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"Kung Fu" | ||||
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Single by Ash | ||||
from the album 1977 | ||||
B-side |
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Released | 20 March 1995 | |||
Recorded | 27 December 1994 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 2:17 | |||
Label | Infectious | |||
Songwriter(s) | Tim Wheeler | |||
Producer(s) | Owen Morris | |||
Ash singles chronology | ||||
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"Kung Fu" is a song by the band Ash, released as the first single from their album, 1977 . It was released in March 1995 as a CD single, limited edition 7-inch, and standard 7-inch vinyl. The song was written by Tim Wheeler and produced by Owen Morris.
The song was written by Tim Wheeler in five minutes on Boxing Day 1994 at Belfast International Airport and recorded in one take on the following day. The song was recorded on the Verve's equipment, who were nearby recording their A Northern Soul album at the same time.
The song lyrics reference martial arts movie star Jackie Chan and the song was used in the advertising and during the bloopers at the end of the American release of Chan's film Rumble in the Bronx . Additionally, the song's intro is a sample from kung-fu flick Close Encounters of the Spooky Kind , starring Sammo Hung, which was being shown as part of a Channel 4 Kung-Fu film season shown over Christmas of that year. It is Hung's voice that can be heard in the sample.
When performed live, "Kung Fu" traditionally closed the band's sets in a two-minute rendition but was later moved to an earlier slot in the setlist. On the Nu-Clear Sounds tour, it ran to around 5 minutes, with a DJ filling the song with martial arts and computer game noises. Live versions of the song appear on the Barbie 7” EP and the Ash album Live at the Wireless .
The song appears on 1977 , Intergalactic Sonic 7″s , Ash's first greatest hits collection, and the Tokyo Blitz DVD. The song appeared with Ash's earlier single "Jack Names the Planets" on the film soundtrack of Angus .
The single was backed with two B-sides. The first B-side, "Day of the Triffids", tells an apocalyptic story of an invasion by aliens, and appears on the Cosmic Debris B-sides collection. It also appears on the US version of Trailer .
The second B-side, "Luther Ingo's Star Cruiser" was written by Wheeler and Mark Hamilton and is infamous for having uncommonly explicit lyrics. This was the B-side of the standard 7-inch vinyl (INFECT 21S) but since it was unsuitable for use in jukeboxes, another version (INFECT 21J) was pressed with "Day of the Triffids" as the B-side. This version was also released as a numbered limited edition.
The single reached number 57 on the UK Singles Chart, [5] and the sleeve pictured footballer Eric Cantona's kick on a spectator that occurred in January 1995. A music video directed by Steven Wells and Nick Small was also filmed. It consists of the band playing the song in concert, and occasionally footage of different people performing martial arts moves are cut in to the video.
The song was received warmly with NME awarding it 'Single of the Week', while Eric Cantona's kick on a spectator would top Q magazine's list of Top 50 Most Rock 'n Roll Moments of 1995.
All tracks written and composed by Tim Wheeler; except where indicated.
1977 is the debut studio album by Northern Irish rock band Ash. It was released on 6 May 1996 by Home Grown and Infectious Records, with whom the band had signed following the release of several demo tapes. Ash released the mini-album Trailer in 1994, and followed it with three singles "Kung Fu", "Girl from Mars", and "Angel Interceptor", all of which would reappear on 1977. Ash recorded their debut album with producer Owen Morris at Rockfield Studios in Wales in early 1996. Described as a Britpop, power pop and garage rock album, 1977 drew comparisons to the Buzzcocks, Dinosaur Jr., and Sonic Youth.
Ash are a Northern Irish rock band formed in Downpatrick, County Down in 1992 by vocalist and guitarist Tim Wheeler, bassist Mark Hamilton and drummer Rick McMurray. As a three-piece, they released mini-album Trailer in 1994 and full-length album 1977 in 1996. This 1996 release was named by NME as one of the 500 greatest albums of all time. After the success of their full debut the band recruited Charlotte Hatherley as a guitarist and vocalist, releasing their second record Nu-Clear Sounds in 1998. After narrowly avoiding bankruptcy, the band released Free All Angels in 2001 and a string of successful singles.
Trailer is a mini album by the band Ash featuring their first three singles. An expanded edition also includes four B-sides. The album was released in October 1994 through Infectious Records. The band considered it a "trailer" for their future debut album proper, and named it accordingly.
"Petrol" is a song by Northern Irish rock band Ash, released as the second single from their 1994 mini-album, Trailer, and as their first single on Infectious Records. It was released on 15 August 1994 on CD and 7-inch vinyl format. Only 500 copies of the 7-inch format were released and came with a numbered picture sleeve. The song reached number 96 on the UK Singles Chart in 1994, becoming their first single to reach the UK top 100.
"Shining Light" is a song by Ash, which was released as the first single from their album Free All Angels. It was released on 29 January 2001. It was released as a single CD and as a 7-inch vinyl. It was also Ash's first single to be released as an enhanced CD. "Shining Light" reached number eight on the UK Singles Chart. The song had been covered by fellow Downpatrick songwriter Triona in 2015 which featured on a Power NI advert.
Intergalactic Sonic 7″s is a singles collection, released by punk-influenced band Ash on 9 September 2002. It is available in two formats, with and without the bonus disc, Cosmic Debris. These are both available on CD and vinyl. It was released to celebrate Ash's tenth anniversary and collected the band's eighteen singles along with "Envy" a new song recorded specifically for the compilation. The American mixes of "Burn Baby Burn" "Jesus Says" and "Wildsurf" are included instead of their original mixes and a shorter edit of "Shining Light is included in place of the version featured on Free All Angels
"Jack Names the Planets" is the debut single by Ash, released in February 1994. The single was originally released on vinyl only and is entirely different from the album version that appears on their EP, Trailer. The single was re-released on 2 December 2002 in CD format as a limited edition with the Raptor 12" version of "Season" as an extra B-side, as part of the promotion for the Intergalactic Sonic 7″s greatest hits collection.
Roberta Kelly is an American disco and urban contemporary gospel singer who scored three hits on the US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart between 1976 and 1978. Her most successful US hit single, "Trouble-Maker", spent two weeks at No. 1.
"Orpheus" is the second single released in a physical format from the Meltdown album by the band Ash. It was released on 3 May 2004 and reached number 13 on the UK Singles Chart. It was released as a single CD as a gatefold 7" vinyl, as well as on DVD format. It was nominated for the Kerrang! Award for Best Single.
"Goldfinger" is a song by Northern Irish band Ash, released from their debut studio album, 1977 (1996), on 15 April 1996. The song was written by Tim Wheeler and produced by Owen Morris. It was released as a single CD, a 7-inch vinyl, and as a cassette.
"Sometimes" was the third single released from Northern Irish rock band Ash's third studio album, Free All Angels (2001). It was released on 9 July 2001 as two CD singles, as a 7-inch vinyl, and a DVD single. Although "Sometimes" reached only number 21 on the UK Singles Chart, it helped contribute to increase in sales for Free All Angels. The song also reached number 41 in Ireland.
Free All Angels is the third studio album to be recorded by Northern Irish rock band Ash. It was released on 23 April 2001 through Infectious Records and Home Grown. Due to the mixed reaction to the band's second studio album Nu-Clear Sounds (1998), frontman Tim Wheeler suffered from depression. He went to his parents' house in Northern Ireland to write material for the band's next album. Free All Angels was co-produced by the band and Owen Morris, and recording sessions were held at El Cortijo in Puerto Banús, Spain, then moved to The Wool Hall in Beckington and RAK Studios in London. The album was described as pop punk, power pop and punk rock, and drew comparisons to the works of China Drum, Compulsion, Hüsker Dü, and the Replacements.
"Angel Interceptor" is a song by Ash, released as the third single from their album 1977 on 9 October 1995. It was released as a single CD, a 7-inch vinyl, and as a cassette. The song was written by Rick McMurray and Tim Wheeler and produced by Owen Morris.
"Oh Yeah" is a song by Northern Irish rock band Ash, released as the fifth single from their debut studio album, 1977 (1996), on 24 June 1996. It was released on CD, 7-inch vinyl, and cassette formats. Upon its release, "Oh Yeah" debuted and peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Ash's second-highest-charting single on the chart following their previous release, "Goldfinger".
"A Life Less Ordinary" was a non-album single released by the band Ash on 13 October 1997. It was the title track of the film of the same name, "A Life Less Ordinary", starring Cameron Diaz and Ewan McGregor, and also appeared on the film's soundtrack. The single was released in three formats: CD, 7-inch vinyl, and cassette. The limited-edition 7-inch was printed on blue vinyl. The song peaked at number ten on the UK Singles Chart.
"Jesus Says" is a song by the band Ash, released as the first single from their second album Nu-Clear Sounds on 21 September 1998, reaching number 15 in the UK singles chart. It was released as a single CD, a 7" vinyl, and as a cassette. "Jesus Says" was Ash's highest selling single until "Shining Light" in 2001. The 7" version came with a picture sleeve and the UK promo version came in a custom rice paper picture wallet.
"Burn Baby Burn" is a song by Ash, released as the second single from the Free All Angels album on 2 April 2001, reaching number 13 on the UK Singles Chart and number 20 in Ireland. It was released as a single CD and as a 7" vinyl, and was also released for the first time on DVD format. The song can also be found on the Intergalactic Sonic 7″s hits collection.
"Candy" is a song by Ash, released as the fourth single from their album Free All Angels on 1 October 2001. It was released as a single CD as a 7-inch vinyl, as well as on DVD format. Candy performed only slightly better than previous single "Sometimes", reaching number 20 on the UK Singles Chart and number 25 in Ireland.
"There's a Star" is a song by Ash, released as the fifth single from their album Free All Angels, on 31 December 2001. It was released as a single CD as a 7-inch vinyl record and on DVD. "There's a Star" was a surprise hit for the band, reaching number 13 on the UK Singles Chart and giving them one of their best-selling singles, even though the single was deleted after one week. The song also reached number 38 in Ireland.
"Starcrossed" is the third single from the Meltdown album by the band Ash. It was released as a single on 19 July 2004 as a CD and a gatefold 7-inch vinyl, as well as a DVD format and various promo copies. "Starcrossed" was A-listed on BBC Radio 1 and was expected to be a major hit for the band, but it only made it to number 22 on the UK Singles Chart and number 43 in Ireland. However, the song was successful in the long run for the band and is considered one of their most popular songs.