"Bumblebeee" (stylised as "bumblebeee") is a song by English rock band
Kasabian
Kasabian ( ) are an English rock band formed in Leicester in 1997 by lead vocalist Tom Meighan, guitarist and occasional vocalist Sergio Pizzorno, guitarist Chris Karloff, and bassist Chris Edwards. Drummer Ian Matthews joined in 2004. Karlof ...
- the second single from their fifth studio album, ''
48:13''. The single was released on 3 August 2014 as the follow-up to 48:13's lead single, "
eez-eh
"Eez-eh" (stylised as "eez-eh") is a song by English rock band Kasabian from their fifth studio album, '' 48:13''. The song was released as the lead single to promote the album on 29 April 2014.
Composition
The single embraces a slight change i ...
". It peaked at #165 on the UK Singles Chart. The b-side, "gelfling", is named after the characters from the film ''
The Dark Crystal
''The Dark Crystal'' is a 1982 dark fantasy film directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz. It stars the voices of Stephen Garlick, Lisa Maxwell, Billie Whitelaw, Percy Edwards, and Barry Dennen. The film was produced by ITC Entertainment and The J ...
'', and is an electronic track without any main vocals.
Composition
Sergio Pizzorno
Sergio Lorenzo "Serge" Pizzorno (born 15 December 1980) is a British guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known for his work with the rock band Kasabian. He is Kasabian's primary songwriter since the departure of co-composer Christopher Karl ...
described the song as having a "
Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Mike D, Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (voca ...
dub with a sort of
Zeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...
,
Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to simply Rage) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerfor ...
chorus". "bumblebee" was the first track to be written for 48:13.
It is one of the few tracks where Tom Meighan and Sergio Pizzorno share lead vocals, with the former singing the verses and the latter singing the chorus.
Promotion
"bumblebeee" was Kasabian's opening track during their set as headliners at
Glastonbury 2014. The track has also been the opener for the majority of gigs for the 48:13 tour. The band have performed acoustic versions of "bumblebeee" on various occasions. On 12 September 2014, they performed the song on the first episode of series thirteen of ''
Alan Carr: Chatty Man''.
Video
The video for "bumblebeee" was released on 27 July 2014,
having been accidentally released and subsequently deleted on 23 July. The video features the band all in white on a white background and various scenes show Meighan crowdsurfing and stampedes of men and dogs.
Personnel
;Kasabian
* Tom Meighan – lead vocals (verses)
* Sergio Pizzorno – lead vocals (choruses), guitar, synthesizers, programming, production
* Chris Edwards – bass
* Ian Matthews – drums
;Additional personnel
* Tim Carter – acoustic and electric guitars
Charts
References
{{authority control
Kasabian songs
2014 singles
2014 songs
Songs written by Sergio Pizzorno
Columbia Records singles