Nancy Boy

"Nancy Boy"
Single by Placebo
from the album Placebo
B-side "Slackerbitch"
Released January 20, 1997
Format CD single, 7"
Genre Alternative rock
Glam punk
Length 3:48 (Album Version)
3:18 (Radio Edit)
Writer(s) Brian Molko
Placebo singles chronology
"Teenage Angst"
(1996)		 "Nancy Boy"
(1997)		 "Pure Morning"
(1998)
Nancy Boy is also a nickname/slur for effeminate homosexual men and the name of an early 1990s band led by Donovan Leitch

"Nancy Boy" is a song by British alternative rock band Placebo, released as the third single from their self-titled debut album. It was released on January 20, 1997 and became their breakthrough single, reaching #4 in the UK charts and making them known to mainstream audiences. As with their first single "Come Home", the single/radio edit (a.k.a. the 'Sex mix') is a rerecorded version, noticeably different from the album version. It was later released on the compilation album Once More with Feeling.

Contents

Live performance history

The song was part of the band's repertoire prior to the release of their debut album and it was a regular until the Black Market Music tour. Due to the band's ambivalent relationship with the song, it's had a somewhat varied history since. The song returned to the setlist during festival performances in the latter legs of the Sleeping with Ghosts tour and was performed until the early legs of the Meds tour. After several performances during the band's stint on the 2007 Projekt Revolution tour, it was not performed again until 2010, when the song was used as the opener for the EXIT festival in Serbia. After that it became a regular opener for the rest of the Battle for the Sun tour, in the latter part of 2010.

Track listings

CD1
  1. "Nancy Boy" (radio edit)
  2. "Slackerbitch"
  3. "Bigmouth Strikes Again"
  4. "Hug Bubble" (Brad Wood mix)
CD2
  1. "Nancy Boy" (Sex mix)
  2. "Eyesight to the Blind"
  3. "Swallow" (Desiner/U-Sheen mix)
  4. "Miss Moneypenny"
7"
  1. "Nancy Boy" (Sex mix)
  2. "Slackerbitch"

Music video

In the video for "Nancy Boy", the images of the band members are in parts distorted, especially drummer Steve Hewitt who is portrayed throughout with a blurred face because he was still contractually obligated to another band on a different label There are also cutaway scenes to strange objects in the video, such as a fist with legs and a bathtub full of legs. It was shot by Howard Greenhalgh.

Charts

Chart (1997) Peak
position
Irish Singles Chart 4
UK Singles Chart 4

References

Placebo
Brian Molko · Stefan Olsdal · Steve Forrest
Bill Lloyd · Fiona Brice · Nick Gavrilovic
Steve Hewitt · Robert Schultzberg · Alex Lee · Xavior Roide
Studio albums
Compilation albums
EPs
Exclusive Session  · Extended Play '07
Live albums
Videos
Related articles
Placebo singles
Placebo
"Bruise Pristine" · "Come Home" · "36 Degrees" · "Teenage Angst" · "Nancy Boy"
Without You I'm Nothing
Black Market Music
Sleeping with Ghosts
Once More with Feeling
Meds
Battle for the Sun