"West End Riot" is a song by Australian punk rock band

The Living End The Living End are an Australian punk rockabilly band from Melbourne, formed in 1994. Since 2002, the line-up consists of Chris Cheney (vocals, guitar), Scott Owen (double bass, vocals), and Andy Strachan (drums). The band rose to fame in 199 ...

. It was released in July 1999, as the fourth

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from their self-titled album. It peaked at 83 on the Australian

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

in August 1999. The song was more popular with listeners of national radio station,

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, appearing at No. 48 on their

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poll for that year. The video for the song was directed by

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, (who also directed a number of

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

's videos). It was filmed in

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while the band was touring the UK. A crowd favourite, it is often played at the end of a show, most notably at Festival Hall in 2006. The song appears in the opening film clip for the video game '' World of Outlaws: Sprint Cars 2002''.

Background

The song title and lyrics refer two boys who are born and raised in two different areas, who play together in the streets with toy guns, but who grow up to live very different lives, with their childhood fun being nothing more than a memory. The song is based on the West and East sides of Melbourne, even though in later years the feud has died down.

Track listing

Personnel

Band members *

Chris Cheney Christopher John Cheney (born 2 January 1975) is an Australian rock musician, record producer, and studio owner. He is the founding mainstay guitarist, songwriter, and lead vocalist of the rockabilly band The Living End, which was formed in 1 ...

– vocals, guitar *

Travis Demsey Travis Demsey is an Australian musician who served as the former drummer for The Living End The Living End are an Australian punk rockabilly band from Melbourne, formed in 1994. Since 2002, the line-up consists of Chris Cheney (vocals, guit ...

– drums, backing vocals *

Scott Owen Scott may refer to: Places Canada * Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec * Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380 * Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Sask ...

–

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

, backing vocals Recording process * Producer – Lindsay Gravina * Engineer – Lindsay Gravina ** Assistant engineer – Matt Voight * Mastering – Stephen Marcussen at Precision Mastering * Mixing – Jerry Finn ** Assistant mixer – Mark and Tony * Editing (digital) – Don C. Tyler * Studios – Sing Sing Studios, Melbourne ** Mixing studios – Conway Studios, Los Angeles Artwork * Cover art – Craig Preston

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1999 singles Songs about cities The Living End songs 1999 songs Modular Recordings singles Songs written by Chris Cheney Songs about Australia