Billy Squier was once considered a guitar god. The Stroke, My Kind of Lover, and Lonely is the Night were just a few of the awesome songs he blessed us with. And then came the album called “Signs of Life” which I bought the day of its release. And I loved it. But then, as many other fans did in 1984, I saw the video to Rock Me Tonite and, while I still love the song, the man distanced himself from me. Little did I know that Billy himself would later credit that video for destroying his career, as he’d inadvertently alienated 90% of his audience (Take note, Dixie Chicks, if you alienate your core following you’re committing professional suicide).
And now I present the video you have all been dying to see: Billy Squier’s Rock Me Tonite, also known as Why is Billy Squier Dressed Like Olivia Newton-John in the “Physical” Video.
A couple of observations:
1. There’s no way he’s gay, as gay as that dancing is, because any gay man would never dance that poorly. So, he’s obviously straight.
2. It was the 80’s. We were experimenting with hair and color … and … gender roles.
3. For a moment it’s almost like Bruce Dickinson was directing, advising Billy to “Really explore the apartment space this time; Has anybody seen that damn cowbell? Cause what we really need here is more cowbell.”
4. Finally; I can’t imagine his publicist had much more of a career after this debacle.
If you liked that post, then try these...
NEx on Sirius on December 14th, 2007
No Reservations on October 25th, 2007
Saturday Observations on June 24th, 2006
No Reservations Apologia on January 28th, 2008
White Space Spectrum on October 17th, 2008
