"Red" is the first single by English alternative rock

Alternative rock

Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 band Elbow

Elbow (band)

Elbow are an English rock band. They have played together since 1990 and recorded five studio albums, the most recent of which is Build a Rocket Boys!, released in March 2011...

 and the first single off of their first album, Asleep in the Back

Asleep in the Back

Asleep in the Back is the debut album by British rock band Elbow, first released in May 2001. The title track, "Asleep in the Back", was only included as a bonus track on later editions of the album after it had been released as a single and became the band's first Top 20 hit...

. It was released on 23 April 2001 in two formats: 7" vinyl and 2CDs. The 7" vinyl version had the LP colored red

Red

Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked eye...

 for the single and had a slightly longer version of "Vum Garda". Both of the track listings are similar between releases. "Red" had been previously released on The Noisebox EP

The Noisebox EP

The Noisebox EP is Elbow's very first release and EP, limited to 150 copies. At the time, the band was still unsigned with any record label...

, which contained an earlier version of the song. "Vum Garda" was also released on the 12" Vinyl pressing of Asleep in the Back

Asleep in the Back

Asleep in the Back is the debut album by British rock band Elbow, first released in May 2001. The title track, "Asleep in the Back", was only included as a bonus track on later editions of the album after it had been released as a single and became the band's first Top 20 hit...

. The CDs were released with two different sets of art work that were similar to the one on the 7" vinyl.

In an interview, Guy Garvey claimes the song was inspired by a friend with a severe drug addiction: "This was about a concern for a friend who was doing too much speed, to the point where I worried how it was going to turn out for her. She’s fine as it turns out."

Track listing

7" vinyl

1. "Red" (Album Version) – 5:11
2. "Vum Garda" – 8:05

CD1

1. "Red" (Single Edit) – 3:47
2. "Vum Garda" – 7:55
3. "About Time" – 5:45

CD2

1. "Red" (Album Version) – 5:04
2. "The Crow" (Acoustic Version) – 2:36
3. "Newborn" (Acoustic Version) – 3:12