X performs “Breathless” on Late Night With David Letterman in 1983

Apropos of the next Secret Cinema column, here’s X performing their version of the Jerry Lee Lewis song used in the 1983 film Breathless, which takes its title from the Jean-Luc Godard movie it remakes but uses the Jerry Lee song throughout. (Confusing, innit? And X’s cover, which plays over the end credits, is kind of like the film that precedes it in miniature, updating the inspiration, speeding it up, giving it an underside of Hollywood attitude, but keeping the essence.) The performance is great, but the awkward pre-song interview is entertaining too, from Letterman asking Exene Cervenka about her friendship with Pee-wee Herman to some jokes about Richard Gere’s frequent nudity, referenced as if it were something of a late-night talk show go-to staple at the time.