Death Disco
"Death Disco" | ||||
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dub[3] | ||||
Length | 4:11 | |||
Label | Virgin VS 274 | |||
Songwriter(s) | Keith Levene, John Lydon, John Wardle, Jim Walker, David Humphrey | |||
Producer(s) | Public Image Ltd | |||
Public Image Ltd singles chronology | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
"Death Disco" is a song by
In his autobiography, Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs, Lydon stated that the song was written for his mother, who had died of cancer not long before. "I watched her die," he told Select in 1990. "She was tough, my mum. She asked me to write a disco song for her funeral. This was hardly happy stuff."[4]
According to AllMusic, "the song is built on a dense groove informed equally by dub and disco" and features both "Lydon at his most desperate and stark" and Keith Levene "dishing out shards of guitar that complement the rhythm one moment and then shift into horrific riffing the next."[3]
"Death Disco" was also included on the 1983 album Live in Tokyo.
The song was ranked at No. 11 among the top "Tracks of the Year" of 1979 by NME.[5]
Paul Lester of The Guardian wrote that "Death Disco" was "the biggest hit with a load of rhythmical dissonance [...] until the dosser disco of Happy Mondays' "Hallelujah" ten years later."[6]
Track listing
- 7" vinyl
- "Death Disco" – 4:11
- "No Birds Do Sing" – 4:41
- 12" vinyl
- "½ Mix" - 6:42
- "Megga Mix" - 6:51
Personnel
- John Lydon - vocals, piano on "No Birds Do Sing"
- Keith Levene - guitar, synthesizer
- Jah Wobble - bass
- David Humphrey - drums on "Death Disco", "½ Mix"
- Richard Dudanski - drums on "No Birds Do Sing"
- Jim Walker - drums on "Megga Mix"
References
- ^ Alexander, Phil (1 April 2014). "20 Great Post-Punk Tracks". Mojo. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
- ISBN 978-1-59376-477-7.
- ^ a b Kellman, Andy. "Death Disco - Public Image Ltd. | Song Info". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 14 March 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
- ^ Select, December 1990
- ^ "Albums and Tracks of the Year". NME. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
- ^ Lester, Paul (11 July 2008). "What's the weirdest chart hit of all time?". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 June 2017.