"Speed" is a song by British singer-songwriter

Billy Idol William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is a British-American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer o ...

, originally included in the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

of the eponymous film. It was written by himself and by guitarist

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 ...

, and released in August 1994 as the film's main song through

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertain ...

worldwide and

Chrysalis Records Chrysalis Records () is a British record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ellis-Wright A ...

in the United States.

Background

In early 1994, producers of the film ''

Speed In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quantity ...

'' chose record producer

Ralph Sall Ralph Sall is an American record producer, music supervisor, composer, songwriter and screenwriter. He is the president of Bulletproof Entertainment, a company involved in several facets of the entertainment industry, including film, televisio ...

music supervisor A music supervisor is a person who combines music and visual media. According to The Guild of Music Supervisors, a music supervisor is “a qualified professional who oversees all music related aspects of film, television, advertising, video games ...

of the

. Sall was in charge of creating a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. So ...

with a compilation of new and old songs in different genres and featuring diverse artists, with a theme similar to this

action thriller film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

. The resulting soundtrack contains songs about speed, cars or travelling. Shortly after, Sall contacted Bily Idol and his close collaborator, guitarist

, to compose and record the film's main song with lyrics inspired by its plot. By that time, Idol's career was convulsed and in full decline after the critical and financial failure with his album ''

Cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian Futurism, futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of low-life, lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial in ...

'' (1993). In addition, he was facing economic differences with his record label (

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 2012, ...

), and his personal problems with

drug abuse Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...

were on the rise. Thus, this new song was an important opportunity to return to his audience. "Speed" was composed and recorded in a short time in Los Angeles with the support of an uncredited band, possibly completed with drummer Mark Schulman and bassist Larry Seymour (live members by that time). The song is based on a similar drum

tempo In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...

and guitar riff that was the basis for Idol's "

Rebel Yell The rebel yell was a battle cry used by Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War. Confederate soldiers used the yell when charging to intimidate the enemy and boost their own morale, although the yell had many other uses. No audi ...

" hit (1983), following the same formula in terms of feeling.

Release and promotion

released "Speed" on

7-inch vinyl In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separate ...

, CD, and

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in th ...

in the United Kingdom on 30 August 1994. The single includes three different versions of "Speed" and a live acoustic version of "

" (until then unreleased) accompanying the lead song only on the UK CD single release. In 2008, "Speed" was included in the compilation album '' The Very Best of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself''. The single was promoted with a music video that mixed some of the most vibrant scenes of the film along with a fictional live performance of Billy Idol, Steve Stevens and the rest of their rock band.

Reception

On the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Album Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

chart, "Speed" peaked number 38 on 23 July 1994. On 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 ...

, it reached number 47 on 9 October that year, becoming Idol's last charting single in the UK.

Track listing

# "Speed" (single version) – 4:22 # "Speed" (extended version) – 5:22 # "Speed" (instrumental) – 5:23 # "

(acoustic version) – 5:35 * Track 4 was recorded at the

KROQ KROQ-FM (106.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pasadena, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock format known as "The World Famous KROQ" (pronounced "kay-rock"). The s ...

Acoustic Christmas concert on 11 December 1993 at the ''

Universal Amphitheatre Universal Amphitheatre (later known as Gibson Amphitheatre) was an indoor amphitheatre located in Los Angeles, California within Universal City, California, Universal City. It was built as an outdoor venue, opening in the summer of 1972 with a p ...

'', Los Angeles. Recording by Westwood One Radio.

Personnel

* Design – Jigsaw ondonLtd. * Engineering – Clif Norrell * Engineering ecording– Biff Dawes (track four) * Production – Billy Idol, Ralph Sall, Steve Stevens * Writing – Billy Idol, Steve Stevens

Charts

References

External links

"Speed" at Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Speed (Billy Idol Song) 1994 songs 1994 singles Arista Records singles Billy Idol songs Chrysalis Records singles Songs written by Billy Idol Songs written by Steve Stevens Songs written for films Speed (film series)