"Gay Bar" is a song by American rock band Electric Six. Written by band member Tyler Spencer, under the pseudonym Dick Valentine, it was released on June 2, 2003, as the second single from their debut studio album, Fire (2003). While both the song and music video received significant airplay, lyrics mentioning war were edited due to their possibly offensive nature, since the song made its air debut at the start of the Iraq War.
| "Gay Bar" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Electric Six | ||||
| from the album Fire | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | June 2, 2003[1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:20 | |||
| Label | XL | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Tyler Spencer | |||
| Producer(s) |
| |||
| Electric Six singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background and writing
editAccording to Spencer/Valentine, the idea for the song came up from incorrectly hearing the lyrics of DEVO's "Girl U Want" as "it's just a girl, it's just a girl at a gay bar" while the song was playing in a very loud nightclub. (The actual lyric is "She's just the girl, she's just the girl, the girl you want".)
Censorship
editIn the censored version of the song, the words "nuclear" and "war" (in the line "let's start a war, start a nuclear war") are cut out and a whiplash sound is used instead. A radio version in Japan exists in which the same lyrics are replaced with "let's do an edit, do a radio edit".[4]
Music video
editThe music video, directed by Tom Kuntz and Mike Maguire, was recorded in April 2003 at a movie studio in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The video depicts a series of Abraham Lincoln look-alikes in the White House, portrayed primarily by the band's lead singer Dick Valentine, but doubles were used for some scenes.[5]
Awards
editThe song was nominated for the Kerrang! Award for Best Single.[6] It also won Video of the Year award (2003) from both Kerrang and Q magazine.[5]
Track listings
editUK, Australian, and New Zealand CD single[7]
- "Gay Bar"
- "Don't Be Afraid of the Robot"
- "Take Off Your Clothes"
UK 7-inch single[8]
- A. "Gay Bar"
- B. "The Living End"
UK DVD single[9]
- "Gay Bar" (video)
- "Gay Bar" (Peaches remix)
- "Rockshow"
Charts
editCertifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[16] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
Legacy
edit- The band recorded "Gay Bar Part Two", a sequel to this song, for their album Flashy. The song was less of a direct sequel, opting instead to satirise their annoyance caused by people demanding a follow-up song as well as troubles with their previous record label demanding that they record "another Gay Bar".
- The band performed the song on their first live album Absolute Pleasure.
- The band performed the song in their live concert movie Absolute Treasure.
- A live performance of the song at Manumission Ibiza in 2004 was included on the band's compilation album Mimicry and Memories.
Covers
editCanadian electronic musician Peaches covered the song as a bonus track for her album Fatherfucker.[17]
The Bosshoss played a cover of the song during their 2010 "Low Voltage" tour.[18] A studio version was released on their album Stallion Battalion.
British comedy duo Armstrong & Miller parodied the "Gay Bar" in their series promotional video for BBC One in the United Kingdom.[19]
References
edit- ^ "New Releases – For Week Starting 2 June 2003: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. May 31, 2003. p. 21. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
- ^ Phares, Heather. "Fire – Electric Six". AllMusic. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
- ^ Petridis, Alexis (June 27, 2003). "Electric Six: Fire". The Guardian. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
- ^ Video on YouTube Retrieved March 29, 2013.
- ^ a b "Electric Six". Archived from the original on October 27, 2006.
- ^ "Kerrang! awards 2003: The nominations". BBC. August 6, 2003. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
- ^ Gay Bar (UK, Australian & New Zealand CD single liner notes). Electric Six. XL Recordings. 2003. XLS 158CD.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Gay Bar (UK 7-inch single liner notes). Electric Six. XL Recordings. 2003. XLS 158.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Gay Bar (UK DVD single liner notes). Electric Six. XL Recordings. 2003. XLS 158DVD.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 21, no. 26. June 21, 2003. p. 15. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
- ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Electric Six". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
- ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
- ^ "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
- ^ "The Official UK Singles Chart 2003" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
- ^ "British single certifications – Electric Six – Gay Bar". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
- ^ "Peaches – Fatherfucker". Discogs. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
- ^ Video on YouTube
- ^ "Gay Bar Song - The Armstrong and Miller Show - S2 Ep4 Preview - BBC One". November 2, 2009. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2018 – via Official BBC channel on YouTube.