"Know Your Product" is a song written by

Ed Kuepper Edmund "Ed" Kuepper (born 20 December 1955) is a German-born Australian guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. He co-founded the punk band The Saints (1973–78), the experimental post-punk group Laughing Clowns (1979–85) and the grunge-like Th ...

and Chris Bailey of Australian

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band The Saints. Released in February 1978, it was the second single from the group's second album, '' Eternally Yours''. Noted for its unusual mix of prominent brass with a punk rock guitar sound, the track has been described as a "pile-driving surge of raw soul power and one of the greatest singles from the punk rock period."John Robb (2006). ''Punk Rock: An Oral History'': pp. 412-413

Production and release

A transitional record for The Saints, "Know Your Product" developed the aggressive punk sound of their debut single, "

(I'm) Stranded ''(I'm) Stranded'' is the debut album by Australian punk rock group The Saints which was released by EMI on 21 February 1977. Their debut single, " (I'm) Stranded", was issued ahead of the album in September 1976, which ''Sounds'' magazine's re ...

" (1976), while anticipating the horn-driven R&B of their next album, ''

Prehistoric Sounds ''Prehistoric Sounds'' is the third album by the Australian punk rock group The Saints (Australian band), The Saints, released in 1978 via Harvest Records, Harvest. This was the final album to feature founding lead guitarist, Ed Kuepper, who lef ...

'' (1978).Andrew Stafford (2004, 2006). ''Pig City: From The Saints to Savage Garden'': pp. 57-76 Regarding its musical influences, singer Chris Bailey later said, "Thank

Sam and Dave Sam & Dave were an American soul and R&B duo who performed together from 1961 until 1981. The tenor (higher) voice was Sam Moore (born 1935) and the baritone/tenor (lower) voice was Dave Prater (1937–1988). Nicknamed "Double Dynamite", "The S ...

for the brass section! And

Stax Streaming API for XML (StAX) is an application programming interface ( API) to read and write XML documents, originating from the Java programming language community. Traditionally, XML APIs are either: * DOM based - the entire document is read i ...

's horns." Lyrically the song was a cynical take on consumerism; in a 2004 interview, guitarist Ed Kuepper agreed that it was "like a distant cousin to '

(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. A product of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' songwriting partnership, it features a guitar riff by Richards that opens and drives the song. The riff ...

'." A video of the band performing "Know Your Product" was released, shot entirely in solarised colour. The single did not chart, however. Referring to one of the leading mainstream DJs on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

, Bailey noted "

Tony Blackburn Anthony Kenneth Blackburn (born 29 January 1943) is an English disc jockey, singer and TV presenter. He first achieved fame broadcasting on the pirate stations Radio Caroline and Radio London in the 1960s, before joining the BBC, on the BBC L ...

didn't like it, which was the biggest compliment you could have at the time." The B-side, "Run Down", also appeared on ''Eternally Yours''; in place of the A-side's horns it employed harmonica to augment the band's regular guitar, bass and drum sound. Another track on the album was punningly titled "No, Your Product".

Reception

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' opined that making this the opening track on ''Eternally Yours'' "confused pretty much everyone: what the hell was a brass section doing on a punk record? The punchy horns are the perfect counterpart to Bailey’s drawled vocals and Kuepper’s buzzsaw guitar." While noting that the song was doomed to make little impact in the charts, it was described as "one of the greatest Australian singles ever made."

Other uses

'' Know Your Product'' was used as the title of a 1996 compilation of The Saints' punk-era music.

Hunters and Collectors Hunters & Collectors are an Australian rock band formed in 1981. Fronted by founding mainstay, singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Seymour, they developed a blend of pub rock and art-funk. Other mainstays are John Archer on bass guitar, Do ...

covered the song in 1994, while

Midnight Oil Midnight Oil (known informally as "The Oils") are an Australian rock band composed of Peter Garrett (vocals, harmonica), Rob Hirst (drums), Jim Moginie (guitar, keyboard) and Martin Rotsey (guitar). The group was formed in Sydney in 1972 by ...

recorded a live version in the late 1990s. It appeared on the soundtrack of the film '' Head On'' in 1998. Other bands to cover the song include

Painters and Dockers Painters and Dockers are a rock band formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1982. Paul Stewart, singer-songwriter and trumpet player, Dave Pace (vocals and trumpet) and Mick Morris (vocals and sax) are all original members in the band which was nam ...

, The Porkers, Blowhard, and

King Khan and the Shrines King Khan and the Shrines, sometimes referred to as King Khan and (His) Sensational Shrines are a Berlin-based garage rock and psychedelic soul band. History The band was founded in 1999 by then 22-year-old King Khan, formerly of Canadian garag ...

. The

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

show '' Spicks and Specks'' used the name of the song in a segment of the show every week.

Kurt Cobain Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994) was an American musician who served as the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter of the rock band Nirvana. Through his angst-fueled songwriting and anti-establishment persona ...

listed it in his top fifty recordings of all time.

Track listing

Both songs written by Ed Kuepper and Chris Bailey #"Know Your Product" – 3:14 #"Run Down" – 2:31

Personnel

* Chris Bailey –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

*Ivor Hay –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Algy Ward Alasdair Mackie "Algy" Ward (born 11 July 1959) is an English heavy metal bass guitarist and singer. He founded Tank, a part of the new wave of British heavy metal movement. He also played with the Damned and before that the Saints. Career ...

– bass *

Graham Preskett Graham Donald Harry Preskett is a British composer and musician who has been active since the early 1970s. He appeared on the Mott the Hoople albums ''Mott'' (1973) and ''The Hoople'' (1974), playing violin on both, and arranging and conducting o ...

– brass arrangements ("Know Your Product") *Iain Ward –

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

("Run Down")

References

{{authority control 1978 songs The Saints (Australian band) songs Songs written by Ed Kuepper Songs written by Chris Bailey (musician) EMI Records singles