"77" is a song by English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

musician

Billy Idol William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Idol achieved fame in the 1970s on the London punk rock scene as the lead singer of Generation X ...

featuring Canadian

pop-punk Pop-punk (also punk-pop, alternatively spelled without the hyphen) is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop music, pop. It is defined by its fast-paced, energetic tempos, and emphasis on classic pop s ...

musician

Avril Lavigne Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She is a key musician in popularizing pop-punk music, as she paved the way for female-driven, punk-influenced pop music in the early 2000s. List of awa ...

, released in 2025 as the second single from his ninth studio album ''

Dream Into It ''Dream Into It'' is the ninth studio album by English Rock music, rock musician Billy Idol. It was released on 25 April 2025 by Dark Horse Records and BMG Rights Management, BMG, and is his first album in over a decade, the last being 2014's ''K ...

''. The two performed the song on the April 28th episode of

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

's ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!''''.''

Composition and lyrics

"77", a duet with Avril Lavigne, sounding more like one of her songs than Idol's, was described as a "textbook, Disney Channel

banger" by

Blabbermouth.net ''Blabbermouth.net'' is a website dedicated to metal and rock news, as well as album and music DVD reviews. It is run by the website's founder Borivoj Krgin. The first version of the website was launched in March 2001. In October 2001, the rec ...

, and a "hooky

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

" song by ''Ultimate Classic Rock''. Critics have noted the song merges the raw punk energy emblematic of Billy Idol’s 1970s roots with the catchy, mall-punk sensibility that defined Lavigne’s early 2000s style. 1977 is a famous year for

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

and of significance for Idol, because he was part of the Bromley Contingent, a group of fans that followed the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

around from show to show. He was also the frontman of punk rock band

Generation X Generation X (often shortened to Gen X) is the Demography, demographic Cohort (statistics), cohort following the Baby Boomers and preceding Millennials. Researchers and popular media often use the mid-1960s as its starting birth years and the ...

, but they wouldn’t release their self-titled debut until the next year. Idol, in a video posted on his social media page, explains to Lavigne the circumstances that led to punk rock. Both the

USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

and UK were in depressions at the time, so societal outcasts expressed themselves in the form of music. He then explained to Lavigne that he considered the song’s middle part to be "a reflection on both of us," noting, "I could join together … what we felt like in the past with the people today. It’s not so different."

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. *

– lead vocals, backing vocals * Tommy English – backing vocals, guitar, keyboards, synthesizer *

Chris Chaney Christopher A. Chaney (born June 14, 1970) is an American musician. He is best known as the former bassist of the alternative rock band Jane's Addiction, with whom he recorded two studio albums. He is the touring bassist for AC/DC, replacing lo ...

– bass *

Steve Stevens Steve Stevens (born Steven Bruce Schneider; May 5, 1959) is an American guitarist. He is best known as Billy Idol's guitarist and songwriting collaborator, and for his lead guitar work on the theme to ''Top Gun'' – " Top Gun Anthem" – for ...

– guitar *

Josh Freese Joshua Ryan Freese (born December 25, 1972) is an American drummer. A member of punk rock band the Vandals since 1989, Freese has also been a member of new wave band Devo since 1996. He was previously a member of hard rock band Guns N' Roses ...

– drums *

– featured vocals

Charts

Release history

References

Male–female vocal duets 2025 singles Billy Idol songs Avril Lavigne songs Songs written by Billy Idol Songs written by Nick Long Songs written by Steve Stevens 2025 songs {{rock-song-stub