"Another Brick in the Wall" | |
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Song by Pink Floyd | |
from the album The Wall | |
Published | Pink Floyd Music Publishers |
Released | 30 November 1979 |
Recorded | April–November 1979 |
Genre | |
Length | 8:28 (All three parts)
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Label | |
Songwriter(s) | Roger Waters |
Producer(s) |
"Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" | ||||
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Single by Pink Floyd | ||||
from the album The Wall | ||||
B-side | "One of My Turns" | |||
Released | 23 November 1979 [1] | |||
Recorded | April – November 1979 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length |
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Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | Roger Waters | |||
Pink Floyd singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2" on YouTube |
"Another Brick in the Wall" is a three-part composition on Pink Floyd's 1979 album The Wall , written by the bassist, Roger Waters. "Part 2", a protest song against corporal punishment and rigid and abusive schooling, features a children's choir. At the suggestion of the producer, Bob Ezrin, Pink Floyd added elements of disco.
"Part 2" was Pink Floyd's first UK single since "Point Me at the Sky" (1968). It sold more than four million copies worldwide and topped singles charts in 14 countries, including the UK and the US. It was nominated for a Grammy Award and was ranked number 384 on Rolling Stone 's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
The three parts of "Another Brick in the Wall" appear on Pink Floyd's 1979 rock opera album The Wall . They are essentially one verse each, although Part 2 sees its own verse sung twice: once by Floyd members, and the second time by the guest choir along with Waters and Gilmour. During "Part 1", the protagonist, Pink, begins building a metaphorical wall around himself following the death of his father. In "Part 2", traumas involving his overprotective mother and abusive schoolteachers become bricks in the wall. Following a violent breakdown in "Part 3", Pink dismisses everyone he knows as "just bricks in the wall." [2] [3]
Bassist Roger Waters wrote "Part 2" as a protest against rigid schooling, particularly boarding schools. [4] "Another Brick in the Wall" appears in the film based on the album. In the "Part 2" sequence, children enter a school and march in unison through a meat grinder, becoming "putty-faced" clones, before rioting and burning down the school. [5]
At the suggestion of the producer Bob Ezrin, Pink Floyd added elements of disco, which was popular at the time. According to the guitarist, David Gilmour:
[Ezrin] said to me, "Go to a couple of clubs and listen to what's happening with disco music," so I forced myself out and listened to loud, four-to-the-bar bass drums and stuff and thought, Gawd, awful! Then we went back and tried to turn one of the parts into one of those so it would be catchy. [6]
Gilmour recorded his guitar solo using a 1955 Gibson Les Paul Gold Top guitar with P-90 pickups. [7] Despite his reservations, Gilmour felt the final song sounded like Pink Floyd. [6] When Ezrin heard the song with a disco beat, he was convinced it could become a hit, but felt it needed to be longer, with two verses and two choruses. The band resisted, saying they did not release singles; Waters told him: "Go ahead and waste your time doing silly stuff." [8]
While the band members were away, Ezrin edited the takes into an extended version. He also had the engineer Nick Griffiths record children singing the verse at Islington Green School, close to Pink Floyd's studio. [8] Griffiths was instructed to record only two or three children. Inspired by a Todd Rundgren album featuring an audience in each stereo channel, he suggested recording an entire school choir. The school allotted only 40 minutes for the recording. [9]
Alun Renshaw, the head of music at the school, was enthusiastic, and said later: "I wanted to make music relevant to the kids – not just sitting around listening to Tchaikovsky. I thought the lyrics were great – 'We don't need no education, we don't need no thought control' ... I just thought it would be a wonderful experience for the kids." [10] The children's choir in the recording featured 23 students, who practised for about a week to prepare. [11] Renshaw hid the lyrics from the headteacher, Margaret Maden, fearing she might stop the recording. [12] Maden said: "I was only told about it after the event, which didn't please me. But on balance it was part of a very rich musical education." [12]
Renshaw and the children spent a week practising before he took them to a recording studio near the school. [13] According to Ezrin, when he played the children's vocals to Waters, "There was a total softening of his face, and you just knew that he knew it was going to be an important record." [6] Waters said: "It was great—exactly the thing I expected from a collaborator." [6]
In exchange for performing vocals, the children of Islington School received tickets to a Pink Floyd concert, an album and a single. [14] Though the school received a payment of £1,000, there was no arrangement for royalties for the children. [15] Following a change to UK copyright law in 1996, they became eligible for royalties from broadcasts. After the royalties agent Peter Rowan traced the choir members through the social network service Friends Reunited and other means, they successfully lodged a claim for royalties with the Performing Artists' Media Rights Association in 2004. [15]
"Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" was released as a single, Pink Floyd's first in the UK since "Point Me at the Sky" (1968).[ citation needed ] It was also the Christmas number one of 1979 and the final number one of the decade in the UK. [16] In the US, it reached number 57 on the disco chart. [17] The single sold over 4 million copies worldwide. [4] Cash Box described it as a "catchy but foreboding selection, with its ominously steady drum work and angry lyrics." [18]
The song won Waters the 1983 British Academy Award for Best Original Song for its appearance in the Wall film. [19] "Part 2" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Rock Duo or Group.[ citation needed ] It appeared at number 384 on Rolling Stone 's 2010 list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". [20]
The lyrics attracted controversy. The Inner London Education Authority described the song as "scandalous", and according to Renshaw, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher "hated it". [13] Renshaw said, "There was a political knee-jerk reaction to a song that had nothing to do with the education system. It was [Waters'] reflections on his life and how his schooling was part of that." [13] The single, as well as the album The Wall, were banned in South Africa in 1980 after it was adopted by supporters of a nationwide school boycott protesting instituted racial inequities in education under apartheid. [21] [22]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
All-time charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Canada | — | 260,000 [61] |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [62] | Platinum | 90,000‡ |
France (SNEP) [63] | Gold | 500,000* |
Germany (BVMI) [64] | Gold | 250,000^ |
Italy (FIMI) [65] | 2× Platinum | 100,000‡ |
South Africa | — | 60,000 [66] |
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [67] | Platinum | 60,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [68] | Platinum | 1,146,548 [69] |
United States (RIAA) [70] physical | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [70] digital | Gold | 500,000* |
Summaries | ||
Worldwide | — | 4,000,000 [4] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Personnel, according to The Pink Floyd Encyclopedia. [71]
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
"Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2 (Live in Berlin)" | ||||
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Single by Roger Waters, with Cyndi Lauper | ||||
from the album The Wall – Live in Berlin | ||||
B-side | "Run Like Hell" (Potsdamer Mix) | |||
Released | 10 September 1990 | |||
Recorded | 21 July 1990 | |||
Genre | Rock, disco | |||
Length | 6:29 | |||
Label | Mercury Records | |||
Songwriter(s) | Roger Waters | |||
Producer(s) | Roger Waters Nick Griffiths | |||
Roger Waters singles chronology | ||||
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A live version of "Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2" with Cyndi Lauper on vocals, recorded on 21 July 1990 at Potsdamer Platz, was released as a single on 10 September 1990 to promote The Wall – Live in Berlin . The B-side was the live version of "Run Like Hell" performed with Scorpions at the same concert.
In promotion of The Wall – Live in Berlin a new studio version was recorded by Roger Waters & The Bleeding Heart Band that was released on promo compilation titled The Wall Berlin '90 featuring Pink Floyd and Roger Waters solo recordings.
Another live version appeared on Waters' album In the Flesh – Live , integrated between "The Happiest Days of Our Lives" and "Mother" as on the original album, but with a reprise of the first verse ending the song.
For later shows, Waters usually employed local school choirs to perform the song with him (as can be seen on Roger Waters: The Wall ). From 2011 to 2013, Waters added an acoustic coda called "The Ballad of Jean Charles de Menezes". [72]
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Another Brick In The Wall (Part Two) (Edited Version)" | 4:02 |
2. | "Run Like Hell" | 5:07 |
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Another Brick In The Wall (Part Two) (Full Version)" | 6:29 |
2. | "Run Like Hell (Potsdamer Mix)" | 6:18 |
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Another Brick In The Wall (Part Two) (Full Version)" | 6:29 |
2. | "Run Like Hell (Potsdamer Mix)" | 6:18 |
3. | "Another Brick In The Wall (Part Two) (Edited Version)" | 4:02 |
"Another Brick in the Wall, Pts. 1–3" | ||||
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Promotional single by Korn | ||||
from the album Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 | ||||
Released | December 2004 | |||
Recorded | 2004 | |||
Studio | Elementree Studios (Tarzana, California) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 7:08 | |||
Label | Epic | |||
Songwriter(s) | Roger Waters | |||
Producer(s) | ||||
Korn singles chronology | ||||
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The American nu metal band Korn covered all three parts, along with the Wall song "Goodbye Cruel World", for the 2004 compilation album Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 . It was released as a promotional single and reached number 37 on the Modern Rock chart and number 12 on the Mainstream Rock chart. [73] [74] A live music video was released, directed by Bill Yukich. [75] Will Levith of Ultimate Classic Rock called Korn's cover "one of the worst covers of a classic rock song of all time". [76] Jason Birchmeier of AllMusic described it as "overwrought, yet enticingly so". [77]
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Another Brick in the Wall" | 7:08 |
Chart (2004) | Peak position |
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US Modern Rock Tracks ( Billboard ) [78] | 37 |
US Mainstream Rock Tracks ( Billboard ) [79] | 12 |
The Wall is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 30 November 1979 by Harvest/EMI and Columbia/CBS Records. It is a rock opera which explores Pink, a jaded rock star, as he constructs a psychological "wall" of social isolation. The Wall topped the US charts for 15 weeks and reached number three in the UK. It initially received mixed reviews from critics, many of whom found it overblown and pretentious, but later received accolades as one of the greatest albums of all time.
A Momentary Lapse of Reason is the 13th studio album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in the UK on 7 September 1987 by EMI and the following day in the US on Columbia. It was recorded primarily on the converted houseboat Astoria, belonging to the guitarist, David Gilmour.
The Division Bell is the 14th studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 28 March 1994 by EMI Records in the United Kingdom and on 5 April by Columbia Records in the United States.
Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd is the fourth compilation album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 5 November 2001 by EMI internationally and a day later by Capitol Records in the United States. It debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 album chart on 24 November 2001, with sales of 214,650 copies. It remained on the chart for 26 weeks. The album was certified gold, platinum and double platinum on 6 December 2001 in the US by the RIAA. It was certified triple platinum in the US on 8 January 2002, and quadruple platinum on 10 September 2007.
A Collection of Great Dance Songs is a compilation album by the English rock band Pink Floyd. It was released on 23 November 1981 in the United Kingdom by Harvest Records and in the United States by Columbia Records.
"Comfortably Numb" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on their eleventh studio album, The Wall (1979). It was released as a single in 1980, with "Hey You" as the B-side.
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Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980–81 is a live album released by Pink Floyd in 2000. It is a live rendition of The Wall, produced and engineered by James Guthrie, with tracks selected from the August 1980 and June 1981 performances at Earls Court in London. The album was first released in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2000, and a US/Canadian release by Columbia Records on 18 April.
"Have a Cigar" is the third track on Pink Floyd's 1975 album Wish You Were Here. It follows "Welcome to the Machine" and on the original LP opened side two. In some markets, the song was issued as a single. English folk-rock singer Roy Harper provided lead vocals on the song. It is one of only three Pink Floyd recordings with a guest singer on lead vocals, the others being "The Great Gig in the Sky" (1973) with Clare Torry and "Hey Hey Rise Up" (2022) with Andriy Khlyvnyuk. The song, written by Waters, is his critique of the rampant greed and cynicism so prevalent in the management of rock groups of that era.
"Mother" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd from their 1979 album The Wall.
"Don't Leave Me Now" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd. It appears on The Wall album (1979) and was released as a B-side on the single of "Run Like Hell". A 12" single of "Run Like Hell," "Don't Leave Me Now" and "Another Brick in the Wall " peaked at #57 on the Disco Top 100 chart in the U.S.
"Nobody Home" is a song from the Pink Floyd album The Wall. This song was one of several to be considered for the band's "best of" album, Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd.
"Run Like Hell" is a song by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, written by David Gilmour and Roger Waters. It appears on their eleventh studio album The Wall (1979). It was released as a single in 1980, reaching #15 in the Canadian singles chart and #18 in Sweden, but it only reached #53 in the U.S. A 12" single of "Run Like Hell," "Don't Leave Me Now" and "Another Brick in the Wall " peaked at #57 on the Disco Top 100 chart in the U.S. To date, it is the last original composition written by both Gilmour and Waters, the last of such under the Pink Floyd banner, and the last composition recorded by all four members of the 1970s-era Floyd lineup.
The Wall – Live in Berlin was a live concert performance by Roger Waters and numerous guest artists, of the Pink Floyd studio album The Wall, itself largely written by Waters during his time with the band. The show was held in Berlin on 21 July 1990, to commemorate the fall of the Berlin Wall eight months earlier. A live album of the concert was released 21 August 1990. A video of the concert was also commercially released.
"Learning to Fly" is a song by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, written by David Gilmour, Anthony Moore, Bob Ezrin, and Jon Carin. It was the first single from the band's thirteenth studio album A Momentary Lapse of Reason. It reached number 70 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 1 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart in September 1987, remaining three consecutive weeks at the top position in the autumn of the same year. Meanwhile, the song failed to chart on the official U.K. top 40 singles charts. On the other hand, in Spain, the song peaked at number 1 on the Los 40 Principales chart.
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(...) the group is in a hot water in South Africa due to censorship. A song from Pink's recent album, which has been on the charts for 20 weeks, "Another Brick in the Wall", which has now sold 60,000 copies, is now banned from being played. (...)