Billy Idol Synths?

Post by **EmptySet** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 8:51 am

I'm curious in general about what kind of synths were played on Billy Idol's first two albums (Billy Idol and Rebel Yell). More specifically, I'm interested in knowing about the synths used on classics like White Wedding (the vox chords sound) and Rebel Yell (that lasery lead and the keyboard "solo" later on).

I'd also like some programming guidance on how to recreate a vox sound (similar to the aforementioned White Wedding one - or like on West End Girls-PSB) using a JX8P or a Juno 1. I remember hearing so many vox presets in the 80s on synths at the store that I was sick to death of them. Flash forward 20 years and I'm suddenly realizing that I have almost none! Any pointers?

aXL · Post by **aXL** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 10:00 am

The lead in the opening of Rebel Yell (the percussive arpeggios) was played on a Jupiter-8 in the video, if I recall correctly. However, I'm not so sure it's all that correct, it sounds like it's at the very least a hybrid. I'm suspecting either a JX-3P (which would coincide nicely with the release of Rebel Yell, which was in 1984) or even a PPG Wave. At any rate, I'm guessing it was sequenced.

As for the monophonic lead, I'll go out on a limb and suggest that the perpetrator was an ARP Odyssey. It's perhaps a tad too bright for a Moog, but a MkIII Odyssey might fit the bill if set to a pulse/saw-mix or just a pure square wave. I'm not entirely sure, though. What I do know for sure is that the "raygun" effect in the guitar solo was acheived with a Lexicon PCM41. Check out this article for more info: http://mixonline.com/recording/intervie ... ols_rebel/

Don't know much about White Wedding, but I'd guess it's some sort of sampler doing the vox chords, given the time it was recorded and the sound it gave.

CTB · Post by **CTB** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 11:19 am

I seem to recall a Rev2 Prophet in some videos as well. Last time this topic came up, I thought someone posted a screen shot showing a large-nameplate Prophet.

Leeroy Jenkins · Post by **Leeroy Jenkins** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 12:55 pm

I am pretty sure that pitch bending string pad in Eyes Without A Face was the Jupiter-8.

ronP · Post by **ronP** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 3:38 pm

.

I saw the Rebel Yell tour in February 1984; high school synth punk heaven!

Judy Dozier, his keyboardist on the tour, played stage left and used a Prophet 5, Jupiter 8, and an Oberheim (probably OB-Xa) to the side. There were some pedals and stuff, too. She was wild -- spiked blond hair, face painted like a Comanchee warror -- and much busier live than on the record.

See her on the 'tube:

.

LittleRoughRhinestone · Post by **LittleRoughRhinestone** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 4:37 pm

Derek Sherinian, the current keyboardist with Billy Idol on tour, uses 4 Nord Lead 3's.

I'm fairly sure a Jupiter-8 was used on the original recordings, but it really sounds like it could be any generic early-80's poly synth.

Micke · Post by **Micke** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 6:17 pm

Here are a couple of vintage shots of Billy Idol Band:

Judi Dozier behind a Prophet 5 rev 2 and Oberheim OB-Xa, August 1982.

These two pics were taken a few months later in Dec 1982. The synths appear to be the same as the ones seen in the first pic.

EDIT: Billy Idol's second album "Rebel Yell" was recorded in the summer/fall of 1983, and by that time I reckon the P-5 and OB-Xa had been joined by the Jup-8. The eponymous debut album was probably recorded in late '81/early '82, prior to the tour that kicked off in the spring of '82. I believe Steve Stevens (the guitarist) handled the synth/keyboard work on this album, Judi Dozier apparently joined the band after it had been recorded.

Post by **EmptySet** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 12:22 am

Thanks all for the cool info and pix. Any pointers on how to program a nice White Wedding vox pad on a JX8P or Juno 1?

Vast Halo · Post by **Vast Halo** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 8:06 pm

That "vox pad" is actually multi-tracked harmony vocals - an analogue synthesiser couldn't produce a texture as realistic as that. The vocal sound in West End Girls is the Gregorian choir sample from the Emulator library, the same one that New Order used in Blue Monday.

Post by **EmptySet** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 11:18 pm

Vast Halo wrote:That "vox pad" is actually multi-tracked harmony vocals - an analogue synthesiser couldn't produce a texture as realistic as that. The vocal sound in West End Girls is the Gregorian choir sample from the Emulator library, the same one that New Order used in Blue Monday.

Great info. Thanks! Back to the old sampler for me, I guess. Thanks again.

Micke · Post by **Micke** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 9:21 pm

UPDATE:

Thought you guys might be interested in the following info:

The only synths featured on the album "Rebel Yell" are the ones pictured above, ie. a Prophet 5 rev 2 and an OB-Xa.

The Jupiter-8 was added for the Rebel Yell tour but not used on the studio album.
The pads/chords on "Eyes without a face" are the Prophet stacked with the OB-Xa. The former did the string sounds on the top while the latter was used for the pad on the bottom.

On "Rebel Yell", the intro part is again a combination of both synths.
The Prophet does the chords as well as the lead parts. The OB-Xa is on the stabbing chords on the chorus.

Judi Dozier still has the Prophet ( with all of the sounds used on the Rebel Yell album on it!) and, yes, it's still working.

cheers,
Micke

Leeroy Jenkins · Post by **Leeroy Jenkins** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 4:10 am

Very interesting. Where did you get this information, Micky? I have always believed the pad sound in Eyes Without A Face was the Jupiter 8 with the operator assigning the pitch of a single VCO to the left hand mod lever and slowly bending it down to a full octave below the original sound. One VCO remains at the continuous chord and the second VCO does the bending.

I programmed this sound on a Jupiter-8 once and with a little chorus it sounded absolutely spot-on to the record, so I am surprised to hear you suggest it's a layer of two sonically opposing brands of synthesizer.

Micke · Post by **Micke** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 2:16 pm

Hi Leroy,

I got the info directly from Judi Dozier, their synth-player.

From the horses mouth:

Judi on Eyes without a face:
"That was both keyboards. The Prophet V was doing all of the
string sounds I created on the top, and I created a fat pad for the OBXA on the bottom"

Judi on Rebel Yell:
"You can hear the Prophet V on the strings and the cello on "Rebel Yell."
The strings build chords up the keyboard on the chorus [micke: the rev 2 Prophet really sounds great here], and the cello is a one-note line in the quiet parts.
The OB-XA is on the stabbing chords on the chorus.
You will hear both keyboards on the little intro that sounds like mallet keys."

She explicitly told me that the Jup-8 was a keyboard for the tour only (she liked it a lot though) and that Thommy Price probably has it nowadays.

I also asked her what keys could have been used on Billy Idol's debut album but alas, she had no idea (Judi joined the band after that album had been recorded).

Btw, my name is Micke, not Micky :-)

Leeroy Jenkins · Post by **Leeroy Jenkins** » Wed Jul 18, 2007 1:13 am

OK then. Sounds like you have established a dialog with her so perhaps you could convey to her as I want to make sure I understand how EWAF was recorded.

She used two keyboards for Eyes Without A Face creating two string sounds that are very similar to one another on each synth. The first pass would come from the Prophet-5, just holding down the opening chord. The next pass features the OB-Xa, also playing the exact same chord - except on count one of the second measure she bends both VCO's down an octave using the mod lever. Beginning with count one of the third measure, the Prophet-5 chord is released allowing the lower octave sound on the OBXa to take over for the verses and throught the rest of the tune until the next sweep section occurs.

Micke · Post by **Micke** » Wed Jul 18, 2007 1:30 pm

Wow, that's what I call an in-depth analysis!

Aha, you're trying to replicate the synth work on this song with your Prophet 5 and OB-Xa, aren't you?

Leroy, I have passed on your analysis to Judi and as soon as I hear back from her I'll let you know if that's the way the synths were recorded for this song.

Micke