Gay Bar (song)

"Gay Bar" is a song by American rock band Electric Six. Written by band member Tyler Spencer, under the pseudonym Dick Valentine, it was released in June 2003 as the second single from their debut studio album, Fire (2003). While both the song and music video received significant airplay, lyrics mentioning war were edited due to their possibly offensive nature since the song made its air debut at the start of the Iraq War.

"Gay Bar"
Single by Electric Six
from the album Fire
Released2 June 2003
Recorded2001
GenreHard rock, comedy rock, punk rock
Length2:20
LabelXL
Songwriter(s)Tyler Spencer
Producer(s)
Electric Six singles chronology
"Danger! High Voltage"
(2003)		 "Gay Bar"
(2003)		 "Dance Commander"
(2003)

Background and writing

According to Spencer/Valentine, the idea for the song came up from incorrectly hearing the lyrics of DEVO's "Girl U Want" as "it's just a girl, it's just a girl at a gay bar" while the song was playing in a very loud nightclub. (The actual lyric is "She's just the girl, she's just the girl, the girl you want".)

Censorship

In the censored version of the song, the words "nuclear" and "war" (in the line "let's start a war, start a nuclear war") are cut out and a whip lash sound is used instead. A radio version in Japan exists in which the same lyrics are replaced with "let's do an edit, do a radio edit".[1]

Music video

The music video, directed by Tom Kuntz and Mike Maguire, was recorded in April 2003 at a movie studio in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The video depicts a series of Abraham Lincoln look-alikes in the White House, portrayed primarily by the band's lead singer Dick Valentine, but stand-ins were used for some scenes.[2] Various phallic images appear throughout the video, such as a bell, a train entering a tunnel, a hamster running through a tube, and so on.

Awards

The song was nominated for the Kerrang! Award for Best Single.[3] It also won Video of the Year award (2003) from both Kerrang and Q magazine.[2]

Track listing

CD

  1. "Gay Bar"
  2. "Don't Be Afraid of the Robot"
  3. "Take Off Your Clothes"

DVD

  1. "Gay Bar" video
  2. "Gay Bar (Peaches remix)"
  3. "Rock Show"

7"

  1. "Gay Bar"
  2. "The Living End"

Charts
Chart (2003) Peak
position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[4] 20
Ireland (IRMA)[5] 32
Scotland (OCC)[6] 6
UK Singles (OCC)[7] 5
UK Indie (OCC)[8] 2

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[9] Silver 200,000

sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

Legacy
  • The band recorded "Gay Bar Part Two", a sequel to this song, for their album Flashy. The song was less of a direct sequel, opting instead to satirise their annoyance caused by people demanding a follow-up song as well as troubles with their previous record label demanding that they record "another Gay Bar".
  • The band performed the song on their first live album Absolute Pleasure.
  • The band performed the song in their live concert movie Absolute Treasure.
  • A live performance of the song at Manumission Ibiza in 2004 was included on the band's compilation album Mimicry and Memories.

Covers

Canadian electronic musician Peaches covered the song as a bonus track for her album Fatherfucker.[10]

The Bosshoss played a cover of the song during their 2010 "Low Voltage" tour.[11] A studio version was released on their album Stallion Battalion.

British comedy duo Armstrong & Miller parodied the "Gay Bar" in their series promotional video for BBC One in the United Kingdom.[12]

References
  1. Video on YouTube Retrieved 2013-03-29.
  2. "Electric Six". Archived from the original on 2006-10-27.
  3. "Kerrang! awards 2003: The nominations". BBC. 2003-08-06. Retrieved 2012-11-12.
  4. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 21 no. 26. June 21, 2003. p. 15. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  5. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Electric Six". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  6. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  7. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  8. "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  9. "British single certifications – Electric Six – Gay Bar". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  10. "Peaches - Fatherfucker". Discogs. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
  11. Video on YouTube
  12. "Gay Bar Song - The Armstrong and Miller Show - S2 Ep4 Preview - BBC One". Official BBC channel on YouTube. 2009-11-02. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
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