"White Wedding" is a song by Billy Idol that was released as the second single from his self-titled studio album in 1982. Although not Idol's highest-charting hit, it is often considered one of his most recognizable songs. In the US, it peaked at No. 10 on the ''Billboard''

Bubbling Under the Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart on 27 November 1982, then reached No. 36 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on 2 July 1983 after it was re-issued. In the UK, it reached No. 6 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

upon its re-release there in 1985, when it was re-issued to promote the '' Vital Idol'' remix album. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' called it "a powerful entry" whose "ominous guitar intro" and "accusatory tone" command attention.

1982 release

7″: Chrysalis - CHS 2656 (UK) # "White Wedding" (3:30) # "Hole in the Wall" (4:14) 12″: Chrysalis - CHS 12 2656 (UK) # "White Wedding (Parts 1 and 2)" (8:20) # "White Wedding" (3:30) # "Hole in the Wall" (4:14) 7″: Chrysalis - CHS 2648 (US) # "White Wedding" (3:30) # "Dead on Arrival" (3:54) 12″: Chrysalis - EPC 5002 (US) # "White Wedding (Parts 1 and 2)" (8:20) # "White Wedding (Part 2)" (4:27)

1983 release

12″: Chrysalis - 4V9 42685 (US) # "White Wedding (Parts 1 and 2)" (8:20) # "White Wedding (Part 2)" (4:27) 7″: Chrysalis - CHS 42697 (US) # "White Wedding" (3:30) # "Dead on Arrival" (3:54)

1985 re-issue

7″: Chrysalis - IDOL 5 (UK) # "White Wedding" (3:30) # "Mega-Idol Mix" (5:34) * 7" Mega-Idol comprises "Flesh For Fantasy" and "Hot in the City" 12″: Chrysalis - IDOLX 5 (UK) # "White Wedding Parts I & II (Shot Gun Mix)" (8:20) # "Mega-Idol Mix" (7:50) * 12″ Mega-Idol comprises "Flesh For Fantasy," "Hot in the City" and "Dancing With Myself"

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

, featuring Idol attending a

goth A Goth is a member of the Goths, a group of East Germanic tribes. Two major political entities of the Goths were: *Visigoths, prominent in Spanish history *Ostrogoths, prominent in Italian history Goth or Goths may also refer to: * Goth (surname) ...

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

, is one of his best-known. The bride is played by Perri Lister, Idol's sweetheart for real 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. In one scene, Idol forces a wedding ring made of

barbed wire A close-up view of a barbed wire Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire Barbed wire, also known as barb wire, is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strands. Its primary use is t ...

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. MTV initially removed this scene from the video. 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. The MTV-edited version of the video is included on the DVD portion of '' The Very Best of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself'' CD/DVD package.

Other versions and appearances

The song was featured in the 1998 film ''

The Wedding Singer ''The Wedding Singer'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Frank Coraci, written by Tim Herlihy, and produced by Robert Simonds and Jack Giarraputo. The film stars Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, and Christine Taylor, and tells the ...

'' (in which Idol appears), on the American TV series '' My Name Is Earl'' and on the British TV series ''

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

''. It was also featured in the 1993 film ''True Romance'' during the scene where Alabama is being tattooed. It was also featured in the skate videos ''

CKY CKY may refer to: * CKY (band), American rock band, formerly "Camp Kill Yourself" ** ''CKY'' (video series), named after the band **CKY crew, people involved in the video series and related projects *CKY-DT, a television station in Winnipeg, Manito ...

'' and Toy Machine's Jump Off A Building. The line "It's a nice day to start again" was featured on the sticker on the front of Idol's 2005 album, '' Devil's Playground''. The song is used in the trailer for

Bride of Chucky ''Bride of Chucky'' is a 1998 American black comedy slasher film written by Don Mancini and directed by Ronny Yu. The fourth installment in the ''Child's Play'' franchise, it stars Jennifer Tilly, Brad Dourif, John Ritter, Katherine Heigl, and Ni ...

The song is featured in the 1985 Italian horror film

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. The song appear in game Radio Station "K-DST" in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas The song was remixed as (Trashcan Jack vs Billy Idol) "Club Wedding" (Frenetic) under

Digital Dog Digital Dog are an English remix/production duo consisting of Steve Cornish and Nick Mace. The duo also produce under the aliases Jack Rokka and Elek-Tro Junkies. Digital Dog's 2007 collaboration with Betty Boo, "Take Off", topped the UK Indie ...

's Jack Rokka guise. It has appeared on numerous dance compilations such as ''Wild Bassline'' (CD2 Mixed by Brooklyn Bounce) and ''Clubland 12''. The song is included in the video games '' Rock Band 2'', '' Rock Band Unplugged'', '' Guitar Hero Van Halen'', '' Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy'', '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' and as DLC in '' Rocksmith''. The song was also used in an advertisement for British soap opera '' Hollyoaks'', promoting the week of a wedding storyline. It also featured in an episode of the 2004

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

miniseries ''

'' as part of the story. The track also appeared on an advert for ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

'' in 2003, promoting the climax of a bigamous storyline involving the character Peter Barlow. Barlow, portrayed by

Chris Gascoyne Christopher Gascoyne (born 31 January 1968) is an English actor, who is known for his role as the seventh Peter Barlow in the soap opera ''Coronation Street'' from 2000. Gascoyne has been nominated for several accolades at the British Soap Awa ...

, was seated at a table, reflectively spinning his two wedding rings around. On ''

The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show focuse ...

'', a couple who had been prevented from wedding at the Jefferson Memorial, by the

2013 government shutdown From October 1 to October 17, 2013, the United States federal government entered a shutdown and curtailed most routine operations because neither legislation appropriating funds for fiscal year 2014 nor a continuing resolution for the interim ...

, were married. The couple shared their first dance as

Audra McDonald Audra Ann McDonald (born July 3, 1970) is an American actress and singer. Primarily known for her work on the Broadway stage, she has won six Tony Awards, more performance wins than any other actor, and is the only person to win in all four act ...

sang the song. A version sung in Greek by George Kostoglou appears in ''

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2'' is a 2016 American romantic comedy film directed by Kirk Jones and written by Nia Vardalos. The film stars Vardalos, John Corbett, Lainie Kazan, Michael Constantine (in his final film role), Andrea Martin, Ian Gomez ...

''. The American metal band

In This Moment In This Moment is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed by singer Maria Brink and guitarist Chris Howorth in 2005. They found drummer Jeff Fabb and started the band as Dying Star. Unhappy with their musical direction, they ...

was set to collaborate with Idol on the track "Black Wedding" off their sixth album ''

Ritual A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, b ...

''; the song's chorus contains the line, "it's a nice night for a black wedding," an obvious homage to Idol's "White Wedding." Due to claimed scheduling difficulties,

Rob Halford Robert John Arthur Halford (born 25 August 1951) is an English heavy metal singer. He is the lead vocalist of Judas Priest, which was formed in 1969 and has received accolades such as the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. He has b ...

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...

was featured on the track instead. Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison's side project – the US horror punk band Murderdolls – reached number 24 on the UK Singles chart in 2003 with their cover of "White Wedding." Deathstars made a version of White Wedding as a bonus track for their debut album Synthetic Generation. This version, played in A minor on instruments tuned down two whole steps, is a

diminished fifth Diminished may refer to: *Diminution In Western music and music theory, diminution (from Medieval Latin ''diminutio'', alteration of Latin ''deminutio'', decrease) has four distinct meanings. Diminution may be a form of embellishment in which ...

below the standard B minor version. In the episode "Dyeing is Easy, Comedy is Hard" (S04E15) of '' Will & Grace'' (2002), Will Truman references this song when Elliot, Jack McFarland's son, appears with a short blond hair. In the TV series “American Horror Story”, the song played in season 9, episode 2 of 1984, during the wedding massacre scene featuring Emma Roberts’ character. The song was covered by Rowland S. Howard on his album "Teenage Snuff Film" Alternative rock band Queens of the Stone Age album Era Vulgaris featured a cover of the song as a bonus track on two extended versions of the CD.

Charts

Year end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:White Wedding (Song) 1982 singles 1982 songs Billy Idol songs Chrysalis Records singles Music videos directed by David Mallet (director) RPM Top Singles number-one singles Song recordings produced by Keith Forsey Songs about marriage Songs written by Billy Idol