Russian Roulette
1982 · Illegal / Illegal ILS 0033 / ILP009 · London, UK: England
- Artist
- The Lords of the New Church
- Title
- Russian Roulette
- Release
- Russian Roulette / Young Don't Cry
- Year
- 1982
- Label
- Illegal / Illegal # ILS 0033 / ILP009
- Format
- 7" · Single
- Country
- London, UK: England
- Genre
- Punk · Post-Punk
- Primary theme
- Post-War
Annotation
Post-Punk formed in 1982 in London, UK, and disbanded in 2007. The original members, featured on this single were Brian James (guitar, vocals), Stiv Bators (lead vocals, 1982-89), Nicky Turner (drums, vocals, 1982-89), Dave Tregunna (bass, vocals, 1982-89). The song "Russian Roulette" (Illegal Records # ILS 0033), starting out with helicopter sound-effects: "I'm on a helicopter ride through Vietnam", was heavily influenced by Vietnam War films, like many punk post-war songs: "we're in the movie". The title of the song was a reference to the famous scene in The Deer Hunter (1978), a key symbol of this 'message film', in which Russian roulette is used by Vietcong captors to torture American soldiers. Such torture has never been documented and this contributes to portraying the Vietnamese in a negative way. Students of the Vietnam War would argue that this is clearly not reality. Others may feel that The Deer Hunter is depicting an important message about American involvement in Vietnam – an American soldier puts a gun to his head, pulls the trigger, and kills himself. The song also contained the line: "I'm living out Frank Coppola's dreams", of course a reference to director Francis Ford Coppola, whose influential film Apocalypse Now (1979), was, along with The Deer Hunter, part of the first peak of Hollywood production of Vietnam War films, between 1978-1979, which sought to understand the meaning and nature of war, while coming to terms with American involvement in Vietnam, which claimed 50,000 lives. The famous 'surfing scene', and the quote "I love the smell of napalm in the morning….smells like victory" featured in dozens of songs. This song also featured on the group's debut album The Lords of the New Church (Illegal Records # ILP009).
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English: I'm on a helicopter ride through Vietnam / I'm the Leicester Square / Kid I'm superman / I'm putting weight for the Oscar / Man gonna get through anyway I can / Hey, hey, hey, we're in the movie / I feel up and I feel groovy / Let's go out and get some of that / Gimme, gimme, gimme, some Russian Roulette / Everywhere, everyone is red and green / I gotta lust for glory and a tape machine / I'm living out Frank Coppola's dreams / Outta my mind, I'm feelin' mean / Hey, hey, hey, we're in the movie / I feel up and I feel groovy / Let's go out and get some of that / Gimme, gimme, gimme, some Russian Roulette / I'm a Nuremberg stepper blowin' wets away / I gotta headful of Hendrix, I'm feelin' okay / I'm a late night thriller, I'm Miss La Ray / Outta my mind, can I come to play? / Hey, hey, hey, we're in the movie / I feel up and I feel groovy / Let's go out and get some of that / Gimme, gimme, gimme, some Russian Roulette / Gimme, gimme, gimme, some Russian Roulette / I said, hey, I said, hey, I said, I said, hey, we're in the movie / I'm feelin' groovy / Get some of that / Gimme, gimme, gimme, some Russian Roulette....
About the artist
Post-Punk group, formed in 1982 in London, England, UK, and disbanded in 2007; members included Stiv Bators (lead vocals), Brian James (guitar, vocals), Dave Tregunna (bass, vocals) and Nicky Turner (drums, vocals).
Themes
Apocalypse Now · Film · Guns · Helicopter · Napalm · Russian Roulette