The blatantly image conscious group soon secured management, fired their first drummer, and auditioned over 50 drummers before settling on Mark Laff of Subway Sect. They were photogenic and signed a worldwide long term deal to Chrysalis (also home of Blondie) and had popsmith Phil Wainman, producer of The Bay City Rollers and Sweet mix their debut album. In September 1977 they became the first punk group to "sell out" and lip synch their debut single Your Generation on TV's Tops of The Pops, and also that month performed on Marc Bolan's TV show just days before the T-Rex frontman's death. Generation X also appeared in films like DOA and in Don Letts' Punk Movie.
In October of 1978, recordings for a second Generation X album produced by Ian Hunter of Mott The Hoople followed, the resulting Valley Of The Dolls hitting the streets in 1979. Guitarist Bob Dagwood Anderson eventually quit the lineup after completing a Japanese tour and the recordings for a third album in 1979.(The final Derwood lineup LP actually doesn't resurface for almost 20 years until 1998, and was finally released on an indie against Idol's wishes as Sweet Revenge).
After a troubling two year period of uncertainty due to legal and financial battles with manager Stewart Joseph, Billy Idol and Tony James re-recruited & re-christened for their re-dubbed Gen X project. Friends, foes, pros and fellow fools then convened and attempted to get another record out. Outside the core Idol/James duo, studio collaborators like ex-Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones, ex-Clash drummer Terry Chimes, Chelsea guitarist James Stevenson, Steve New of Rich Kids, Danny Kustow of Tom Robinson Band, as well as John McGeogh later of Siouxsie & the Banshees.
With renewed spirit and producer Keith Forsey at the helm, Gen X would go on to release one more LP Kiss Me Deadly in 1981. After neither the album nor the singles "Dancing With Myself" and "Kiss Me Deadly" took the charts, the band broke up. Idol joined up with NYC based Kiss manager Bill Aucion, re-releasing "Dancing with Myself" and the rest, as they say, is history.
A one off Generation X reunion occurred in 1993 at London's Astoria. Hopes for future reunions have popped up infrequently, but, with the band members ensconced in their own projects, prospects have seemed unlikely.The group's music remains popular among punk rock, new wave, and power pop revivalists in the U.K. and elsewhere, with a cult following lasting into the new millennium.
Revenge
Generation X Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To have her fortune told.
Now she is a mother she's feeling kinda old,
When she gets the money.
She'll take a knife for two.
She'll slit her throat of the one she trusts,
Of the one who stole the right to choose.
Revenge,
Revenge,
Revenge.
Johnny came out looking,
Looking for his friends,
Back at home there was no chance.
He took what she could get.
See Johnny had a vision,
That men would no his name,
But they sucked him in and spat him out,
You know there all the same.
Revenge,
Revenge,
Revenge,
Revenge,
That's what they want.
So as I get older.
I looked deep in their eyes.
Now I've learned to tell,
When I'm wasting time.
'Cause they won't give you nothing,
They like to see you fall.
Well 1 day I'm gonna walk through the door,
I'm gonna take it on.
That's revenge,
Revenge,
Revenge,
Revenge,
Revenge,
That's what they want.
Revenge,
Revenge.
The lyrics of "Revenge" are about the anger, frustration, and desire for retribution that many young people feel. The first stanza tells a story of a woman named Suzie who has come to London to have her fortune told. She is feeling old and resentful of the choices that she has made in life. When she gets the money she needs, she plans to take a knife and slit the throat of someone who she believes has stolen her right to choose. The second stanza tells the story of a man named Johnny who came looking for his friends but found that they had all moved on without him. He had a vision of fame and success, but in the end, they used him and threw him away. The chorus of the song repeats "Revenge, Revenge, Revenge" to demonstrate the young people's desire to take action against those who have wronged them.
The theme of revenge is a common one in rock music, and Generation X's "Revenge" is no exception. The song highlights the anger and resentment felt by young people who feel that they have been wronged by society. It also touches on the desire for fame and success that is pervasive in our culture. Overall, the lyrics highlight the struggles faced by young people as they navigate their way through life.
Line by Line Meaning
Suzie came to London,
Suzie traveled all the way to London to have her fortune read.
To have her fortune told.
She was interested in learning about her future.
Now she is a mother she's feeling kinda old,
Now that she is a mother, Suzie is feeling a bit old.
When she gets the money.
Once Suzie has the money she needs…
She'll take a knife for two.
She’ll get a knife and use it on two people.
She'll slit her throat of the one she trusts,
Of the two people she wants to hurt, she’ll slit the throat of the one she trusted.
Of the one who stole the right to choose.
This person took away her ability to make decisions for herself.
Johnny came out looking,
Johnny went out to look for something.
Looking for his friends,
He was trying to find his friends.
Back at home there was no chance.
Where he came from, there was no opportunity for him.
He took what she could get.
Johnny took whatever he could get his hands on.
See Johnny had a vision,
Johnny had a dream or goal.
That men would no his name,
He wanted to be well-known and recognized.
But they sucked him in and spat him out,
Instead, people took advantage of him and then discarded him.
You know there all the same.
This has happened to Johnny before, and he knows that people are all alike.
So as I get older.
As I grow older,
I looked deep in their eyes.
I began to understand the true nature of the people around me.
Now I've learned to tell,
I learned how to recognize
When I'm wasting time.
When people are just wasting my time and not being genuine.
'Cause they won't give you nothing,
These people never offer anything.
They like to see you fall.
In fact, they want to see you fail.
Well 1 day I'm gonna walk through the door,
Someday he will return and show them that they did not succeed in bringing him down.
I'm gonna take it on.
Johnny is going to face his challenges with determination and strength.
Revenge,
Revenge
Revenge,
Revenge
Revenge,
Revenge
Revenge.
Revenge
That's what they want.
This is what people want: to hurt and take revenge.
Revenge,
Revenge
Revenge.
Revenge
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Ivan Kral, Patti Lee Smith
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind