Music with Walkman under the Helmet. MY old Kawasaki Z 650 is in pretty good conditions like me today.
@gooberclown
Eyes Without a Face is my favorite Billy Idol tune.
@Dan.50
The 80's still seems like something that will come in the future. We have regressed.
@rickymartinez1944
Hell yeah I belive it to
@tickedoffsheikh8587
Beautifully said.
@redsoxfanrob
We can only hope you are correct. This shit on the radio now does not come close to constituting music.