Billy Idol’s professionalism goes beyond performance as the rock legend starred in the music video “Cradle of Love.”
Released in 1990 as part of his album Charmed Life, it not only received positive reviews from fans but also earned a 1991 Grammy nomination for Best Rock Vocal Performance and won the Best Video from a Film at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards.
However, even at the height of his fame, the singer-songwriter was quietly recovering from a devastating motorcycle accident that nearly cost him his life.
Looking back at the ordeal, Billy Idol reflected on the brush with death that forced major changes in his now-iconic “Cradle of Love” video.
During his guest appearance on LAist, the “Eyes Without a Face” hitmaker detailed the interesting story behind his music video.
According to him, he was still recovering while filming the music video.
The incident occurred in February 1990, when the British rock icon was struck by a car while riding his Harley-Davidson home from a Los Angeles studio. The crash left him with a severely injured and fractured leg.
“Yeah, I had a cast up to my thigh,” he told the host, adding, “I couldn’t bend my leg basically.”
However, instead of canceling or delaying the shoot, the musician revealed the clever adjustment his director made to keep the production on track.
For the “Cradle of Love” music video, Billy Idol was shot only from the waist up since he was wearing a cast at the time.
“But David Fincher has this idea about me being a sort of a picture on the wall which would come to life in this apartment and would look like I’m in action,” he shared.
Although the music video pushed through, the accident prevented him from taking on the role in the 1991 Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
He was supposedly set to play the character of T-1000, but ultimately lost the part to Robert Patrick.
This was later confirmed by Robert Patrick, who revealed that Billy Idol was originally considered for the same role.
“I can tell you that I saw Billy’s image when I went to Stan Winston after I got the role,” he told Heat Vision as cited by The Hollywood Reporter. “Unfortunately, he got into a motorcycle accident and busted up his leg, so he wasn’t able to physically do what the role demanded.”
Although it took some time for the music artist to fully recover, he later released a few more albums, including Devil’s Playground, Happy Holidays, Kings and Queens of the Underground and others.
Related: Billy Idol’s Emotional Reaction to Death of Dear ‘Friend’ and Music Legend
This story was originally reported by Parade on Oct 16, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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