"Gary Gilmore's Eyes" is a single by the

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band

the Adverts The Adverts were an English punk rock band formed in 1976 that existed until late 1979. They were one of the first punk bands to achieve mainstream success in the UK; their 1977 Single (music), single "Gary Gilmore's Eyes" reached No. 18 on the ...

. The song reached No. 18 in the UK Singles Chart in September 1977 and earned the band an appearance on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

''. It was originally intended to be included on the band's debut album, '' Crossing the Red Sea with the Adverts'', but was dropped at the last minute. It has been included in most subsequent reissues of the album however.

Background

The song was written from the point of view of a patient who has just undergone an eye transplant and discovers that he has received the eyes of the executed double murderer

Gary Gilmore Gary Mark Gilmore (born Faye Robert Coffman; December 4, 1940 – January 17, 1977) was an American criminal who gained international attention for demanding the implementation of his death sentence for two murders he had admitted to committing ...

. Gilmore had requested that his eyes be donated to science after his execution as "they'd probably be the only body part usable". After Gilmore's execution, several of his body parts were removed for possible use as transplants or for study. His

cornea The cornea is the transparency (optics), transparent front part of the eyeball which covers the Iris (anatomy), iris, pupil, and Anterior chamber of eyeball, anterior chamber. Along with the anterior chamber and Lens (anatomy), lens, the cornea ...

s were used for transplants.

Track listing

1977 release

#"Gary Gilmore's Eyes" #"Bored Teenagers"

1983 release

#"Gary Gilmore's Eyes" #"New Day Dawning" #"We Who Wait"

Reception

The song was called "anthemic punk" by Matthew Gilbert of ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' and a "forgotten gem" by David Browne of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

''. '' Sounds'' described it as "the sickest and cleverest record to come out of the new wave: Single of the Week". It was later included at No. 12 in ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi * '' ...

s list of the best punk rock singles of all time. The song was used in the soundtrack for '' Shot in the Heart'', an

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

movie based on the memoir of the same name written by

's brother, Mikal Gilmore, about his

dysfunctional family In psychology, abnormality (also dysfunctional behavior, maladaptive behavior, or deviant behavior) is a behavioral characteristic assigned to those with conditions that are regarded as dysfunctional. Behavior is considered to be abnormal when i ...

and the eventual murder and execution.

Cover versions

"Gary Gilmore's Eyes" was covered, in cooperation with Adverts frontman T. V. Smith, in 1991 by the German punk band

Die Toten Hosen Die Toten Hosen are a German punk rock band from Düsseldorf. The name is taken from the German slang idiom ''tote Hose'' (literally "dead trousers"), which means "nothing happening"; "boring". The band has had an important success through th ...

, appearing on their album '' Learning English, Lesson One''. Smith later recorded another version of the song, backed by Die Toten Hosen, for his 2001 album ''Useless: The Very Best of T.V. Smith''. Finnish band Punk Lurex OK also covered the song, recorded in Finnish under the title "Tappajan Silmät" ("The Eyes of the Murderer"), and released it as a single in 1994. In 2000, Smith collaborated with Punk Lurex OK, recording another version of the song which was included on their joint EP, ''The Future Used to Be Better''. Smith released a live version of "Gary Gilmore's Eyes" on the 2009 album ''Live at the N.V.A. Ludwigsfelde, Germany''. Finnish ska band the Valkyrians released a version of "Gary Gilmore's Eyes", with Smith guesting, on their 2011 album ''Punkrocksteady''.

References

External links

* * * {{authority control 1977 singles 1977 songs Anchor Records singles Songs about criminals The Adverts songs