| "He's Gonna Step On You Again" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by John Kongos | ||||
| from the album Kongos | ||||
| B-side | "Sometimes It's Not Enough" | |||
| Released | 1971 | |||
| Format | 7" 45rpm | |||
| Genre | Glam rock | |||
| Length | 4:24 | |||
| Label | Fly | |||
| Writer(s) | John Kongos, Christos Demetriou | |||
| Producer | Gus Dudgeon (Tuesday Productions) | |||
| John Kongos singles chronology | ||||
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| "Step On" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Happy Mondays | ||||
| from the album Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches | ||||
| A-side | "Step On" (Stuff It In Mix Edit) | |||
| B-side | "Step On" (One Louder Mix Edit) | |||
| Released | 9 April 1990 | |||
| Format | 7" 45rpm | |||
| Genre | Madchester | |||
| Length |
4:20 (7" single edit) |
|||
| Label | Factory FAC 272/7 | |||
| Writer(s) | John Kongos, Christos Demetriou | |||
| Producer | Paul Oakenfold, Steve Osborne | |||
| Happy Mondays singles chronology | ||||
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"He's Gonna Step On You Again" (aka "Step On") was a hit single, co-written by Christos Demetriou and performed by John Kongos in 1971.
It is cited in the Guinness Book of Records as being the first song to have used a sample, however, according to the sleeve note of the CD reissue of the Kongos album, it is actually a tape loop of African drumming, and the use of tape loops and instruments using prerecorded samples such as the Mellotron and Optigan were well established by this time.
On 22 May 1971, the song entered the UK Singles Chart, reached Number 4, and spent 14 weeks on the charts (the follow-up release in the same year, "Tokoloshe Man", also peaked at number 4). It was released on the Fly Records label. [1]
The song was featured on the Soundtrack of the 2006 video game Test Drive Unlimited.
Happy Mondays covered the song, retitling it "Step On" in 1990. It was originally intended as a contribution to the Rubáiyát: Elektra's 40th Anniversary compilation for their US label Elektra, but they decided to keep it to release as a single, and instead covered Kongos's Tokoloshe Man for the compilation. The Happy Mondays version incorporates a short sample of three guitar notes from the original. [2]
It became their biggest-selling single, peaking at Number 5 in the UK and even making it on to the Billboard Hot 100 chart at Number 57.
Other artists who have recorded cover versions of this song, including Def Leppard (on their 2006 cover album Yeah!) and Australian bands The Party Boys, Chantoozies and The Exploding White Mice (a B side to the Blaze of Glory single) who released them all in 1987. Although probably never recorded, the song was also a staple of Canada's MacLean & MacLean live act where its percussion rhythms and topical lyric made it popular with their audiences.