"Count in Fives" is a song by English rock band

the Horrors The Horrors are an English rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea in 2005, consisting of lead vocalist Faris Badwan, guitarist Joshua Hayward, keyboardist and synthesizer player Tom Furse, bassist Rhys Webb, and drummer and percussionist Joe Spurg ...

, released in October 2006 by

Loog Records Loog Records is a UK-based record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as an imprint of Polydor Records. The label was launched in 2003 and managed by former NME editor James Oldham. It is named after former Rolling Stones manag ...

as a single from their debut album, '' Strange House''.

Content

The song is about vocalist

Faris Badwan Faris Adam Derar Badwan (born 21 September 1986) is an English musician, best known as the lead vocalist of the Horrors, and more recently as half of Cat's Eyes. Early life Born in Bexley, Kent on 21 September 1986 to a Palestinian father and ...

's childhood obsession with arranging things in groups of five. The

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

, "A Knife in Their Eye", featured lyrics written by Badwan set to music by

the Monks The Monks, referred to by the name monks on record sleeves, were an American garage rock band formed in Gelnhausen, West Germany in 1964. Assembled by five American GIs stationed in the country, the group grew tired of the traditional format ...

Music video

The music video featured people using sign language to "act out" the music and lyrics of the song. A minor controversy erupted when it was discovered that part of the song (the intro and verse) was an uncredited replica of

We the People The Preamble to the United States Constitution, beginning with the words We the People, is a brief introductory statement of the Constitution's fundamental purposes and guiding principles. Courts have referred to it as reliable evidence o ...

's "My Brother, the Man".

Release

Like other singles by the band, it could not chart as it came packaged with stickers.

Reception

Mojo Mojo may refer to: *Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * '' ...

'' described the single as a "glorious piece of

Farfisa Farfisa (Fabbriche Riunite di Fisarmoniche) is a manufacturer of electronics based in Osimo, Italy, founded in 1946. The company manufactured a series of compact electronic organs in the 1960s and 1970s, including the Compact, FAST, Professiona ...

organ-led madness".

Drowned in Sound ''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums. History ''D ...

's Dom Gourlay wrote: "if I was sixteen again, I'd be going nuts for something like this, particularly so in the current climate of market-orientated alternative music like

the Kooks The Kooks () are an English pop-rock band formed in 2004 in Brighton. The band consists of Luke Pritchard (vocals/rhythm guitar), Hugh Harris (lead guitar/synthesizer/bass) and Alexis Nunez (drums). Their music is primarily influenced by the ...

the Feeling ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

and

Razorlight Razorlight are an English indie rock band, formed in 2002 in London by lead singer and guitarist Johnny Borrell. Along with Borrell, the current line-up of the band is composed of founding members Björn Ågren on guitar and bassist Carl Delemo ...

. For that reason alone, The Horrors are as important as anything else you care to mention at this moment in time: 'Count in Fives' is loud, fast, sharp and exciting, if not exactly new – you can find this sort of thing on any retrospective Pebbles _or Nuggets _compilation of the last 40 years – yet at the same time there's no one else out there making a similar racket, or indeed impact, in such a short space of time."

Track listing

; 7" 1 # "Count in Fives" # "Who Says?" ; 7" 2 # "Count in Fives" # "A Knife in Their Eye"

References

2006 singles 2007 songs The Horrors songs {{2000s-rock-single-stub lt:Count in Fives