"Bang" is a song by Blur

Blur (band)

Blur is an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing...

 and was released 29 July 1991 as their third single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

. It was also featured on the band's debut album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 Leisure

Leisure (album)

Leisure is the debut album by English alternative rock band Blur. The album was released on 26 August 1991 in the United Kingdom via Food Records, and peaked at #7 in the UK Albums Chart. It was released in the US a month later with a different track listing. The album was certified Gold in the...

. It has been all but disowned by the band, who claim it was written in less than fifteen minutes in response to record company demands for another bankable single. It is almost never played live, and has not been included on either Blur: The Best Of

Blur: The Best of

Blur: The Best Of is a greatest hits compilation album by English Britpop band Blur, first released in late 2000 and is the final Blur album by Food Records. It was released on CD, cassette tape, MiniDisc, double 12" vinyl record, DVD and VHS. The CD album includes 17 of Blur's 23 singles from 1990...

or Midlife: A Beginner's Guide to Blur

Midlife: A Beginner's Guide to Blur

Midlife: A Beginner's Guide to Blur is a two-disc compilation album by Blur, released by EMI Records on . Designed as a sampler for casual listeners, and with a greater focus on the band's career highlights rather than their hit singles, it is Blur's second retrospective collection, succeeding...

.

Its disappointing performance relative to previous single "There's No Other Way

There's No Other Way

"There's No Other Way" is a song by Blur and was released 15 April 1991 as their second single. The song was the band's first top ten and top 40 hit and was also featured on the band's debut album Leisure. The single was also a minor hit in the United States, reaching number 82 on the Billboard Hot...

" marked the end of Blur's initial period of popularity, which would not be equalled until the release of "Girls & Boys" three years later.

Charts

UK Top 75 (1991)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	24

Track listings

• 12"

1. "Bang" (extended)
2. "Explain"
3. "Luminous"
4. "Uncle Love"

• 7" and Cassette

1. "Bang"
2. "Luminous"

• CD (released 5 August 1991)

1. "Bang"
2. "Explain"
3. "Luminous"
4. "Berserk"

Production credits

• "Bang" and "Explain" produced by Stephen Street
• "Luminous", "Berserk" and "Uncle Love" produced by Blur

Video

The video

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

, directed by Willy Smax, features the band in west London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 at night. Time-lapse

Time-lapse

Time-lapse photography is a cinematography technique whereby the frequency at which film frames are captured is much lower than that which will be used to play the sequence back. When replayed at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster and thus lapsing...

 photography of night-time traffic was used, creating streaks of light from cars' headlights. Black-and-white

Black-and-white

Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...

 performance shots were also included. In later years Dave Rowntree expressed his love of the video, stating it as his favorite of the Blur catalogue. The video itself went generally unnoticed during its time of release and of all the promos, gets the least airplay on television. The video has been aired quite frequently on MTV Rocks, though, as part of their Blur Top 40 list, of which it features at 26. A vinyl copy of Beatles for Sale

Beatles for Sale

Beatles for Sale is the fourth studio album by the English rock band The Beatles, released in late 1964 and produced by George Martin for Parlophone. The album marked a minor turning point in the evolution of Lennon and McCartney as lyricists, John Lennon particularly now showing interest in...

by The Beatles

The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

 and Blonde on Blonde

Blonde on Blonde

Blonde on Blonde is American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's seventh studio album, released in May or June 1966 on Columbia Records and produced by Bob Johnston. Recording sessions commenced in New York in October 1965, with a plethora of backing musicians, including members of Dylan's live backing...

by Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...

 can be found in the music video when Graham Coxon is seen playing his guitar. The board game the band are playing whilst sat at the table is Scrabble

Scrabble

Scrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15-by-15 grid. The words are formed across and down in crossword fashion and must appear in a standard dictionary. Official reference works provide a list...

. The music video is quite similar to "Tomorrow Comes Today

Tomorrow Comes Today

Tomorrow Comes Today was the first release by British alternative band Gorillaz, issued as an EP in November 2000. The first three songs from the EP ended up on their debut album, however, 'Latin Simone' was heavily edited, and dubbed into Spanish, for the album release. The new version was sung by...

" by Gorillaz

Gorillaz

Gorillaz is an English musical project created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. This project consists of Gorillaz music itself and an extensive fictional universe depicting a "virtual band" of cartoon characters...

due to its shots of London and the Centre Point building.