"Fire Brigade" is a song written by Roy Wood and performed by The Move. Released as the group's fourth single in Britain in February 1968, it reached No. 3 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. A cover version was recorded by

The Fortunes The Fortunes are an English harmony beat group. Formed in Birmingham, the Fortunes first came to prominence and international acclaim in 1965, when "You've Got Your Troubles" broke into the US, Canadian, and UK Top 10s. Afterwards, they had ...

and released as a single in the US, but did not chart. According to Wood, he wrote the song in a single overnight session after manager Tony Secunda told the band, who had just finished playing a concert, that he had a studio session lined up for the next morning and that they needed to record a single. Since Wood did not have any songs ready that he thought would be a good single, the rest of the Move left him alone in a hotel room (which they normally doubled up on) to write one. The song uses a riff derived from " Somethin' Else" by

Eddie Cochran Ray Edward Cochran (; October 3, 1938 – April 17, 1960) was an American rock and roll musician. Cochran's songs, such as "Twenty Flight Rock", "Summertime Blues", " C'mon Everybody" and " Somethin' Else", captured teenage frustration and desire ...

, a work that Wood would continue to reference throughout his career. The book included with the 4-CD boxed set ''Anthology 1966–1972'', released in October 2008, noted that sessions for the song began on 16 November 1967 at Olympic Studios in Barnes, London. ''Anthology'' includes both the finished version which was released as a single, as well as an early, previously unreleased version with Matthew Fisher of Procol Harum on piano. An earlier retrospective release, the 3-CD ''Movements: 30th Anniversary Anthology'', from 1997, also has two slightly different recordings - the final version, and an undubbed one, before backing vocals, tambourine and opening 'fire engine' sound effects were added. Glen Matlock of the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

said some years later that the guitar on the song had strongly influenced the opening riff of their single " God Save the Queen". "Fire Brigade" influenced "

Firehouse __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire apparatus, fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective eq ...

" from the self-titled debut album by

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

Personnel

* Roy Wood – guitars, lead vocals * Carl Wayne – vocals (bridge) *

Trevor Burton Trevor Burton (born Trevor Ireson; 9 March 1949 in Aston, Birmingham, England) is an English guitarist and is a founding member of The Move. Career Burton started playing guitar at a young age and was leading his own group called The Everglad ...

– guitars * Ace Kefford – bass * Bev Bevan – drums

Charts

References

The Move songs 1968 singles Songs written by Roy Wood Regal Zonophone Records singles A&M Records singles 1968 songs {{1960s-pop-song-stub