"Richard III" is a song by English
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
Supergrass
Supergrass are an English rock band formed in 1993 in Oxford. For the majority of the band's tenure, the line-up consisted of brothers Gaz (lead vocals, guitar) and Rob Coombes (keyboards), Mick Quinn (bass, backing vocals) and Danny Goffey ( ...
. It was the second single to be released from ''
In It for the Money
''In It for the Money'' is the second studio album by English alternative rock band Supergrass, released in 1997. ''NME'' called it "more fun than watching a wombat in a washing machine" and named it the 10th best album of the year. In 1998, '' ...
'', the band's second album. The single was preceded by "
Going Out", which was released over a year before. "Richard III" was released in March 1997 and reached number two 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 ...
on 6 April, their highest placing since "
Alright
Alright, All Right or Allwright may refer to:
Music Albums
* ''Alright!'' (album), a 2007 album by Bogdan Raczynski
* ''Alright'', a 2011 album by Jerry Williams
* ''All Right'', a 1982 album by Himiko Kikuchi
Songs
* "Alright" (Cast song)
* ...
"/"
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
" in 1995, which also peaked at number two. The song also reached number 21 in Iceland and number 30 in Ireland.
The song's name comes from the band's method of creating working titles for songs—giving them people's names. This was the third called "Richard" and the band liked the reference to the king
Richard III
Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...
and the
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
play ''
Richard III
Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...
'' in which the king is depicted as a dark and evil character, as it matched the menacing tone of the song. Neither the king nor the play is mentioned in the song. Both the 2nd CD (of the CD release format) and the 7-inch vinyl format have the "Richard III" cover design but with the colours altered instead. A Peel session of the song was released on the CD single for "
Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
".
B-sides
The B-side "Sometimes I Make You Sad" is an atypical song for the group and features a number of production techniques. The only use of percussion in the song is a cymbal; the drum noises were instead simulated by members of the band making grunting noises. These were then put on a loop. The guitar solo was written during the recording of ''
In It For The Money
''In It for the Money'' is the second studio album by English alternative rock band Supergrass, released in 1997. ''NME'' called it "more fun than watching a wombat in a washing machine" and named it the 10th best album of the year. In 1998, '' ...
''; it was recorded at half speed then sped up to achieve the
mandolin
A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...
-like sound. "Sometimes We're Very Sad" was not a song, but was actually audio of the band, attempting to record the grunting noises heard on "Sometimes I Make You Sad" without laughing.
Gaz Coombes
Gaz Coombes (born 8 March 1976) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the English alternative rock band Supergrass. He first entered the music scene aged 14 as the lead singer of the ...
is also heard at the end saying how badly the recording is going, by explaining how they had "murdered Mickey's song" and how "his arse hurts".
Music video
The music video, like many others in
Supergrass
Supergrass are an English rock band formed in 1993 in Oxford. For the majority of the band's tenure, the line-up consisted of brothers Gaz (lead vocals, guitar) and Rob Coombes (keyboards), Mick Quinn (bass, backing vocals) and Danny Goffey ( ...
's career, was
directed
Director may refer to:
Literature
* ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine
* ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker
* ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty
Music
* Director (band), an Irish rock band
* ''Di ...
by
Nic
NIC may refer to:
Banking and insurance companies
* National Insurance Corporation, Uganda
* NIC Bank, a commercial bank in Kenya
Politics, government and economics
* National Ice Center, an agency that provides worldwide navigational ice a ...
(drummer
Danny Goffey
Daniel Robert Goffey (born 7 February 1974) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. He is best known as the drummer and backing vocalist for Supergrass. He briefly toured with Babyshambles in 2010, following their drummer's departure.
C ...
's brother) and
Dom Dom or DOM may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Dom (given name), including fictional characters
* Dom (surname)
* Dom La Nena (born 1989), stage name of Brazilian-born cellist, singer and songwriter Dominique Pinto
* Dom people, an et ...
. It shows the band playing "Richard III" in a basement, with a slight feel of unease and possibly hate about them.
Mick Quinn
Mick Quinn (born 17 December 1969) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. He is best known as founding member of English rock band Supergrass. He is a permanent member of fellow Oxford band Swervedriver.
Career 1984–1993
Mick Quinn s ...
tries to run away, but is pulled back with a guitar lead by Danny. Mick then falls to the floor, his nose bleeding. He stares at the TV, and
Rob Coombes
Robert Joseph “Rob” Coombes (born 27 April 1972) is an English musician and keyboard player for Supergrass.
He is the older brother of the band's lead singer, Gaz Coombes, and the most recent member to join Supergrass, officially joining i ...
is playing the
theremin
The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone/etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named afte ...
. It then goes back to
Gaz Coombes
Gaz Coombes (born 8 March 1976) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the English alternative rock band Supergrass. He first entered the music scene aged 14 as the lead singer of the ...
and Danny playing the song, and then a drop of water hits an electrical wire, causing a massive electrical burst and in so doing, prompts the beginning of the guitar solo. The video then ends with the opening sequence played in reverse.
Nic and Dom joked in the ''
Supergrass Is 10
''Supergrass Is 10'' is a compilation album celebrating the first 10 years of the band Supergrass. It includes singles from their first release, "Caught by the Fuzz" (1994), to their then latest release, "Kiss of Life (Supergrass song), Kiss of ...
'' DVD that this music video was "one of the occasions where we nearly killed the band". The reason for this is that they covered the room with
Fuller's earth
Fuller's earth is any clay material that has the capability to decolorize oil or other liquids without the use of harsh chemical treatment. Fuller's earth typically consists of palygorskite (attapulgite) or bentonite.
Modern uses of fuller's ea ...
, which they later found out to be harmful to humans. The earth can be seen being knocked from Danny's drums whenever he hits them.
Gaz Coombes
Gaz Coombes (born 8 March 1976) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the English alternative rock band Supergrass. He first entered the music scene aged 14 as the lead singer of the ...
plays his red
Gibson SG
The Gibson SG is a solid-body electric guitar model introduced by Gibson in 1961 as the Gibson Les Paul SG. It remains in production today in many variations of the initial design. The SG (where "SG" refers to Solid-Body Guitar) Standard is Gib ...
guitar in the video.
Track listings
UK CD1
# "Richard III"
# "Sometimes I Make You Sad"
# "Sometimes We're Very Sad"
UK CD2
# "Richard III"
# "Nothing More's Gonna Get in My Way"
# "20ft Halo"
UK limited-edition 7-inch yellow vinyl single
:A. "Richard III"
:B. "Nothing More's Gonna Get In My Way"
Australian CD single
# "Richard III"
# "Nothing More's Gonna Get in My Way"
# "20ft Halo"
# "Sometimes I Make You Sad"
Credits and personnel
Credits are taken from the ''
In It for the Money
''In It for the Money'' is the second studio album by English alternative rock band Supergrass, released in 1997. ''NME'' called it "more fun than watching a wombat in a washing machine" and named it the 10th best album of the year. In 1998, '' ...
'' album liner notes.
Studio
* Recorded at
Sawmills Studio
Sawmills Studios, founded in 1974 by record producer Tony Cox, is a recording studio near Golant on the banks of the River Fowey in Cornwall.
The studio building is located on its own tidal creek on the banks of the Fowey. Sawmills was one o ...
(
Golant
Golant ( kw, Golnans) is a village in south Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is on the west bank of the River Fowey and in the civil parish of St Sampson.
Golant is about two miles (3 km) north of Fowey and seven miles (11 km) east of S ...
, UK)
Personnel
* Supergrass – writing, production, mixing
*
Rob Coombes
Robert Joseph “Rob” Coombes (born 27 April 1972) is an English musician and keyboard player for Supergrass.
He is the older brother of the band's lead singer, Gaz Coombes, and the most recent member to join Supergrass, officially joining i ...
– writing
*
Sam Williams –
theremin
The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone/etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named afte ...
*
John Cornfield
John Richard Cornfield (born 10 December 1958 in Epsom, Surrey) is a British record producer and sound engineer. He has been working from Sawmills Studios in Cornwall since 1982.
Discography As sound engineer or sound assistant
*The Dukes of Str ...
– production, mixing
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richard Iii (Song)
1997 singles
1997 songs
Parlophone singles
Songs written by Rob Coombes
Supergrass songs