Kiss Me Deadly displayed a developing complexity in the songwriting partnership of lead singer Billy Idol and bassist Tony James, as they transitioned from their origins as musicians in the London punk rock scene of the late 1970s into a more sophisticatedly nuanced sound, and mature lyrical and thematic content, at the initiation of the British New Wave movement in 1980. The album's theme is the troubled complexities of life in the metropolitanWestern World at the end of the 20th century, with reflections on city life, social isolation, narcotic abuse and drug dependency, and the ambition and exhilaration of youth. The lyrics for "Dancing with Myself" were inspired by a 1979 visit to a Tokyo nightclub while the predecessor band Generation X were on tour in Japan, when Idol and James encountered the strange sight of young Japanese nightclubbers disco dancing with their own reflections in a mirror-walled venue rather than with one another. The song's lyrics reflect social isolation in a crowd and the youthful search for companionship with the opposite sex. "Happy People" was inspired by a newspaper article about escalating use of the anti-depressant prescription drug Valium in contemporary British society. Idol's lyrics for "Untouchables" reflected on his daydreaming at school about pop music stardom, being fascinated by its distant glamour; of the driving impulse to avoid the 9-to-5 employment existence of adulthood that lay beyond school years, and reflecting his fears of the potential for failure of his attempt at a professional career in pop music with a return to that world. "Poison" was about Idol's increasing dalliance with heroin, and the psychological dangers that he sensed were present in the lifestyle that he had embarked upon in pursuance of pop music stardom. "Heavens Inside" was written about Steve New, whom Idol and James had wanted to be Gen X's guitarist until they abandoned the idea due to New's narcotic addiction that rendered him a professional liability.
Production
Kiss Me Deadly was recorded at AIR Studios in London in 1980, produced by Keith Forsey and engineered by Nigel Walker. Several of its songs were salvaged from Generation X's 1979 recording sessions at Olympic Studios for that band's abortive third album, during which they had acrimoniously broken up. Idol and James, Generation X's singer/frontman and bassist, had afterwards rebranded the act with a new drummer, a modified name and a conversion into the nascent New Romantic movement's look and sound. The album title was taken from an earlier Generation X song, one of the signature tunes of the band's early repertoire, and was intended to signal a return to the lyrical content of that period, after what was perceived to be the artistic false step of the band's second album, Valley of the Dolls. Gen X were without a lead guitarist during the recording of Kiss Me Deadly, and utilized prominent guest guitarists John McGeoch, Steve Jones, Steve New and Danny Kustow, the latter two not being formally credited on the sleeve. Guitarist James Stevenson was credited on the sleeve as being in the band, but joined after the album had been recorded and did not play on the record. On several of the songs, different guitarists worked in combination, alternating between lead and rhythm, creating a dynamic fusion of differing playing styles.
"McGeoch said, 'Oh I'll come down and help out'. He rehearsed for three weeks and did the majority of the record with us. Jonesy came back from Thailand and supplied "Bollocks" on some tracks - patented Jonesy "Bollocks" - and he was really good on the raunchy stuff. Danny Kustow did a bit on the single". "It's Steve New playing lead guitar on the single
Dancing with Myself'', playing the lick and the solo, and he plays it brilliantly". - Tony James
"John McGeoch was an incredible guitarist, he really helped to bring the album to life". - Billy Idol
Singles releases
The album's sole single "Dancing with Myself" reached #62 in the UK Singles Chart on pre-release ahead of the album in October 1980.
Cover art
The record's cover was photographed by Brian Aris.
