New Rose (song)

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New Rose is a song by the British band The Damned . The track was released on the A-side of the band's first single on October 22, 1976 by Stiff Records with catalog number BUY 6 . It is considered the first British punk rock single. Was written New Rose by guitarist of the band, Brian James ; the single was produced by Nick Lowe . The song also opened the second side of Damned's first LP , Damned Damned Damned . On the B-side of the single is a cover version of the Beatles hit Help .

History of origin

James had already composed the riff for New Rose in Brussels in 1974 when he played in a band called Bastard. His drummer at the time didn't get the sound the way James wanted it. When The Damned were in the early stages , he played the riff to future Damned drummer Rat Scabies , who immediately understood what James had in mind:

“Bang, and off we went. He literally went over it. It was perfect. Now I had something to build a song on. "

- Brian James, 2016 : The Story Behind the Song

According to Chris Bryans, author of New Rose's entry in "1001 Songs You Should Hear Before Life Is Over," the guitarist finished the song in 15 minutes. After the band had signed a contract with Stiff Records, the recordings with Nick Lowe as a producer took place at Pathway Studios in the London borough of Islington . They lasted a day and cost "about £ 50 " in James' memory . Nick Lowe then spent even less time post-processing. As Vanian revealed in a further interview, "Nothing was actually done with it in the studio, it just sounded like us - really powerful". According to bassist Captain Sensible , the band members were "under the influence of speed and cider " throughout the recordings , which singer Dave Vanian confirmed in a 2018 interview.

Text and music

The song begins with an intro spoken by Dave Vanian : Is she really going out with him? , quoted from the intro to the 1964 Shangri-Las hit Leader of the Pack , which Vanian greatly admired. He had actually only fooled around with the quote, but everyone involved liked it, and so the homage to the oldie stayed on the recording.

The intro is followed by, as Dave Vanian puts it, "unadorned, gut-wrenching, classic three-minute pop song" with lines like

"I got a new rose, I got it good
guess I knew that I always would
I can't stop to mess around
I got a brand new rose in town.
...
I got a feeling inside of me
It's kinda strange like a stormy sea. "

- Brian James : New Rose

The music is dominated by Scabies ' drums , which start after the intro and which James' guitar and Captain Sensibles Bass join after about five seconds. The Rough Guide to Punk considers New Rose to be the iconic single for Damned; Scabies' game is described as mad-war-drumming , as " crazy war drumming ". Chris Bryans says:

"The adrenaline rush from Scabies' opening attack lasts the entire breathless track."

- Chris Bryans : 1001 songs you should hear ...

Jon Savage describes the song in his book England's Dreaming :

“New Rose” is one storm of enthusiasm from people who become aware of their energy. There is practically no melody and the words are incoherent, but the fun they had is unmistakable. "

- Jon Savage : England's Dreaming

Scott Rowley writes: "Rat's pounding drums, Brian's razor-sharp riffs and short screeching solos, sensitive manic driving bassline and Vanian's growling vocals [...] made the sound of a band in a hurry to the point (or, more likely, to the bar) get."

Many contemporaries thought they discovered a love power in the text, but Brian James negated this. He wrote it about the emerging punk movement because he was so excited about what was going on around him. "Imagery that matched the riffs," says Dave Simpson in the Guardian .

reception

New Rose didn't hit the charts when it was first released, but received unanimously good reviews in UK music magazines, with Damned making the covers of Sounds and Melody Maker . The demand for the single was so great that the recently founded record label Stiff entered into a deal for delivery with United Artists because it exceeded Stiff's own capacities - the Damned single was one of the first ten Stiff released.

In May 1986 the single was reissued by Stiff Records, with the original catalog number on black, red and white vinyl and as a limited edition double single with two live recordings. At the same time there was a 12-inch single with three additional tracks for the first time. The new edition reached number 81 in the British single charts .

Radio presenter and musician Mark Radcliffe , born 1958, dedicates the section for 1976 to New Rose in his book Reelin 'in the Years , in which he assigns a song to each of the years of his life .

“[The song] had such a peppy, energizing sound that you were just happy to be alive. Especially at the age of 18, when you didn't live at home for the first time. "

- Mark Radcliffe : Reelin 'in the Years

He was so impressed by New Rose that he played the track as the first track on his first show on BBC Radio 1.

Robert Dimery included New Rose in his 2011 book “1001 Songs You Should Hear Before Life Is Over”.

Cover versions

The American singer Rachel Sweet , also under contract with Stiff Records, recorded New Rose for her 1980 album Protect the Innocent . In Finland also appeared in 1980 on a compilation New Rose by the band Ratsia . The French punk band Charles De Goal released a version on a compilation album on the New Rose label in 1985 . A version of Guns N 'Roses appeared on the 1993 album The Spaghetti Incident? . In 2000 the song appeared on an album by the band Catfight!

Brian James himself brought out his song in new versions several times, as New Rose in 2001 by Brian James Meets Flagpig and in 2006 with the Brian James Gang as New Rose in 2006

Notes and evidence

  1. Entry New Rose (UK) on 45cat.com, accessed December 8, 2019
  2. ^ Al Spicer, The Rough Guide to Punk , Rough Guides Ltd., London 2006, entry The Damned pp. 112–114, here: p. 112
  3. a b Scott Rowley, The Damned: an epic tale of fast living and faster music on loudersound.com, October 26, 2017, accessed December 8, 2019
  4. a b c Paul Lester, The Story Behind The Song: New Rose by The Damned on loudersound.com, October 12, 2016, access December 8, 2019
  5. “Bang! He was off. He just attacked it. It was perfect. Now I had something I could build a song around. ”, In: Paul Lester, The Story Behind The Song: New Rose by The Damned on loudersound.com, October 12, 2016, accessed December 8, 2019
  6. a b c d Robert Dimery (Ed.): 1001 songs you should hear before life is over, Edition Olms, Zurich 2011, ISBN 978-3-283-01153-6 , p. 375
  7. "Nothing was really done to it in the studio, but it sounded just like we did - really powerful." Dave Vanian in: Mike Shallcross, The Damned's Dave Vanian on what 40 years of punk has taught him , in GQ online on November 23, 2019, accessed on December 8, 2019
  8. a b c Dave Simpson, The Damned: how we made New Rose , on The Guardian's website March 19, 2018, accessed December 8, 2019
  9. Mike Shallcross, The Damned's Dave Vanian on what 40 years of punk has taught him , in GQ online November 23, 2019, accessed December 8, 2019
  10. “My famous spoken intro […] is from the Shangri-La's Leader of the Pack, which I adored. I'd just been clowning around, but everyone liked it so we kept it. ” Dave Vanian in: Dave Simpson, The Damned: how we made New Rose , on The Guardian's website on March 19, 2018, access on December 8, 2019
  11. "New Rose was a raw, visceral, classic three-minute pop song." Dave Vanian in: Dave Simpson, The Damned: how we made New Rose , on The Guardian's website on March 19, 2018, access on December 8, 2019
  12. ^ Al Spicer, The Rough Guide to Punk , Rough Guides Ltd., London 2006, entry The Damned pp. 112–114, here: p. 114
  13. Jon Savage, England's Dreaming. Anarchy, Sex Pistols, Punk Rock , Edition Tiamat, Berlin 2016³, ISBN 978-3-89320-206-5 , p. 224
  14. The Damned do a deal , report in the NME dated November 6, 1976, scan of the note on 45cat.com , accessed December 8, 2019
  15. Entry at 45cat.com
  16. Entry at 45cat.com
  17. Entry at 45worlds.com
  18. Entry New Rose at officialcharts.com
  19. ^ Mark Radcliffe, Reelin 'in the Years. The Soundtrack of a Northern Life , Simon & Schuster, London 2011, ISBN 978-0-85720-050-1 , p. 131 ff., Here p. 132
  20. ^ Mark Radcliffe, Reelin 'in the Years. The Soundtrack of a Northern Life , Simon & Schuster, London 2011, ISBN 978-0-85720-050-1 , p. 131 ff., Here p. 133
  21. Entry at 45cat.com
  22. Entry Metropolis on 45worlds.com
  23. Entry La Vie en rose at 45worlds.com
  24. Entry Frustrated on 45worlds.com
  25. Entry at 45cat.com
  26. ^ Entry of the New Rose 2006 EP on 45cat.com

Web links