Adam in Chains

"Adam in Chains"
Single by Billy Idol
from the album Cyberpunk
Released	1993
Format	CD single
Recorded	1992, Los Angeles, U.S.
Genre	Rock, electronica
Length	3:54
Label	Chrysalis Records
Writer(s)	Billy Idol and Robin Hancock
Producer	Robin Hancock
Billy Idol singles chronology
"Shock to the System" (1993) "Adam in Chains" (1993) "Wasteland" (1993)
Audio sample file info · help Cyberpunk track listing "Tomorrow People" (5) "Adam in Chains" (6) "Neuromancer" (5)

"Adam in Chains" is a single by Billy Idol, the third of which to be released to promote his 1993 album Cyberpunk. A radio edit of the track was also included on the single.^[1]

The album version of the song is divided in two sections: the first two minutes and fifty-four seconds are of a voice coaxing the listener through a hypnotic exercise, encouraging them towards a state of relaxation. The remainder of the song consists of Idol singing in a melodious, slow tempo.

Formats and track listings

• Netherlands CD single

1. "Adam in Chains" (edit)
2. "Adam in Chains" (album version)

• Netherlands CD maxi-single

1. "Adam in Chains" (edit)
2. "Adam in Chains" (album version)
3. "Venus"
4. "Heroin" (Meedle Park Mix)

Music video

A music video for "Adam in Chains" was directed by Julien Temple. It depicted Billy Idol being bound into a chair as he is monitored by scientists. He struggles before being hypnotized, and is then inserted into a virtual reality simulator. There he is treated to an ethereal water fantasy. Idol eventually rejects the fantasy, which is consumed in flames as, in the real world, his body violently convulses. The scientists end the experiment and Idol is brought back into reality, only to fall unconscious.

Chart performance

The track failed to chart in the US or UK which was unusual for Idol at the time however it did chart in France at #5 and Poland at #35.^[2]