| "Caught by the Fuzz" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Supergrass | ||||
| from the album I Should Coco | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | 17 October 1994 | |||
| Studio | Sawmills (Golant, England) | |||
| Genre | Punk rock, pop-punk [1] | |||
| Length | 2:17 | |||
| Label | Parlophone | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) |
| |||
| Supergrass singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
 Backbeat Records release | ||||
"Caught by the Fuzz" is the debut single of Britpop band Supergrass.
Supergrass had released "Caught by the Fuzz" and "Mansize Rooster" as singles on Backbeat Records, which sold out quickly and gained the interest of record producer Sam Williams, who then offered to record some demos of the band's other songs at Sawmills Studio. These acclaimed demos attracted major label interest, and after an A&R scrutinised gig at the Jericho Tavern in Oxford, they managed to secure a deal with Parlophone.
Despite being a new and obscure band, critics welcomed Supergrass as a voice of youth, in part because they were so young, but also because their music was fresh, exuberant and fast-paced. Even before being signed to a major label "Caught by the Fuzz" had been put at number five on John Peel's Festive 50 of 1994. Although Supergrass had not been around long, they were named Band Of The Month in FHM after only two singles on Parlophone, and were supporting acts such as Blur, the Bluetones and Shed Seven.
The song is written around the true-life incident of lead singer Gaz Coombes' arrest and caution for being caught in possession of cannabis (in the U.K. in the 1980s, "blow" was often used as slang for hash) at the age of 15. [2] [3] One of the members of the Seattle rock band Presidents of the United States of America said with regard to "Caught by the Fuzz": "This song is exactly what being a teenager sounds like." [4]
The single was initially released in August 1994 on Backbeat Records, with a limited number of copies pressed (it is believed that more copies have been pressed since Supergrass signed to Parlophone), on only a 7-inch vinyl format. [5] "Caught by the Fuzz" was on the A-side and "Strange Ones" the B-side. They are, however, both slightly different versions from the ones that can be found on later Parlophone releases). In 1994, before appearing on their debut album, I Should Coco , the song was released on an EP by the Fierce Panda label, entitled Crazed and Confused. [6]
The sleeve cover is a black-and-white caricature of a policeman pointing his finger accusingly, encapsulating the idea of being 'caught by the fuzz'. A mug shot of Hugh Grant was originally intended to be the artwork of the United States single sleeve, but the idea was later dropped after Grant's lawyers complained. [7] [8] There is an unofficially released video for the acoustic version of the song as well, which was filmed in the same fashion as the original video, but uses different footage and adds some scenes of Morris dancers.
The single just missed out on the top 40 of UK Singles Chart by reaching number 43 on the UK Singles Chart, and it failed to chart in the United States. [9] [10] The song was included in John Peel's Festive 50 at number five at the time of its release in 1994. [11] "Caught By the Fuzz" peaked at number 95 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart in August 1995. [12]
The music video is a montage of footage of the band, onstage and offstage, filmed on a Super 8 camera. [13] It was also the first music video directed by Dom and Nic. The video for the single appears in the Beavis & Butthead episode "Sprout" (1996). [14] There is also an alternate version of the music video, which was released in the US using a collage of footage of Supergrass in America instead.
On one occasion, Supergrass played "Caught by the Fuzz" on Top of the Pops via satellite. [15] The film pictured Mick Quinn wearing a T-shirt with Hugh Grant's mug shot printed onto it (this was around the time Grant was arrested for lewd conduct with a prostitute [16] ). During one performance at Leicester University Ball, Supergrass convinced a real policeman to introduce the song. [17] On a final night of supporting the Foo Fighters in Europe, Taylor Hawkins of the band joined Supergrass to play the drums on "Caught by the Fuzz". In an interview on the DVD accompanying the Supergrass Is 10 compilation, Danny Goffey recalls Hawkins playing the drums "at about 500 miles per hour". [18]
Backbeat 7-inch single
CD single
7-inch and cassette single
| Chart (1994) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Scotland (OCC) [19] | 55 |
| UK Singles (OCC) [20] | 43 |
| Chart (1995) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA) [12] | 95 |
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref(s). |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 17 October 1994 |
| Parlophone | [21] [22] |
| Japan | 19 April 1995 | Mini-CD | EMI | [23] |
Supergrass are an English rock band formed in 1993 in Oxford. For the majority of the band's tenure, the line-up consisted of brothers Gaz and Rob Coombes (keyboards), Mick Quinn and Danny Goffey. Originally a three-piece, the band was officially joined by Rob Coombes in 2002.
I Should Coco is the debut studio album by English alternative rock band Supergrass, released on 15 May 1995 by Parlophone. The title of the album is Cockney rhyming slang for "I should think so".
In It for the Money is the second studio album by English alternative rock band Supergrass, released in 1997. NME called it "more fun than watching a wombat in a washing machine" and named it the 10th best album of the year. In 1998, Q readers voted it the 68th greatest album of all time, while in 2000 the same magazine placed it at number 57 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever.
Supergrass Is 10 is a compilation album celebrating the first 10 years of the band Supergrass. It includes singles from their first release, "Caught by the Fuzz" (1994), to their then latest release, "Kiss of Life" (2004).
Gareth Michael "Gaz" Coombes is an English musician, best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the alternative rock band Supergrass. He first entered the music scene aged 14 as the lead singer of the band The Jennifers which featured Supergrass bandmate Danny Goffey.
Daniel Robert Goffey is an English musician and singer-songwriter. He is best known as the drummer and backing vocalist for Supergrass. He briefly toured with Babyshambles in 2010, following their drummer's departure.
"Pumping on Your Stereo" is a song by Supergrass, released as their first single from their self-titled third album (1999) on 24 May 1999. The single reached No. 11 on the UK Singles Chart and in New Zealand. It also peaked at No. 13 on the Canadian RPM Top 30 Rock Report in May 2000. In October 2011, NME placed it at No. 124 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".
"Moving" is a song by English rock band Supergrass from their eponymous third album (1999). Released as a single in September 1999, "Moving" reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Supergrass's last top-10 hit. In addition, it peaked at number 14 in Finland, where it is the band's sole top-20 hit, and number 81 in the Netherlands. The song later appeared on their greatest hits compilation Supergrass Is 10 (2004). The song features over the closing credits of East is East.
"Alright" is a song by British alternative rock band Supergrass. It was released with "Time" as a double A-side single from their debut album, I Should Coco (1995), on 3 July 1995 by Parlophone. It was concurrently released on the soundtrack of the 1995 movie Clueless, which helped it become a big hit for the band. "Alright" peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, number six in Iceland, number eight in Ireland, number 30 in France and number 96 in Australia. The music video for the song was directed by Dom and Nic and filmed in North Wales.
"Mansize Rooster" is a song by English rock band Supergrass, released as the second single from their debut album, I Should Coco (1995). It reached number 20 on the UK Singles Chart, remaining on the chart for three weeks.
"Going Out" is the first single from English rock band Supergrass's second studio album, In It for the Money (1997). It was released on 26 February 1996, more than a year before the album, and reached five on the UK Singles Chart and number 20 on the Irish Singles Chart. The song was apparently originally written in the key of E because the engine of Supergrass' tour bus would tick at that same musical pitch.
"Richard III" is a song by English rock band Supergrass. It was the second single released from the band's second album, In It for the Money (1997), after "Going Out", which was released over a year before. "Richard III" was released in March 1997 and reached number two on the UK Singles Chart on 6 April, their highest placing since "Alright" / "Time" in 1995, which also peaked at number two. The song also reached number 21 in Iceland and number 30 in Ireland.
"Late in the Day" was the fourth and final single from Britpop band Supergrass' second studio album, In It for the Money (1997). It was released in October 1997 and reached number 18 on the UK Singles Chart. The song also charted in Iceland, peaking at number 32 in November 1997. The two CD releases of the single have the same photo as their cover but the colours of one have been reversed on the second one.
"Mary" was the third and final single from the Britpop band Supergrass' eponymous third album. Released in November 1999, it reached number 36 on the UK Singles Chart. This was the last Supergrass single to be released on cassette.
"Grace" is a song by Britpop band Supergrass. It was the second single to be taken from Life on Other Planets (2002), the band's fourth studio album. It was released on 16 September 2002 and reached number 13 on the UK Singles Chart. Unlike the previous single, "Never Done Nothing Like That Before", a vinyl-only release, it was released on all major formats.
"Seen the Light" is a song by English rock band Supergrass. It was the third single from their fourth album Life on Other Planets. It was the first Supergrass release on DVD and reached number 22 on the UK Singles Chart when it was released in January 2003. The B-Side "The Loner" is a cover version of a Neil Young song.
dom&nic is the working name of directors Nic Goffey and Dominic Hawley. They have been directing music videos and commercials since 1994.
The discography of Supergrass, an English alternative rock band, consists of six studio albums, three extended plays, two compilation albums, 26 singles and 24 music videos. They were formed in 1993 by Gaz Coombes, Mick Quinn and Danny Goffey. Rising to prominence during the Britpop era in the mid-1990s with their single "Alright", they were joined by Rob Coombes in 2002 (keyboards) until their demise on 11 June 2010.
Diamond Hoo Ha is the sixth and final studio album by British alternative rock band Supergrass, released in the UK on 24 March 2008, and offers a return to punchier Supergrass songs, in comparison to the more mellow Road to Rouen, their previous album released in 2005. Several songs appearing on the album were performed at Guilfest 2007. In November 2007, the track "Diamond Hoo Ha Man"—one of the songs debuted at Guilfest—was distributed as the first single on a limited vinyl release, restricted to 1500 copies. "Bad Blood" followed as the second single on 17 March 2008, peaking in the top 75 at number 73.
Mick Quinn is an English musician and singer-songwriter. He is best known as founding member of English rock band Supergrass. He is a permanent member of fellow Oxford band Swervedriver.
