"Go Wild in the Country" is a single by English new wave band
Bow Wow Wow
Bow Wow Wow are an English new wave band, created by manager Malcolm McLaren in 1980. McLaren recruited members of Adam and the Ants to form the band behind 13-year-old Annabella Lwin on vocals. They released their debut EP '' Your Cassette ...
from their album ''
See Jungle! See Jungle! Go Join Your Gang Yeah, City All Over! Go Ape Crazy!
''See Jungle! See Jungle! Go Join Your Gang Yeah, City All Over! Go Ape Crazy!'' (later retitled ''See Jungle! See Jungle! Go Join Your Gang Yeah! City All Over, Go Ape Crazy'') is the debut studio album by English new wave band Bow Wow Wow, rel ...
''. Released in January 1982 by
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
, it was their first top 10 hit on 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 ...
.
Composition
"Go Wild in the Country" was written by
Malcolm McLaren
Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren (22 January 1946 – 8 April 2010) was an English impresario, visual artist, singer, songwriter, musician, clothes designer and boutique owner, notable for combining these activities in an inventive and provoc ...
with band members
Matthew Ashman
Matthew James Ashman (3 November 1960 – 21 November 1995) – accessed June 2011 was an English guitarist with ,
Dave Barbarossa
David Barbarossa (born 1961, also known as Dave Barbe) is a drummer and an author of British and Mauritian descent. As part of both Adam and the Ants and Bow Wow Wow, he was instrumental in creating the highly influential and innovative tribal d ...
and
Leigh Gorman
Leigh Gorman (born 11 December 1961) is an English rock musician, record producer, and composer, best known for his work as the bass player for Bow Wow Wow.
Early life
Leigh grew up in the East End of London. He started playing classical guita ...
. Produced by Brian Tench, it was Bow Wow Wow's first single not be produced by McLaren.
Release
The January 1982 release of "Go Wild in the Country" coincided with McLaren's "Nostalgia of Mud" phase, in which he intended "to show in clothes and music that, in the post-industrial age, the roots of our culture lie in primitive societies". Its lyrics convey many of the themes of this ideology, with references to disdain for town life, lonely streets and takeaway food, and a desire to go "wild in the country/where snakes in the grass are absolutely free".
Bow Wow Wow made their first appearance on ''
Top of the Pops
''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...
'' on 11 February 1982, performing "Go Wild in the Country", with lead singer
Annabella Lwin
Annabella Lwin (born Myant Myant Aye, , 31 October 1966) is an Anglo-Burmese singer, songwriter and record producer best known as the lead singer of Bow Wow Wow.
Early life, family and education
Lwin was born in Rangoon, Burma to a Burmese fat ...
debuting her trademark mohawk hairdo. The song remained on the UK Singles Chart for 13 weeks, peaking at No. 7. 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 ...
was the instrumental "El Boss Dicho!"
Cover
The single sleeve featured the band's recreation of
Édouard Manet
Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism.
Born ...
The Last of the Mohicans
''The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757'' is a historical romance written by James Fenimore Cooper in 1826.
It is the second book of the '' Leatherstocking Tales'' pentalogy and the best known to contemporary audiences. '' The Pathfinde ...
'', and in 2003 for the
Castle Music
Castle Communications, also known as Castle Music, was a British independent record label and home video distributor founded in 1983 by Terry Shand, Cliff Dane, and Jon Beecher. Its video imprint was called Castle Vision. The label's producti ...