The Guns of Brixton
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| “The Guns Of Brixton” | ||
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| Song by The Clash | ||
| Album | London Calling | |
| Released | December 14, 1979 | |
| Recorded | August-September 1979, November 1979 at Wessex Studios | |
| Genre | Reggae | |
| Length | 3:07 | |
| Label | CBS | |
| Writer | Paul Simonon | |
| Producer | Guy Stevens | |
| Music sample | ||
"The Guns of Brixton" is a song by The Clash on their third album, London Calling, released in 1979. It was written and sung by bassist Paul Simonon, who grew up in Brixton, south London. It has a strong reggae influence, reflecting the culture of the area, with a knowing nod to the classic reggae gangster film, The Harder They Come. A somewhat heavier, faster version than the one found on London Calling appeared on the live compilation From Here to Eternity: Live, released in 1999.
The song pre-dates the race riots that took place in the 1980s in Brixton but the lyrics depict the feelings of discontent that were building due to heavy-handedness of the police that lead to the riots, the recession and other problems at that time.
Not originally released as a single in 1979 when London Calling was released, The Guns of Brixton was released by CBS Records as a CD single from the remastered version of the album in July 1990 (catalog number 656072-2), to reach #57 in the UK Singles Charts. The track listing is:
- "Return to Brixton" — 3:47
- "Return to Brixton" — 6:55
- "Return to Brixton" (SW2 Dub) — 6:00
- "The Guns of Brixton" — 3:09
It was the only track written solely by Simonon to be released on any original Clash album.
When playing the song live Simonon used to switch instruments with Strummer because he felt uncomfortable playing the bassline and singing lead vocals.
A section of "The Guns of Brixton" appears as a reprise at the end of the song "Broadway" on the Clash's album Sandinista!, sung by a very young Maria Gallagher, with a simple keyboard accompaniment.
[edit] Cover versions
The song has been covered by numerous bands over the years, including Arcade Fire, Unwritten Law, Dropkick Murphys, Rancid, Jeff Klein, The Bandits, Nouvelle Vague, Calexico, Optimus Rhyme, My Red Hot Nightmare, German punk band Die Toten Hosen, Polish street punk band The Analogs, the German hardcore punk band The Deadstock, Argentinean band Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Peruvian band Asmereir, and the italian singer Enrico Ruggeri.
In 1981 a German punk band named Soilent Grün used the melody of "The Guns of Brixton" for their song "Spitz Wie Lumpi".
Sydney born band The Beautiful Girls released a cover version in 2003 entilted "Guns of Brixton / Dub Be Good to Me".
During an informal gig at the Albion Rooms in the early 2000s, Carl Barât and Pete Doherty from The Libertines infamously sung a cover of the song as the police literally kicked down the door to shut down the gig. They only got partially into the first verse before the gig was ended.
The bass line was also sampled for Beats International's 1990 hit "Dub Be Good to Me" and Cypress Hill's 2004 hit "What's Your Number?".
French dub-rock outfit Guns of Brixton formed in 2004 took their name from that song.[1]
In 2006, MC Chris used "The Guns of Brixton" as a beat on the song "Blastic", from the album Dungeon Master of Ceremonies.
Arcade Fire's acoustic version of the song was likely played for the first time during their 5 day mini-tour of London in early February 2007; it was also used to close their 4 night stint at Brixton Academy in March 2007. They also performed it on the BBC's Culture Show.
In January 2007, NME reported that The Good, the Bad and the Queen, which features Simonon on bass, ended the first set of their UK tour (Trinity Hall, Bristol) in promotion of their debut album with this song (and Simonon on vocals).[2]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Guns of Brixton. Retrieved on 2007-12-12.
- ^ The Good The Bad And The Queen cover The Clash (2007-01-28). Retrieved on 2007-01-28.
[edit] References
- Gilbert, Pat [2004] (2005). Passion Is a Fashion: The Real Story of The Clash, 4th edition, London: Aurum Press. ISBN 1845131134. OCLC 61177239.
- Gray, Marcus [1995] (2005). The Clash: Return of the Last Gang in Town, 5th revised edition, London: Helter Skelter. ISBN 1905139101. OCLC 60668626.
- Green, Johnny; Garry Barker [1997] (2003). A Riot of Our Own: Night and Day with The Clash, 3rd edition, London: Orion. ISBN 0752858432. OCLC 52990890.
- Gruen, Bob; Chris Salewicz [2001] (2004). The Clash, 3rd edition, London: Omnibus. ISBN 1903399343. OCLC 69241279.
- Needs, Kris (2005-01-25). Joe Strummer and the Legend of the Clash. London: Plexus. ISBN 085965348X. OCLC 53155325.
- Topping, Keith [2003] (2004). The Complete Clash, 2nd edition, Richmond: Reynolds & Hearn. ISBN 1903111706. OCLC 63129186.
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