# Cradle of Love (Billy Idol song)

"Cradle of Love" is a song by English rock musician Billy Idol, released in 1990 as the first single from his fourth album Charmed Life. The song became Idol's last top-10 hit in the United States, where it reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was also Idol's first and only No. 1 hit on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. On the UK Single Chart, it stalled at No. 34.

## Music and lyrics

"Cradle of Love" is a hard rock song with doo-wop influences. It's composed in common time and in the key of B♭ major. The song title is supposedly based on the saying "robbing the cradle".

## Music video

The video, directed by David Fincher, features footage of Idol singing in large painting frames throughout an apartment. The director made the decision to film Idol from the waist up as he was unable to walk due to injuries from a February 1990 motorcycle crash. The video also features Betsy Lynn George as Devon, a teenager who tries to seduce a modest and mild-mannered businessman (played by Joshua Townshend-Zellner). The film makes use of clips from The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, but as Andrew Dice Clay (who played Fairlane) had been banned from MTV, he is not shown in any of the clips. The video was a huge hit and was placed in heavy rotation on MTV. Idol and George recreated the opening of the video for the 1991 Grammys. An alternative version of the video does not feature the movie's footage, instead depicting a man playing the guitar as heard in the track.
At the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards, the video was nominated for Best Male Video and Best Special Effects and won the award for Best Video from a Film.
This video was voted #33 on VH1's 50 Sexiest Video Moments.

## Critical reception

Upon its release as a single, Gary Crossing of Record Mirror commented that Idol "sneers, growls and rebel yells his way through another laughable, leatherclad anthem". Phil Wilding of Kerrang! concluded, "Getting hit off his bike has obviously caused Billy to slip into regression and convince himself that he's Marc Bolan. He's dead, Billy. Wake up and smell the earth." In the US, Billboard remarked that "Idol fans will relish in the singer's familiar, quick-paced, guitar-driven pop".

## Formats and track listings

7-inch: Chrysalis – IDOL 14 (UK)
* "Cradle of Love" (4:39)
* "311 Man" (3:51)
12-inch: Chrysalis – IDOLX 14 (UK)
* "Cradle of Dub" (extended remix) (6:27)
* "Cradle of Love" (LP version) (4:39)
* "Rob the Cradle of Dub" (extended mix) (5:07)
* "311 Man" (3:51)
* Also released as 12-inch picture disc (IDOLXP 14)
CD: Chrysalis – IDOLCD 14 (UK)
* "Cradle of Love" (edit) (4:09)
* "Cradle of Dub" (extended remix) (6:27)
* "Rob the Cradle of Dub" (extended mix) (5:07)
* "311 Man" (3:51)
Idol's live performance of the song at the 1991 Grammy Awards was released on the 1994 album Grammy's Greatest Moments Volume I.

## Certifications

Certifications for "Cradle of Love" :
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| Australia (ARIA) | Gold | 35,000$^^$ |
| United States (RIAA) | Gold | 500,000$^^$ |
| $^^$ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |||

## Cover versions

Alvin and the Chipmunks covered this song as the opening track to their 1991 album The Chipmunks Rock the House. In 1992, "Weird Al" Yankovic included the chorus as the first song in his polka medley "Polka Your Eyes Out" from his album Off the Deep End.