Eyes Without a Face (song)

In his memoir, Dancing with Myself, Idol explained he had always been fascinated with old black and white horror films, including the 1960 French film Les Yeux sans visage (Eyes Without a Face), directed by Georges Franju. The movie concerns a plastic surgeon who vowed to restore the face of his daughter who had been disfigured in a car crash, and this quest led him to murder victims and graft their facial features onto his daughter in an attempt to restore her beauty. By the end, all that remained of her original face was her eyes, thus making her "eyes without a face". Idol saw some parallel between the movie and the moral decay he experienced living in New York in the 1980s.{{cite book |first=Billy |last=Idol |year=2014 |title=Dancing with Myself |chapter=23: Rebell Yell with a Cause |pages=179–180 |publisher=Touchstone (Simon & Schuster) |isbn=978-1-4516-2850-0 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UzCYCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA179 |access-date=17 November 2021 |archive-date=7 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240307174748/https://books.google.com/books?id=UzCYCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA179#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }} He said,

{{blockquote|I started to use "Eyes Without a Face" as a possible title/lyric/chorus for the song. I began to write words that, in some disguised form, spoke about my life in New York and a relationship gone wrong, on the edge of disintegrating into madness. Perhaps I was reflecting on my own touring infidelities. In a way, those [types of relationships] can leave you feeling soulless, especially if you're already in a relationship that you value but are degrading by looking elsewhere for additional sexual kicks.}}

In the studio, Idol told guitarist Steve Stevens about the melody, lyrics and basic structure. Stevens fleshed it out with a revolving four-chord pattern (Emaj7–C#m–G#m–B).{{cite magazine |first=Rick |last=Moore |title=Behind the Song : Billy Idol, "Eyes Without a Face" |magazine=American Songwriter |date=29 June 2020 |access-date=18 July 2021 |url=https://americansongwriter.com/eyes-without-a-face-by-billy-idol-behind-the-song/ |archive-date=28 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728150352/https://americansongwriter.com/eyes-without-a-face-by-billy-idol-behind-the-song/ |url-status=live }} Stevens then came up with a hard rock guitar riff in the middle of the song. Idol said he improvised some rap verses over the riff because "rap was everywhere in New York at the time, in all the discos and clubs, so it made sense after my croon to start talking streetwise over Steve's supersonic barrage of sound."

Idol's then-girlfriend Perri Lister sings backing vocals during the chorus, repeating the French phrase "Les yeux sans visage" ("Eyes without a face"), the original title of the horror film.

Idol wanted a prominent bass guitar part reminiscent of reggae. He and Stevens had trouble with this part of the song until they met bassist Sal Cuevas, a New York musician best known for working in salsa music and Broadway bands, who performed the part to their satisfaction.

Cashbox said that the song is "more subdued" and "more sensitive" than Idol's previous single "Rebel Yell" and features "a silky acoustic guitar backdrop and a probing melodic bass line" by Puerto Rican New Yorker session bassist Sal Cuevas.{{cite magazine|title=Reviews|magazine=Cash Box|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/80s/1984/CB-1984-05-05.pdf|date=May 5, 1984|accessdate=2022-07-23|page=7|archive-date=25 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525221204/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/80s/1984/CB-1984-05-05.pdf|url-status=live}}

The video was released in June 1984 and subsequently nominated for MTV Video Music Awards for "Best Editing" and "Best Cinematography". It was shot over an exhausting three-day period on a set with fog machines, lighting, and fire sources. Immediately after the shoot, Idol flew to perform in Arizona, where he discovered that his contact lenses had fused to his eyeballs, attributing it to the harsh video shoot and dry plane air. He was taken to a hospital where the lenses were removed and his eyes bandaged for three days, until his scraped corneas grew back.{{cite book|first1= Rob |last1= Tannenbaum |first2= Craig |last2= Marks |year= 2011 |title= I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution |page= 16 |publisher= Penguin Books |isbn= 978-1-1015-2641-5}}

• Billy Idol – vocals
• Steve Stevens – electric and acoustic guitar
• Sal Cuevas – bass
• Judi Dozier – synthesizers
• Keith Forsey – drum machine
• Perri Lister – backing vocals

• UK 7" vinyl single

1. "Eyes Without a Face"
2. "The Dead Next Door"

• UK 12" vinyl single

1. "Eyes Without a Face"
2. "The Dead Next Door"
3. "Dancing with Myself"
4. "Rebel Yell"

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{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for "Eyes Without a Face"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Brazil|artist=Billy Idol|title=Eyes Without a Face|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=1984|certyear=2024|access-date=10 June 2024}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Italy|artist=Billy Idol|title=Eyes Without a Face|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=1984|certyear=2024|id=13198|access-date=16 September 2024}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|artist=Billy Idol|title=Eyes Without a Face|award=Platinum|source=radioscope|type=single|relyear=1984|certyear=2024|access-date=18 December 2024}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Billy Idol|title=Eyes Without a Face|award=Silver|relyear=2005|certyear=2023|id=19440-237-1|access-date=10 November 2023}}

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{{Reflist}}

• {{AllMusic|class=song|id=t5497128|label="Eyes Without a Face"}}
• {{discogs master|type=single|29690}}

{{Billy Idol}}

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Category:1983 songs

Category:1984 singles

Category:1980s ballads

Category:Billy Idol songs

Category:Chrysalis Records singles

Category:Franglais songs

Category:Music videos directed by David Mallet (director)

Category:New wave ballads

Category:Rock ballads

Category:Song recordings produced by Keith Forsey

Category:Songs written by Billy Idol

Category:Songs written by Steve Stevens

Category:Synth-pop ballads