White Wedding (song)

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"White Wedding"
Single by Billy Idol
from the album Billy Idol
A-side"White Wedding (Parts 1 and 2)"
B-side"White Wedding (Part 2)"
Released22 October 1982 (UK)[1]
Genre
Length
  • 4:12 (album version)
  • 3:30 (7-inch version)
  • 8:25 (12-inch version)
LabelChrysalis
SongwriterBilly Idol
ProducerKeith Forsey
Billy Idol singles chronology
"Hot in the City"
(1982)		 "White Wedding"
(1982)		 "Rebel Yell"
(1983)
Music video
"White Wedding Pt 1" on YouTube

"White Wedding" is a song by the English rock singer Billy Idol that was released as the second single from his eponymous debut studio album in 1982. Although not Idol's highest-charting hit, it is often considered one of his most recognizable songs.

Background

In a 2025 interview, Idol said the song was inspired by his pregnant sister's wedding, often called a "shotgun wedding".[5]

Reception

In the US, "White Wedding" peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart on 27 November 1982,[6] then reached No. 36 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 2 July 1983 after it was re-issued.[7] In the UK, it reached No. 6 in the UK Singles Chart upon its re-release there on 1 July 1985, when it was re-issued to promote the Vital Idol remix album.[8]

Upon its release, Gavin Martin of the NME was negative in his review, calling it "hopelessly cobbled together" with a "jerky syn-drum, Billy trying to sound aggressive about marriage, and the whole thing thrown off balance with a raunchy Stones guitar riff hammering away in the background".[9] In the US, Cash Box described it as "a powerful entry" whose "ominous guitar intro" and "accusatory tone" command attention.[10]

Music video

The music video, featuring Idol attending a goth wedding, is one of his best-known. The bride is played by Perri Lister, Idol's real-life girlfriend at the time. She is also one of the three dancers clad in black leather, who slap their buttocks in time with the clap track in the song as they shimmy downwards near the end. "That's the kind of thing they love in England", says Idol.[11]

In one scene, Idol forces a wedding ring made of barbed wire onto Lister's finger and cuts her knuckle. Lister insisted that her knuckle actually be cut in order for the scene to appear more realistic.[11] MTV initially removed this scene from the video.[12] Also controversial were the apparent Nazi salutes made by the crowd toward the couple. Director David Mallet says he was merely "playing with the power of crowd imagery" when he had the extras reach toward the bride and did not realize how it looked until after it was filmed.[11]

Cover version

Murderdolls reached number 24 on the UK Singles chart in 2003 with their cover of "White Wedding."[13]

Track listing

1982 release

7″: Chrysalis – CHS 2656 (UK)

  1. "White Wedding" – 3:30
  2. "Hole in the Wall" – 4:14

12″: Chrysalis – CHS 12 2656 (UK)

  1. "White Wedding (Parts 1 and 2)" – 8:20
  2. "White Wedding" – 3:30
  3. "Hole in the Wall" – 4:14

7″: Chrysalis – CHS 2648 (US)

  1. "White Wedding" – 3:30
  2. "Dead on Arrival" – 3:54

12″: Chrysalis – EPC 5002 (US)

  1. "White Wedding (Parts 1 and 2)" – 8:20
  2. "White Wedding (Part 2)" – 4:27

1983 release

12″: Chrysalis – 4V9 42685 (US)

  1. "White Wedding (Parts 1 and 2)" – 8:20
  2. "White Wedding (Part 2)" – 4:27

7″: Chrysalis – CHS 42697 (US)

  1. "White Wedding" – 3:30
  2. "Dead on Arrival" – 3:54

1985 re-issue

7″: Chrysalis – IDOL 5 (UK)

  1. "White Wedding" – 3:30
  2. "Mega-Idol Mix" – 5:34
  • 7" Mega-Idol comprises "Flesh for Fantasy" and "Hot in the City"

12″: Chrysalis – IDOLX 5 (UK)

  1. "White Wedding Parts I & II (Shot Gun Mix)" – 8:20
  2. "Mega-Idol Mix" – 7:50
  • 12″ Mega-Idol comprises "Flesh for Fantasy", "Hot in the City" and "Dancing with Myself"

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for "White Wedding"
Chart (1982–1985) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[14] 9
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[15] 1
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[16] 5
UK Singles (OCC)[17] 6
US Billboard Hot 100[18] 36
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[19] 10
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[20] 4

Year end charts

Year-end chart performance for "White Wedding"
Chart (1983) Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[21] 61
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[22] 21
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[23] 11
Chart (1985) Position
UK Singles (OCC)[24] 58

Certifications

Certifications for "White Wedding"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[25] Gold 50,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[26] 2× Platinum 60,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[27] Platinum 600,000‡

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. "Record News". New Musical Express. 23 October 1982. p. 34. ISSN 0028-6362.
  2. Gallucci, Michael (7 November 2024). "Top 50 New Wave Songs". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  3. Allen, Jim (10 November 2024). "'Rebel Yell': How Billy Idol Conquered America". uDiscoverMusic. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  4. "The Story Behind Billy Idol's Post-Punk Classic "White Wedding"". Consequence Podcast Network. 21 November 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  5. "The Rock Show with Shaun Keaveny". BBC Sounds. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  6. "Bubbling Under the Hot 100". Billboard. Vol. 94, no. 47. 27 November 1982. p. 68. ISSN 0006-2510.
  7. "Top 100 Songs - Billboard Hot 100 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  8. "BPI".
  9. Martin, Gavin (23 October 1982). "Singles". New Musical Express. p. 14. ISSN 0028-6362.
  10. "Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 14 May 1983. p. 9. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  11. Marks, Craig; Tannenbaum, Rob (2011). I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution. New York, NY: Dutton. pp. 124–125. ISBN 978-0-525-95230-5.
  12. Billy Idol, Biography, A & E
  13. "MURDERDOLLS - full Official Chart History - Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  14. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 147. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA from mid-1983 until 12 June 1988.
  15. "Top RPM Singles: Image 6259". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  16. "Billy Idol – White Wedding". Top 40 Singles.
  17. "Official Singles Chart on 4/8/1985 – Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  18. "Billy Idol Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  19. "Billy Idol Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  20. "Billy Idol Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  21. "Kent Music Report – National Top 100 Singles for 1983". Kent Music Report. Retrieved 5 August 2020 – via Imgur.com.
  22. "The Top Singles of 1983". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  23. "Top Selling Singles of 1983". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  24. "Top 100 Singles". Music Week. London, England: Spotlight Publications. 18 January 1986. p. 10.
  25. "Canadian single certifications – Billy Idol – White Wedding". Music Canada. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  26. UNSUPPORTED OR EMPTY REGION: New Zealand.
  27. "British single certifications – Billy Idol – White Wedding". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 1 February 2025. Select singles in the Formats field. Type White Wedding Billy Idol in the "Search:" field.