From Billy Idol's autobiography, Dancing With Myself:
"One day, [Rolling Stones guitarist] Ronnie Wood invited us to a birthday party at the brownstone. I forget whether it was for him or one of the other Stones, but I soon found myself standing with and talking to Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Wood, noting each had a bottle of booze in his hands. As the bottle moved towards their lips, I followed its path and saw it had a Confederate cavalry officer dressed in gray riding a horse on the label. Above this figure was the name REBEL YELL. I had been interested in the American Civil War ever since I'd visited Gettysburg when I was five.
Gazing at the three guzzling Stones, I asked them if they had the bottle custom-made. 'It's a Southern mash bourbon,' they answered.
'And it's called "Rebel Yell"?' I asked. 'Do you think you'd ever use that as a song title?' I tried to convince tem it wasn't quite as iconic for them as 'Jumping Jack Flash' or 'Gimme Shelter', and they shook their heads and said they wouldn't use it. 'Great,' I said. 'Because I might just use that title for a song, and maybe even call my next album that.'
[...] I decided to make 'Rebel Yell' a cry of love instead of the battlefield, as I had no intention of singing about the Civil War. After all, ladies are the most powerful creatures in this world, and this would be an anthem to love between a man and a woman. I thought about Perri and started to sing."
From Billy Idol's autobiography, Dancing With Myself:
"One day, [Rolling Stones guitarist] Ronnie Wood invited us to a birthday party at the brownstone. I forget whether it was for him or one of the other Stones, but I soon found myself standing with and talking to Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Wood, noting each had a bottle of booze in his hands. As the bottle moved towards their lips, I followed its path and saw it had a Confederate cavalry officer dressed in gray riding a horse on the label. Above this figure was the name REBEL YELL. I had been interested in the American Civil War ever since I'd visited Gettysburg when I was five.
Gazing at the three guzzling Stones, I asked them if they had the bottle custom-made. 'It's a Southern mash bourbon,' they answered.
'And it's called "Rebel Yell"?' I asked. 'Do you think you'd ever use that as a song title?' I tried to convince tem it wasn't quite as iconic for them as 'Jumping Jack Flash' or 'Gimme Shelter', and they shook their heads and said they wouldn't use it. 'Great,' I said. 'Because I might just use that title for a song, and maybe even call my next album that.'
[...] I decided to make 'Rebel Yell' a cry of love instead of the battlefield, as I had no intention of singing about the Civil War. After all, ladies are the most powerful creatures in this world, and this would be an anthem to love between a man and a woman. I thought about Perri and started to sing."