Hot in the City by Billy Idol

Overview

Key: C major · Chords used: 7 · Sections: 12

Form: Intro → Verse → Pre-Chorus → Chorus → Interlude → Verse → Pre-Chorus → Chorus → Bridge → Chorus ×3

Where these chords come from: an expert transcription of the original recording made for the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011). This page shows that transcription as-is: the analysis below is generated directly from it by code, not written by AI. Consecutive repeats of a chord are shown once, and the piano voicings are our playable arrangement of each chord symbol, not a note-for-note transcription.

Section by section

Intro

• C
  I

Verse 1

• C
  I

Pre-Chorus 1

• G – G/F – G
  V – V (bass F) – V

Chorus 1

• C – Amadd11 (×8)
  I – viadd11
• G
  V

Interlude

• C
  I

Verse 2

Same chords as Verse 1.

Pre-Chorus 2

Same chords as Pre-Chorus 1.

Chorus 2

• C – Amadd11 (×8)
  I – viadd11

Bridge

• G – G6 – G7 – G6 – G – G6 – G7 (×4)
  V – V6 – V7 – V6 – V – V6 – V7
• G – G6 – G7 – G6 – F
  V – V6 – V7 – V6 – IV

Chorus 3

Same chords as Chorus 2.

Chorus 4

Same chords as Chorus 2.

Chorus 5

Same chords as Chorus 2.

Chord vocabulary

Sources & accuracy

• Chords and sections: the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011). Expert transcription by trained musicians (song 0920, CC0), via ChoCo.
• Not verified: only one expert transcription of this song is available so far.
• Rhythm and chord durations aren't shown; each step is one chord change.