"Under the God" is the first official single released by Anglo-American hard rock band

Tin Machine Tin Machine were a British–American rock band formed in 1988, and fronted by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. The band consisted of Bowie on lead vocals, saxophone and guitar; Reeves Gabrels on guitar and vocals; Tony Fox Sales on bass ...

, taken from their eponymous debut album in June 1989.

Song information

"Under the God", which came from a demo originally called "Night Train", was a song that excoriated

Neo-Nazism Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

. Although " Heaven's in Here" was actually the album's first single, it was only released promotionally, which made "Under the God" the first official single, released after the album was already available.

Critical reception

Jerry Smith, reviewer of British music newspaper ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'', reviewed the single positively, saying that it reminds him of Bowie's "

Panic in Detroit "Panic in Detroit" is a song written by English singer-songwriter David Bowie for the album '' Aladdin Sane'' in 1973. Bowie based it on friend Iggy Pop's descriptions of revolutionaries he had known in Michigan Nicholas Pegg (2000). ''The Compl ...

" and expressed the assurance that it "should ignite the charts".

Music video

The band elected not to create music videos for the album's singles, and instead created a 13-track

megamix A megamix is a remix containing multiple songs in rapid succession. It often features various artists. There may be only one verse or even just a brief chorus of each song used, sometimes in addition to samples of the same or other songs. It is ...

video for the entire album. The video, directed by

Julien Temple Julien Temple (born 26 November 1953) is a British film, documentary and music video director. He began his career with short films featuring the Sex Pistols, and has continued with various off-beat projects, including ''The Great Rock 'n' Roll ...

, presented edits of each song in vignette form, and included "Under the God" masqueraded as a performance, with the audience storming the stage.

Live performances

"Under the God" was performed live on both the 1989

Tin Machine Tour The Tin Machine Tour was a concert tour headlined by Anglo-American hard rock band Tin Machine. The tour commenced on 14 June 1989, following a performance of " Heaven's in Here" at the ''International Music Awards'' in New York City on 31 May ...

and 1991-92's

It's My Life Tour The It's My Life Tour was a concert tour headlined by Anglo-American hard rock band Tin Machine. The tour commenced on 5 October 1991 after two warm-up shows, one press show and three trade-industry shows, visiting twelve countries and concludi ...

. A live performance of the song, recorded in Sapporo, Japan in 1992, was included on the live album '' Tin Machine Live: Oy Vey, Baby'' (1992).

Track listing

;7" version # "Under the God" (Bowie) – 4:06 # " Sacrifice Yourself" (Bowie, Sales, Sales) – 2:08 ;10"/12"/CD version # "Under the God" (Bowie) – 4:06 # "Sacrifice Yourself" (Bowie, Sales, Sales) – 2:08 # "The Interview" (An interview with the band) – 12:23

Credits and personnel

Producers *

Tim Palmer Timothy J. Palmer (born 4 October 1962, in North Shields) is an English record producer, audio engineer, guitarist and songwriter of rock music, rock and alternative rock, alternative music. He Audio mixing (recorded music), mixed Pearl Jam's d ...

Musicians *

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

– lead vocals, rhythm guitar *

Reeves Gabrels Reeves Gabrels (born June 4, 1956) is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. A member and guitarist of British band the Cure since 2012, Gabrels worked with David Bowie from 1987 to 1999, and was a member of the band Tin Machine. ...

– lead guitar *

Hunt Sales Hunt Sales (born March 2, 1954) is an American rock drummer, who has played with Todd Rundgren, Iggy Pop and Tin Machine with David Bowie. He has often worked with his brother Tony Sales, a bass guitarist. Personal life Hunt Sales is a son o ...

– drums, backing vocals *

Tony Sales Tony Fox Sales (born September 26, 1951) is an American rock musician and composer. Normally on bass guitar, Sales and his brother, Hunt Sales, have worked with Todd Rundgren, Iggy Pop, and in Tin Machine with David Bowie. Early life and career B ...

– bass guitar, backing vocals

Chart performance

References

Notes

*Pegg, Nicholas, ''The Complete David Bowie'', Reynolds & Hearn Ltd, 2000,

External links

* {{Authority control 1989 singles Tin Machine songs Songs written by David Bowie 1989 songs EMI Records singles Music videos directed by Julien Temple