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Under the Gun (The Sisters of Mercy song)

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"Under the Gun"
Single by the Sisters of Mercy
from the album A Slight Case of Overbombing: Greatest Hits Vol. 1
Released16 August 1993 (1993-08-16)[1]
Genre
Length
  • 5:41 (album version)
  • 6:16 (single)
  • 4:02 (edit)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Andrew Eldritch
  • Billie Hughes
The Sisters of Mercy singles chronology
"Temple of Love"
(1992) 		"Under the Gun"
(1993)
Music video
"Under the Gun" on YouTube

"Under the Gun" is a song by the English rock band the Sisters of Mercy released as the single from their album A Slight Case of Overbombing: Greatest Hits Vol. 1. It is a duet featuring Terri Nunn on vocals, and was accompanied by a music video with Andrew Eldritch and Nunn. It is the only new song on a greatest hits compilation released in 1993 by Merciful Release on EastWest Records, a UK Warner Music Group label.[2] This is the band's most recent single as of 2024.

The single reached No. 19 on the UK Singles Chart.[3][4] The song was written by Andrew Eldritch, Billie Hughes, and Roxanne Seeman,  It was co-produced by Eldritch and Hughes.[5] Additional production was credited to Ian Stanley.[6] Two alternate mixes of "Under the Gun" were included in the 2017 bonus tracks of the Sisters of Mercy's compilation album Some Girls Wander by Mistake, released on their own label Merciful Release and distributed by EastWest Records and Warner Music UK.[7][8]

Song information

Chris Roberts in Melody Maker described the song as "a big Berlin ballad (of Heart, Roxette, etc)" with "several thousand epic heartbreaking refrains" of the chorus hook "Are you living for love?" noting Eldritch's "restrained guitar foreplay" and "fiendish subliminal rant", while comparing it to "the melodrama of Bowie's 'Sweet Thing/Candidate".[9]

The song is mostly a cover of "Two Worlds Apart", a song written by Hughes and Seeman and released on Hughes' album Welcome to the Edge.[10] It appeared earlier as a love theme for the characters of Michael & Julia in the television series Santa Barbara.[11]

Critical reception

Karen Holmes, The Network 40 praised the song: "Nunn rounds out Andrew's talent for finding incredible females voices to collaborate with. Andrew's contribution to the sexual passion is subliminal with taunting vocals that intensifies Nunn's pipes."[12]

In a glowing review in Melody Maker, Chris Roberts wrote "This is a colossus of a record...ironic and yet thoroughly serious, the spoof vulture of youth culture chimes in belalugubriously [sic] ...Gothic only as in arch, this is as far from indie as it gets.  A black (comedy) beauty".[13]

Larry Flick for Single Reviews in Billboard lauded the "Pure gothic tune from this descendant act of Bauhaus et al" writing "Vocals blend beautifully in chorus" while opining "the emphasis on max atmosphere may make track obtuse for newcomers."[14]

Artists' commentary

  • Terri Nunn (April 2002): "[Andrew Eldritch] asked if I was going to use it for my record, and since I couldn't get anybody excited about it... It was really strange and dark, and he said 'Well, I want to do it, why don't we sing it?' It was called 'Under the Gun', and we sang it for the Best of Sisters album." "My record company rejected this song for my own record."[15][16][17]
  • Andrew Eldritch (1993): "The tape I was working from already had her vocal on it. Although I met her once in the mid-80's I didn't meet her to make the record. I just fucked around with the tape that her vocal was already on. But that was one of the reasons for my wanting to cover that song and change it around, because I thought her vocal on it was great! So I used the original demo because I don't see the point in re-recording something that is already so great to start with. So I edited it, I changed the bass, the drums and keyboards around what was already there a little bit. I got a friend of mine from Leeds [Adam Pearson] to put some electric guitars on, and then sang my stuff. So the original version sounds kind of like, I don't know, a sort of Jennifer Rush song I suppose, and the new song sounds like Jennifer Rush from hell!"[18]

Track listings

"Under the Gun" was written by Eldritch, Hughes, and Seeman. "Alice" was written by Eldritch.

7-inch: Merciful Release / MR59
No.TitleLength
1."Under the Gun"6:16
2."Alice" (1993)"3:57
12-inch: Merciful Release / MR59T
No.TitleLength
1."Under the Gun" (Metropolis mix)"6:16
2."Alice (1993)"3:56
3."Under the Gun (Jutland mix)"6:20
CD: Merciful Release / MR59CD
No.TitleLength
1."Under the Gun" (Metropolis mix)"6:16
2."Alice (1993)"3:57
3."Under the Gun (Jutland mix)"6:20

Personnel

Personnel are lifted from the album's liner notes.[19]

Charts

Chart (1993) Peak
position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100 Singles)[20] 51
Germany (GfK)[21] 40
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[22] 17
UK Singles (OCC)[23] 19

References

  1. ^ "Single Releases". Music Week. 14 August 1993. p. 23.
  2. ^ Music & Media (PDF). 11 September 1993. p. 23.
  3. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 504. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  4. ^ "UK Top 40 Chart Archive, British Singles & Album Charts". everyHit.com. 16 March 2000. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  5. ^ Under The Gun - The Sisters of Mercy | Song Info | AllMusic, retrieved 26 February 2021
  6. ^ A Greatest Hits, Vol. 1: A Slight Case of Overbombing - The Sisters of Mercy | Credits | AllMusic, retrieved 26 February 2021
  7. ^ "The Sisters of Mercy's 'Some Girls Wander By Mistake' to receive 4LP box set reissue". slicing up eyeballs // 80s alternative music, college rock, indie. 12 July 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  8. ^ "The Sisters Of Mercy - Some Girls Wander By Mistake | Rhino". www.rhino.com. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  9. ^ "Singles reviewed by Chris Roberts". Melody Maker. 14 August 1993.
  10. ^ Welcome to the Edge - Billie Hughes | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic, retrieved 26 February 2021
  11. ^ List of musical works used on the NBC television series Santa Barbara in the period 1984 - 1993 (PDF).
  12. ^ Holmes, Karen (24 September 1993). The Network 40, Alternative Music Meeting (PDF). p. 38.
  13. ^ "Melody Maker August 14,1993". noanoamusic.com. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  14. ^ Flick, Larry (2 October 1993). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. p. 75.
  15. ^ Terri Nunn interview, Chorusandverse.com website, 13 December 2002
  16. ^ Terri Nunn, Berlinpage.com website, 25 August 2004
  17. ^ "The Popdose Interview: Terri Nunn". Popdose. 19 September 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  18. ^ Andrew Eldritch TV interview, ZTV Sweden, late 1993
  19. ^ A Slight Case of Overbombing (booklet). Merciful Release/East West Records. 1993.
  20. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 36. 4 September 1993. p. 23.
  21. ^ "The Sisters of Mercy – Under the Gun" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  22. ^ "The Sisters of Mercy – Under the Gun". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  23. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
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