Watch Billy Morrison's 'Hollow' Video

Official Announcement | Published: Jun 12, 2026 3:50 PM EDT

(SRO) Billy Morrison takes a deep dive into his psyche with "Hollow," the title track of the British guitarist, singer, and songwriter's album of the same name out August 7 via TLG | ZOID distributed by Virgin Music Group.

The sonically explosive and lyrically gripping single is released today (June 12) along with an artful and eye-popping lyric video that traces MORRISON's previously unhinged life.

"The title track to my new album was inspired by the life that I led when I was homeless and addicted to heroin," says Morrison. "Begging for money on the streets and being the guy that people crossed the street from, I would watch people's faces as they walked towards me, gradually realizing they had to walk past me and being disgusted at how dirty I was, or that I was begging for change. That leaves an indelible mark on your soul and the song is about slowly crawling out of that hollow life."

"Hollow" Single/Video-Q & A with Billy Morrison

Question: "Hollow" is an intense and poignant song about personal desperation, with a reference to a "narcotic embrace." Can you tell us what inspired the song?

MORRISON: The title track to my new album, HOLLOW, was inspired by the life that I led when I was homeless and addicted to heroin. Begging for money on the streets, and being the guy that people crossed the street from ....... I would watch peoples faces as they walked towards me, gradually realizing they had to walk past me and being disgusted at how dirty I was, or that I was begging for change. That leaves an indelible mark on your soul and the song is about slowly crawling out of that hollow life.

Question: Looking at your career overall, you've been known primarily as a rhythm guitar player. "Hollow," with its soaring, stadium-sized guitar lines, especially shows how much you've developed as a strong and confident lead guitarist. Can you tell us about your development?

MORRISON: I think it was only a matter of time before I somewhat "graduated" as a guitar player into the category known as "lead guitarist." Basically playing so much guitar for so many years, it was a natural learning curve for me. I would never stand next to any of the greats, but I can clearly play what's needed in my own music, and that would be primarily due to the encouragement and belief of Steve Stevens, who has always allowed me to stretch in the Billy Idol band. I also gravitate to the kind of lead and solos that are musical, not necessarily a thousand notes a second. So that helps!

Question: This is so much more than a lyric video-artful and eye-popping-following right in line with your previous standout videos. It mixes black and white urban footage from the UK with colorful, surrealist imagery. It's a fantastic visual vehicle for the song. Can you tell us how it all came together and who directed it?

MORRISON: I definitely wanted to utilize the technology we now have available to us, even though this is "just" a lyric video! So I had a conversation with Mike Savage (who made the "Who the F%@K is Billy Morrison?" mini doc) and it turned out he was dabbling with all kinds of crazy tech and agreed to try a few things for this lyric video. I had no idea how it would turn out, but the brief was: "London, homeless, begging for change, being judged and criticized, Alice In Wonderland choruses." And look what he came up with from just that brief description! I'm very happy.