Eminence Front

Song infobox
Name = Eminence Front


Caption =
Type =
Artist = The Who
alt Artist =
Album = It's Hard
Published =
Released = 1982
track_no = 6
Recorded =
Genre = Rock
Length = 5:39
Writer =
Composer =
Label = Polydor Records (UK)
Warner Bros. (U.S.)
Producer = Glyn Johns
Chart position = #5 "Billboard" Mainstream Rock
Tracks =
prev = "Dangerous"
prev_no = 5
next = "I've Known No War"
next_no = 7
Misc = "Eminence Front" is a song written and sung by Pete Townshend of The Who; it appears as the sixth track on the group's studio album, "It's Hard". The single reached #68 on the Billboard Hot 100. It is the only song from the album that the band has opted to play live after its initial tours directly after releasing the album. Lead singer Roger Daltrey, vocally critical of the album, described "Eminence Front" as the only song on it that he felt was worthy of being releasedFact|date=July 2008 (although he later requested "Cry If You Want" during their 2006 tour, incorporating the lyrics into an extended version of "My Generation.")

Writing and recording

The song itself focuses on the hedonistic lifestyle that was prevalent during the 1980s. The lyrics concern a party in which people ignore their problems and merely try to hide behind a facade — an "eminence front." Townshend has introduced the song in live performances with the words, "this song is about what happens when you take too much white powder. It's called 'Eminence Front'."Fact|date=July 2008

Early in the song, there is a syncopation, some say a flaw in the singing, where Daltrey and Pete Townshend end the title term at slightly different times. That flaw was edited, and a corrected version appears on the 1997 re-release of the CD (a live version, recorded on the band's final date of their 1982 tour in Toronto, appears as a bonus track on the re-release). The song had a video, shot at a rehearsal in Landover, Maryland, during their '82 US tour, which enjoyed consistent airplay on MTV upon its release.

"Eminence Front" was scheduled to be released as a single in the UK by Polydor Records in 1982. The catalog number was WHO 7 but the single was never released. The picture sleeve, by Richard Evans depicted a 1930s Art Deco house in Miami.

Use in media

The song appears in the popular videogame "" on the classic rock radio station , as well as a 1:44 video released by Rockstar Games to illustrate the end of a popular 10 year era of their gaming including clips from many of their games.

The final two episodes of the ABC TV series "Line of Fire" were titled "Eminence Front" parts 1 and 2, during which the song was featured.

In the first episode of "Entourage", "Eminence Front" is played as Vincent Chase steps out of a limo and his entourage walks down the red carpet to the Premier of 'Head On'.

The NBA's Dallas Mavericks have used this song for their player introductions since they moved into the American Airlines Center and the New York Mets used this song for their player introductions at Shea Stadium during the 2006 Major League Baseball season. The song is also played moments before opening kick-off of San Diego Chargers' games at Qualcomm Stadium.Fact|date=July 2008

The Indianapolis Ice of the IHL used this song for pre-game introductions back in the mid 1990's

It was used at the beginning of the third episode of season three of Miami Vice entitled Killshot.

The video game "Rock Band" features the song as part of a 12-pack of downloadable tracks from The Who.

UFC fighter Stephan Bonnar uses this as his entrance music for UFC fights.

External links

* [http://www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/the_who/eminence_front.html Eminence Front lyrics]