"Babylon's Burning" is a single by the English

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band

The Ruts The Ruts (later known as The Ruts D.C.) are an English reggae-influenced punk rock band, notable for the 1979 UK top 10 hit single " Babylon's Burning", and an earlier single "In a Rut", which was not a hit but was highly regarded and regular ...

. Released in 1979, "Babylon's Burning" was The Ruts' debut single for

Richard Branson Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is an English business magnate who co-founded the Virgin Group in 1970, and controlled 5 companies remaining of once more than 400. Branson expressed his desire to become an entrepreneu ...

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

. The single peaked at number 7 on the UK Singles Chart, prompting the band's appearance on

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...

's ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

.'' Later in 1979, the band re-recorded the song and included it on their debut studio album, ''The Crack''. "Babylon's Burning" is considered one of The Ruts' signature songs.

Background and composition

Music journalists have described "Babylon's Burning" as a punk rock song first and foremost, with some identifying

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

influences as well. The Ruts' bassist, John "Segs" Jennings, stated that the song was "rooted in reggae". Jennings would play a scale during warmups, which The Ruts' guitarist Paul Fox adapted into the main riff of "Babylon's Burning" during a warmup session. Malcolm Owen wrote the lyrics. Jennings stated that Owen wrote the lines ''"with anxiety"'' in a way that was intended to excite audiences during live performances: "I realize now if I'm playing it ive what's the bit you sing along with? You sing along, 'with anxiety.' The whole crowd goes wild, owhat he added to that was great." The version of "Babylon's Burning" that appears on ''The Crack'' begins with the sound of a blaring alarm against the backdrop of police car sirens. The alarm and sirens are absent from the single. The lyrics of "Babylon's Burning" are political in nature and touch upon the theme of unrest and strife in British urban centres. The lyrics also explore urban

riots A riot or mob violence is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The p ...

and took specific inspiration from the Southall riots in April 1979 and the death of Blair Peach, an

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

protestor whose killing came to symbolize

police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or Public order policing, a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, b ...

Reception

"Babylon's Burning" peaked at number 7 on the UK Singles Chart. It was the band's highest-charting single in the UK and their only top ten single; it spent a total of 11 weeks on the chart and was also their longest-charting single. The chart success of "Babylon's Burning" made it the fifth most successful punk rock song in the UK's chart history, behind four songs by the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

. The single's success led to The Ruts making an appearance on ''Top of the Pops.'' To Jennings' recollection, the single for "Babylon's Burning" sold 230,000 copies, about 20,000 sales short of achieving silver certification. Several reviews of ''The Crack'' distinguished "Babylon's Burning" as one of the album's strongest tracks. In their review of ''The Crack'',

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

distinguished "Babylon's Burning" as a highlight of the album, stating that the song was a demonstration of the group's lyrical strengths and that the song "turns a powerful punk-rocker into an epic, with singer Malcolm Owen capturing the anger, frustration, and horror of anyone caught up in a riot." A reviewer from Wow Vinyl described vocalist Malcolm Owen's performance as "the best-ever punk vocal" and described the song's sound as " rabbingyou by the throat and never

etting Etting (; ; Lorraine Franconian: ''Ettinge'') is a commune in the Moselle department of the Grand Est administrative region in north-eastern France. The village belongs to the Pays de Bitche. See also * Communes of the Moselle department ...

up," complimenting its sound for " apturingnot only the smouldering hatred and anger spilling out onto the streets but also the unadulterated fear that accompanies anarchism." Their reviewer also called the song "direct and explosive," a departure from the reggae sound the band would adopt in other songs like "Jah War."

Legacy

Brian Baker, one of

Bad Religion Bad Religion is an American punk rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1980. The band's lyrics cover topics related to religion, politics, society, the media and science. Musically, they are noted for their melodic sensibilities and ...

's guitarists, cited "Babylon's Burning" as being influential to him. Baker stated that he found the song's prominent riff particularly influential and "copied" it on several Bad Religion records: "I'd heard

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...

and

, but never anything articulated like this and nothing that built this kind of tension." Baker stated that Paul Fox's performance on the song inspired him to begin playing the guitar. On 18 October 2005, The Ruts released a tribute to "Babylon's Burning" in the form of a full-length album called ''Babylon's Burning: Reconstructed Dub-Drenched Soundscapes,'' featuring 16 remixes and covers of the song by bands and musicians from various genres, including

Die Toten Hosen Die Toten Hosen are a German punk rock band from Düsseldorf. The name is taken from the German slang idiom ''tote Hose'' (literally "dead trousers"), which means "nothing happening"; "boring". The band has had an important success through th ...

Don Letts Donovan Letts (born 10 January 1956) is a British film director, disc jockey (DJ) and musician. Letts first came to prominence as the videographer for the Clash, directing several of their music videos. In 1984, Letts co-founded the band Big Au ...

, Rob Smith,

Dreadzone Dreadzone are a British electronic music group formed in 1993 in London by ex-Big Audio Dynamite drummer Greg Roberts and musician Tim Bran. They have released nine studio albums, two live albums, and two compilations. They gained a reputatio ...

, and the Groove Corporation.{{Cite web , date=2005-10-18 , title=Babylon's Burning Reconstructed – Ruts {{! Album {{! AllMusic , url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/babylons-burning-reconstructed-mw0000387974 , url-status=live , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250405124042/https://www.allmusic.com/album/babylons-burning-reconstructed-mw0000387974 , archive-date=2025-04-05 , access-date=2025-04-05 , website=

References

1979 in British music 1979 songs Political songs Punk rock songs Reggae songs Songs about police brutality