William Michael Albert Broad, known professionally as Billy Idol, is a Brit… Read Full Bio ↴William Michael Albert Broad, known professionally as Billy Idol, is a British singer, songwriter, musician and actor. He also holds United States citizenship. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer of the group Generation X. Subsequently, he embarked on a solo career which led to international recognition and made Idol a lead artist during the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" in the US. The name "Billy Idol" was inspired by a schoolteacher's description of him as "idle".

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).

Love Calling
Billy Idol Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Sun goes down I rise
Red hair flames so bright
Iced gin breaks the night
Steal into her mind
Walk without a sound
Fire in the mountains now
If you want to rub-a-dub, rub-a-dub
If you want to rub-a-dub, dub love

Love calling, love calling
If you want to rub-a-dub, rub-a-dub
If you want to rub-a-dub, dub love
Love calling

So baby rock on
Clap hands, clap hands
For the song man
Rock on, rock on
Ooo baby rock on,
Clap hands, clap hands
For the song man
Rock on, rock on

Song man dreams for you
Moves his clapping space
Turns us into snakes
Hot hits
And the blue moon move, move, move
Move until we die
Move until she cries
If you want to rub-a-dub, rub-a-dub
If you want to rub-a-dub, dub love
Love calling, love calling
If you want to rub-a-dub, rub-a-dub
If you want to rub-a-dub, dub love
Love calling
Oo baby rock on

If you want to rub-a-dub, rub-a-dub
If you want to rub-a-dub, dub love
Love calling, love calling
If you want to rub-a-dub, rub-a-dub
If you want to rub-a-dub, dub love
Love calling

So (Ooo) baby rock on
Clap hands, clap hands
For the song man
Rock on, rock on
Ooo baby rock on,
Clap hands, clap hands

For the song man
Rock on, rock on

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Love Calling" by Billy Idol are open to an array of interpretations. The song is about a man’s journey to a woman whom he's attracted to – he approaches her, but he does it quietly without making any noise. Red hair often symbolizes passion, so the first line could mean that he is attracted to her fiery passion. The phrase "If you want to rub-a-dub, dub love" may be alluding to the notion that love is a dance that takes two. Moreover, the phrase "rock on" in the chorus could mean to continue to desire someone and to never give up hope when it comes to love, even if there are obstacles in the way. The final verses are initially hard to understand as they move from talking about "Song man" dreaming and "hot hits" and then finally to endless movement until something happens or Until "she" cries.

Overall, the song seems to convey that love can be a passionate journey filled with obstacles to overcome, but one that is worthwhile in the end.

Line by Line Meaning

Sun goes down I rise
As the sun sets, I come alive

Red hair flames so bright
Her fiery red hair shines brilliantly

Iced gin breaks the night
The cold gin refreshes me and breaks through the darkness

Steal into her mind
I want to enter her thoughts and capture her attention

Walk without a sound
I move silently towards her

Fire in the mountains now
There is passion and excitement all around us

If you want to rub-a-dub, rub-a-dub
If you want to dance and get closer to me

If you want to rub-a-dub, dub love
Let's dance and feel the love between us

Love calling, love calling
The feeling of love is present and growing

So baby rock on
Let's keep moving and dancing together

Clap hands, clap hands
Let's make some noise and show our excitement

For the song man
To celebrate the musician who is bringing us together

Ooo baby rock on,
Continue to groove and enjoy the moment

Song man dreams for you
The musician creates a fantasy for us to live out through the music

Moves his clapping space
He controls the rhythm and energy of the song with his movements

Turns us into snakes
The song puts us in a trance-like state where we move with fluidity and passion like snakes

Hot hits
The music is energizing and exciting

And the blue moon move, move, move
The music and the moon's light inspire us to keep moving

Move until we die
We dance with all our energy until we can't anymore

Move until she cries
We dance together until we're emotionally overwhelmed

Love calling
The feeling of love continues to grow and draw us closer

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BILLY IDOL, KEITH FORSEY

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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