West End Riot

"West End Riot"
Single by The Living End
from the album The Living End
Released 26 July 1999
Format CD single
Recorded 1998
Genre Punk rock, punkabilly
Length 3:54
Label Modular, EMI
Songwriter(s) Chris Cheney[1]
Producer(s) Lindsay Gravina
The Living End singles chronology
"All Torn Down"
(1998)		 "West End Riot"
(1999)		 "Pictures In the Mirror"
(2000)

"All Torn Down"
(1998)		 "West End Riot"
(1999)		 "Pictures In the Mirror"
(2000)

"West End Riot" was the fourth single taken from Australian rock group, The Living End's debut self-titled album. It was released in July 1999,[2] and peaked at No. 83 on the Australian ARIA singles chart in August 1999.[3] The song was more popular with listeners of national radio station, Triple J, appearing at No. 48 on their Hottest 100 poll for that year.[4]

The song title and lyrics refer two boys who are born and raised in two different areas, who play together in the streets with toy guns, but who grow up to live very different lives, with their childhood fun being nothing more than a memory. The song is based on the West and East sides of Melbourne, even though in later years the feud has died down.

I was listening to a lot of the Jam at this point. It was about kids knocking around together and how their lives part as they get older – and never the twain shall meet again. My mum and dad were both from that area [the industrial west]. Dad’s family was very poor and he told me stories about his dad sitting on the steps crying during the Depression when all the men would come home from work, because he didn’t have a job. Maybe that stuff gets into you. I always hated the idea of some people looking down on other people.
— Chris Cheney, 2012[5]

The video for the song was directed by Don Letts, (who also directed a number of The Clash's videos). It was filmed in London whilst the band was touring the UK.[6]

A crowd favourite, it is often played at the end of a show, most notably at Festival Hall in 2006.

The song appears in the opening film clip for the PlayStation 2 video game World of Outlaws: Sprint Cars 2002.[7]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."West End Riot"Chris Cheney[1]3:54
2."Living in Sin"Cheney[8]3:48
3."Train Kept A-Rollin'" (live)Myron 'Tiny' Bradshaw, Howard Kay, Lois Mann[9]3:41
4."West End Riot" (live)Cheney4:29

Charts

Chart (1999) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[3] 83

Release history

Region Date Label Format Catalogue
Australia July 1999 Modular Recordings CD MODCS005
EMI 7243 8 87265 2 8

Personnel

Band members
Recording process
Art works

References

  1. 1 2 "'West End Riot' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  2. ↑ "Archived Australasian Releases". Australian Recording Industry Association. July 1999. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  3. 1 2 Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  4. ↑ "Hottest 100 - 1999". Triple J. ABC. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  5. ↑ Valentish, Jenny (12 October 2012). "The Living End Interview". Time Out Melbourne. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  6. ↑ "The Living End videography". The Tabloid Magazine. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  7. ↑ "World of Outlaws: Sprint Cars 2002 credits". Allgame. Retrieved 15 December 2007.
  8. ↑ "'Living in Sin' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  9. ↑ "'Train Kept A-Rollin at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 18 June 2013.
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