"Dancing with Myself"
Single by Generation X
from the album Kiss Me Deadly
Released	1981
Recorded	1980
Genre	Punk rock
Label	Chrysalis Records
Writer(s)	Billy Idol, Tony James
Producer	Keith Forsey
Generation X singles chronology
"Friday's Angels" (1979) "Dancing with Myself" (1980)

"Dancing with Myself"
Single by Billy Idol
from the album Don't Stop
Released	1981
Recorded	1980
Genre	Rock, post-punk, New Wave
Length	4:50
Label	Chrysalis Records
Writer(s)	Billy Idol, Tony James
Producer	Keith Forsey
Billy Idol singles chronology
- "Dancing with Myself" (1981) "Mony Mony" (1981)

"Dancing with Myself" is a song by the band Generation X released in 1981, from their album Kiss Me Deadly. It was one of their first true hit singles. At the time of its release, the band shortened their name to simply "Gen X." Also of note, the band contained only Billy Idol and Tony James from the original line-up. Idol went on to have great success with the single when he released a more pop friendly version (absent of the driving guitar and bass in the Gen X version) on his first solo release, Don't Stop.

Some have speculated that the song is about masturbation, but Idol himself said during his VH1 Storytellers appearance that the song was inspired by Tony James and Billy Idol witnessing patrons watch themselves dance in the space enhancing mirrors which covered the walls of a Japanese night club during the band's 1979 Japanese Tour.^{[citation needed]}

The music video was directed by Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Poltergeist).

The song is featured in the 2007 film Flushed Away. It is also featured in a 2008 advertisement for the French health insurance company La Mutuelle Générale. A cover version by The Donnas played at the end of the 2004 film Mean Girls^[1].

Dancing with Myself was used in the 1998 film Gia, starring Angelina Jolie. The song was also featured and is sung by Gonzo in an episode of Muppets Tonight. The song was recently featured in the TV show Gossip Girl. It is also featured in the music video game Guitar Hero 5. Through the medium of the aforementioned video game, the song appears in the TV show "Castle" in the episode "Famous Last Words" (aired 11/02/09). Artie from the TV show Glee sings the Nouvelle Vague version of the song in the ninth episode, "Wheels". It was also the closing song of an Ugly Betty episode (Plus None, Episode 5 of Season 4).

[edit] Cover versions

• Billy Idol (1981)
• De Kreuners (1984) as "Ik dans wel met mezelf"
• Kids Incorporated (1989)
• Blink-182 (March 10, 1997)
• 30 Foot Fall (2000)
• The Donnas (September 21, 2004)
• Nouvelle Vague (July 10, 2006)
• The Boomtang Boys
• Dag Vag as "Dansar med mig själv"
• Eläkeläiset as "Humppaan itsekseni"
• Green Day (Played live on 2000, 2005 & 2009 tours)
• Lisa Mitchell (Australian Idol 2006)
• Al Gonzales, New York based bagpiper, (www.theroyalpiper.com) with The Shots (2008)
• The Flukes (2007)
• Laura Bell Bundy (Recorded a country version for her CD "Longing For A Place Already Gone" released in 2007)
• Kevin Michael McHale as Artie Abrams on Fox's Glee (TV series) (2009)

[edit] Charts

[edit] Generation X version

[edit] Billy Idol version

[edit] References

1. ^ Soundtrack credits/track listings from IMDB, the SoundtrackINFO project, and Amazon

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