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…
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
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