"White Wedding" is a song

Song

In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...

 by Billy Idol

Billy Idol

William Michael Albert Broad , better known by his stage name Billy Idol, is an English rock musician. A member of the Bromley Contingent of Sex Pistols fans, Idol first achieved fame in the punk rock era as a member of the band Generation X...

 that appeared on his album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 Billy Idol

Billy Idol (album)

Billy Idol is the full-length solo debut by Billy Idol . Preceded in June 1982 by the hit-single "Hot in the City", the album was released in July 1982. After the next single from the album, "White Wedding", entered the Top 40 a year later, Billy Idol was reissued with the addition of the earlier...

(1982). Although "the Big 80's: Episode I" of VH1

VH1

VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...

's Pop-up Video

Pop-up Video

Pop Up Video is a VH1 television show that "pops up" bubbles — officially called "info nuggets" — containing trivia, witticisms and borderline sexual innuendos throughout music videos. The show was created by Woody Thompson and Tad Low and premiered October 27, 1996. For a time, it was the...

trivia show claims Idol wrote the song to voice his displeasure with his sister's fiance (who impregnated her before marrying her), on an episode of VH1 Storytellers

VH1 Storytellers

Storytellers is a television music series produced by the VH1 network.In each episode artists perform in front of a live audience, and tell stories about their music, writing experiences and memories, somewhat similar to MTV Unplugged...

, Idol claimed that there was never any family resentment towards his sister, and that the song was simply heightened fantasy and nothing more.

It is often considered one of his most recognisable songs, although other Idol songs charted higher. It reached #36 on the Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 on its original release, and reached #6 in the
UK upon its release there in 1985.

Music video

The music video

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

, featuring Idol attending a gothic

Goth subculture

The goth subculture is a contemporary subculture found in many countries. It began in England during the early 1980s in the gothic rock scene, an offshoot of the post-punk genre. The goth subculture has survived much longer than others of the same era, and has continued to diversify...

 wedding

Wedding

A wedding is the ceremony in which two people are united in marriage or a similar institution. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes...

, is one of his best-known videos. The bride in the music video is played by Perri Lister

Perri Lister

Perri Lister , is an English actress, dancer, and singer. She featured in her first film in 1980, and has since appeared in films and television series...

, Idol's real-life girlfriend at the time. In a memorable scene from the video, Idol forces the wedding ring onto the bride's finger and cuts her knuckle. Lister insisted that her knuckle actually had to be cut in order for the scene to appear more realistic. MTV initially removed this scene from the video. The video was filmed in a real church outside of London. The MTV-edited version of the video is included on the DVD portion of The Very Best of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself CD/DVD package.

Other versions and appearances

The song has been covered

Cover version

In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 by many bands including Australian 80's Revival band John West Experience, the psychobilly

Psychobilly

Psychobilly is a fusion genre of rock music that mixes elements of punk rock, rockabilly, and other genres. It is one of several subgenres of rockabilly which also include thrashabilly, trashabilly, punkabilly, surfabilly and gothabilly...

 band Young Werewolves and other bands including Murderdolls

Murderdolls

Murderdolls is an American horror punk supergroup, founded during 2002 in Hollywood, California. The band line-up consists of core members Wednesday 13 and Joey Jordison. Former members include Ben Graves, Acey Slade, Eric Griffin & Tripp Eisen....

, Ten Masked Men, Ardor (of Tanzwut

Tanzwut

Tanzwut is a German Neue Deutsche Härte and medieval metal band which originated as a sideproject of Corvus Corax-members.- History :Their name is the German term for "dancing mania", but is directly translated with "dance-rage". Tanzwut are known for their heavy use of bagpipes, an unusual...

), Deathstars

Deathstars

Deathstars is a Swedish band from Stockholm that perform industrial and gothic metal. Formed in 2000, the group are noted for their dark horror-themed lyrics, pessimistic and misanthropic social commentary, distinctive trademark face paint, dark stage uniforms and physical appearances that...

, Doro

Doro (musician)

Dorothee Pesch , popularly known as Doro Pesch or Doro, is a female rock vocalist, formerly of the German heavy metal band Warlock ....

, Rowland S. Howard

Rowland S. Howard

Rowland Stuart Howard was an Australian rock musician, guitarist and songwriter, he played electric guitar in the post-punk group The Birthday Party. Howard died of liver cancer in December 2009, aged 50 years....

 on his album Teenage Snuff Film

Teenage Snuff Film

Teenage Snuff Film is the first solo album by Rowland S. Howard. Former The Birthday Party bandmate Mick Harvey contributes drums, organ and guitar, while Brian Hooper of The Beasts of Bourbon features on bass guitar...

, Sentenced

Sentenced

Sentenced was a Finnish heavy metal band that played melodic death metal in their early years. The band formed in 1989, in the town of Muhos, Finland, and broke up in 2005.-Early years :...

, Aiden

Aiden

Aiden is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington that formed in the spring of 2003. The members are WiL Francis , Nick Wiggins , and Angel Ibarra . wiL originally played bass but took over lead vocals when the original singer left...

 and the band Queens of the Stone Age

Queens of the Stone Age

Queens of the Stone Age is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, United States, formed in 1997. The band's line-up has always included founding member Josh Homme , with the current line-up including longtime members Troy Van Leeuwen and Joey Castillo , alongside Michael Shuman and...

 on their 2007 album Era Vulgaris

Era Vulgaris (album)

Era Vulgaris is the fifth full length studio album by American hard rock band Queens of the Stone Age. The album was completed in early April 2007 and released on June 8, 2007 in some countries, June 11, 2007 in the United Kingdom and June 12, 2007 in the United States...

as a B-Side. Serbia

Serbia

Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

n punk rock band KBO!

KBO!

KBO! is a Serbian punk rock band from Kragujevac. They are one of the first hardcore punk acts on the former Yugoslav punk scene. Since the very beginning, the band accepted the DIY ethic by forming their own record label KBO! Records, through which they have released all their official releases...

 recorded a version on their 2001 cover album (Ne) Menjajte Stanicu ((Do Not) Change The Station). Post-hardcore

Post-hardcore

Post-hardcore is a genre of music that developed from hardcore punk, itself an offshoot of the broader punk rock movement. Like post-punk, post-hardcore is a term for a broad constellation of groups...

 band

Band (music)

In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...

 Aiden

Aiden

Aiden is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington that formed in the spring of 2003. The members are WiL Francis , Nick Wiggins , and Angel Ibarra . wiL originally played bass but took over lead vocals when the original singer left...

 recorded a version of White Wedding for Kerrang!

Kerrang!

Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...

s cover CD High Voltage!: A Brief History of Rock

High Voltage!: A Brief History of Rock

High Voltage!: A Brief History of Rock is a Kerrang! covermount CD released on May 31, 2006, featuring many older rock songs, covered by newer rock artists.-Track listing:#"Start Today" - Fall Out Boy...

and on their EP

Extended play

An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

 Rain In Hell

Rain in Hell

Rain in Hell is an EP/DVD released on October 31, 2006 by the post-hardcore band Aiden. It includes new tracks as well as a cover of The Misfits' "Die, Die My Darling" and Billy Idol's "White Wedding". The DVD features live performances from England and Chicago as well as music videos...

. Part of it is included in Franz Ferdinand's

Franz Ferdinand (band)

Franz Ferdinand are a Scottish post-punk revival band formed in Glasgow in 2002. The band is composed of Alex Kapranos , Bob Hardy , Nick McCarthy , and Paul Thomson .The band first experienced chart success when their second single, "Take Me Out", reached #3 in...

 cover of Gwen Stefani

Gwen Stefani

Gwen Renée Stefani is an American singer-songwriter and fashion designer. Stefani is the lead vocalist for the rock and ska band No Doubt. Stefani recorded her first solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. in 2004. The album was inspired by music of the 1980s, and was a success with sales of over...

's "What You Waiting For?

What You Waiting For?

"What You Waiting For?" is a song by American recording artist Gwen Stefani from her debut solo album, Love. Angel. Music. Baby. . Written by Stefani and Linda Perry, the song is the album's opening track, and was released as its lead single...

". Also, the gothic rock/steampunk

Steampunk

Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s. Steampunk involves a setting where steam power is still widely used—usually Victorian era Britain or "Wild West"-era United...

 band Abney Park

Abney Park (band)

Abney Park is a band based in Seattle that mixes elements of industrial dance, world music, and steampunk influenced lyrics in their work. Their name comes from Abney Park Cemetery in London...

 recorded a cover on their 2005 album Taxidermy

Taxidermy (Abney Park album)

Taxidermy is an album with gothic rock and industrial dance by Abney Park. The album is a collection of new versions of songs from past albums, some live tracks and two covers.-Track listing:#"The Wake "#"New Black Day"...

.

"White Wedding" was featured on the fictional radio station

Radio station

Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...

 K-DST in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a 2004 open world action video game developed by British games developer Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise, the fifth original console release and eighth game overall...

. It has been featured in the 1998 film

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

, The Wedding Singer

The Wedding Singer

The Wedding Singer is a 1998 romantic comedy film written by Tim Herlihy and directed by Frank Coraci. It stars Adam Sandler as a wedding singer in the 1980s and Drew Barrymore as a waitress with whom he falls in love....

(which Idol is also featured in), the TV series

Television program

A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...

, My Name Is Earl

My Name Is Earl

My Name Is Earl is an American television comedy series created by Greg Garcia that was originally broadcast on the NBC television network from September 20, 2005, to May 14, 2009, in the United States...

and the British TV series

Television program

A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...

, Blackpool (TV serial)

Blackpool (TV serial)

Blackpool is a British television musical comedy drama serial, produced in-house by the BBC. It was screened on BBC One as six one-hour episodes on Thursday nights at 9pm from 11 November to 16 December 2004...

. It was also sung by Eva Avila

Eva Avila

Eva Avila is a singer and songwriter. She won the fourth season of the CTV reality show Canadian Idol in 2006.-Early life:...

, in the 2006 Canadian Idol

Canadian Idol

Canadian Idol is a Canadian reality television competition show which aired on CTV, based on the British show Pop Idol. The show was a competition to find the most talented young singer in Canada, and was hosted by Ben Mulroney. Jon Dore was the "roving reporter" for the first three seasons...

 show 80's Hits. It was also featured in the skate video CKY

CKY (video series)

The CKY video series is a series of videos produced by Bam Margera and Brandon DiCamillo and other residents of West Chester, Pennsylvania. Four videos have been released to date, Landspeed presents: CKY , CKY2K, CKY 3, and CKY4: The Latest & Greatest...

.

The line, "It's a nice day to start again", was featured on the sticker on the front of Billy's 2005 comeback album, Devil's Playground

Devil's Playground (album)

-Chart performance:-Personnel:*Billy Idol — vocals*Steve Stevens — guitar*Stephen McGrath — bass*Derek Sherinian — keyboards*Brian Tichy — percussion, drums*Julian Beeston — drum programming...

.

The song was remixed as (Trashcan Jack vs Billy Idol) "Club Wedding" (Frenetic) under Digital Dog's Jack Rokka

Jack Rokka

Digital Dog are now a SE London-based team, Steve Cornish and Nick Mace. They have produced/remixed for everyone from Cheyrl Cole, Timbaland, Katy Perry, Britney Spears,  Rihanna, Ciara, Pussycat dolls, 50 Cent, Taio Cruz, Tinchy Stryder, Cyndi Lauper, Chipmunk, JLS, Pink, Fatboy Slim, Armand Van...

 guise. It has appeared on numerous dance compilations such as Wild Bassline (CD02 Mixed by Brooklyn Bounce) and Clubland 12.

The song is included in the video games Rock Band 2

Rock Band 2

Rock Band 2 is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems. It is the sequel to Rock Band and is the second title in the series. The game allows up to four players to simulate the performance of popular songs by playing with controllers modeled after musical instruments...

, Rock Band Unplugged

Rock Band Unplugged

Rock Band Unplugged is an expansion of the Rock Band series of music video games released for the PlayStation Portable. The game is developed by Backbone Entertainment in conjunction with Harmonix Music Systems and is distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts...

, Guitar Hero Van Halen and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a 2004 open world action video game developed by British games developer Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise, the fifth original console release and eighth game overall...

.

The song is also used for the Hollyoaks

Hollyoaks

Hollyoaks is a long-running British television soap opera, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was originally devised by Phil Redmond, who has also devised shows including Brookside and Grange Hill...

 advert, promoting the week of characters Riley and Mercedes wedding, during which Mercedes finally fesses up to Riley about her affair with his dad.

Charts

Chart (1982/1985)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	61
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...	36
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock Tracks Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue...	4

Notes:

• ¹ - UK re-release in 1985