- Barrel of a Gun (Depeche Mode song)
Single infobox
Name = Barrel of a Gun
Artist =Depeche Mode
from Album = Ultra
B-side = "Painkiller"
Released =February 3 1997
Format =Vinyl record 7", 12",CD
Recorded =1996
Genre =Synthpop
Length = 5:29
Label =Mute Records
Writer =Martin Gore
Producer =Tim Simenon
Reviews =
* allmusic [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:w6ge4j473wal link]
Last single = "In Your Room" (1994)
This single = "Barrel of a Gun" (1997)
Next single = "It's No Good " (1997)"Barrel of a Gun" is
Depeche Mode 's thirty-first UK single, released onFebruary 3 ,1997 (January 28 in the USA), and the first single for the then upcoming album "Ultra".Track history
"Barrel of a Gun" came after some difficult times for the band and its members. Musician
Alan Wilder left the band in 1995 and lead singerDavid Gahan nearly committed suicide.Martin Gore had a string of seizures, and Andrew Fletcher had some emotional problems of his own. In mid-1996 Martin tried to get Dave and Fletch back together by writing a few songs and see if anybody was interested in continuing after that. It worked, and the band were back together, except now a trio again for the first time since 1982's "A Broken Frame "."Barrel of a Gun" brings back in the
industrial music sound, and is possibly the darkest DM song yet. Martin wasn't sure if this was going to be a big hit on the radio, so he was reluctant to recommend this song as the first single, but when he eventually did, it turned out the rest of band, Daniel Miller, and producerTim Simenon agreed. It reached #4 in the UK chart in1997 , which at the time was their joint highest chart position withPeople Are People released in1984 . Since then, Precious has also reached #4 in the UK, in2005 .The B-side is a 7+ minute instrumental called "Painkiller", which is very hard-rockish. A condensed (2+ minute) version shows up as a hidden track on the "Ultra" album as "Junior Painkiller".
Video
The music video for "Barrel of a Gun" is directed by
Anton Corbijn , DM's long-time visual collaborator. It features Dave singing with his eyes closed, with eyeballs drawn on his eyelids to make it seem like they are open. Dave has rather amusing commentary on the video onThe Videos 86-98 . The video was shot in Morocco.Track listings
Listen
filename=Depeche mode barrel of a gun.ogg
title=Depeche Mode "Barrel of a Gun" (1997)
description=30 second sample from Depeche Mode's "Barrel of a Gun".
format=Ogg 12": Mute / 12Bong25 (UK)
# "Barrel of a Gun" (5:29)
# "Barrel of a Gun (Underworld Hard Mix)" (9:37)
# "Barrel of a Gun (3 Phase Mix)" (5:23) (remixed by Sven Röhrig)
# "Barrel of a Gun (One Inch Punch Mix V2)" (5:28) (remixed by One Inch Punch)
# "Barrel of a Gun (Underworld Soft Mix)" (6:29)CD: Mute / CDBong25 (UK)
# "Barrel of a Gun" (5:29)
# "Painkiller" (7:29)
# "Barrel of a Gun (Underworld Soft Mix)" (6:29)
# "Barrel of a Gun (One Inch Punch Mix)" (5:25)12": Mute / L12Bong25 (UK)
# "Painkiller (Plastikman Mix)" (8:39)
# "Painkiller" (7:29)
# "Barrel of a Gun (One Inch Punch Mix)" (5:25)
# "Barrel of a Gun (United Mix)" (6:36) (remixed by United - Marc Waterman and Paul Freegard)CD: Mute / LCDBong25 (UK)
# "Barrel of a Gun (Underworld Hard Mix)" (9:37)
# "Barrel of a Gun (United Mix)" (6:36)
# "Painkiller (Plastikman Mix)" (8:39)12": Mute / P12Bong25 (UK)
# "Barrel of a Gun (Underworld Hard Mix)" (9:37)
# "Painkiller (Plastikman Mix)" (8:39)
# "Barrel of a Gun" (5:29)
# "Barrel of a Gun (Underworld Hard Instrumental)" (9:13)CD: Mute / CDBong25X (EU)
# "Barrel of a Gun" (5:29)
# "Painkiller" (7:29)
# "Barrel of a Gun (Underworld Soft Mix)" (6:29)
# "Barrel of a Gun (One Inch Punch Mix)" (5:25)
# "Barrel of a Gun (Underworld Hard Mix)" (9:37)
# "Barrel of a Gun (United Mix)" (6:36)
# "Barrel of a Gun (3 Phase Mix)" (5:23)
# "Painkiller (Plastikman Mix)" (8:39)
# "Barrel of a Gun (One Inch Punch Mix V2)" (5:28)
*The third CD is the 2004 re-releaseCD: Sire/Reprise / 2-17409 (US)
# "Barrel of a Gun" (5:29)
# "Barrel of a Gun (United Mix)" (6:36)
# "Painkiller" (7:29)CD: Sire/Reprise / 43828-2 (US)
# "Barrel of a Gun" (5:29)
# "Painkiller (Plastikman Mix)" (8:39)
# "Barrel of a Gun (Underworld Soft Mix)" (6:27)
# "Barrel of a Gun (One Inch Punch Mix V2)" (5:25)
# "Barrel of a Gun (Underworld Hard Mix)" (9:36)
*"One Inch Punch Mix V2" was falsely mistaken for the regular "One Inch Punch Mix". The latter was not released in the USA till the 2004 re-release.CD: Sire/Reprise / PRO-CD-8600 (US)
# "Barrel of a Gun (Radio Edit)" (4:01)
# "Barrel of a Gun" (5:29)
*All songs written byMartin L. Gore External links
* [http://archives.depechemode.com/discography/singles/36_barrelofagun.html Single information from the official Depeche Mode web site]
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