You Love Us

"You Love Us (Heavenly Version)"
Single by Manic Street Preachers
B-side
  • "Spectators of Suicide (Heavenly Version)"
  • "Starlover (Heavenly Version)" (CD and 12")
  • "Strip It Down (Live at Bath Moles)" (CD and 12")
Released7 May 1991 (1991-05-07)
RecordedEarly 1991
GenreGlam punk
LabelHeavenly
Songwriter(s)James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire, Sean Moore, Richey Edwards
Producer(s)Robin Wynn Evans
Manic Street Preachers singles chronology
"Motown Junk"
(1991) 		"You Love Us (Heavenly Version)"
(1991) 		"Stay Beautiful"
(1991)
"You Love Us"
Single by Manic Street Preachers
from the album Generation Terrorists
B-side
  • "A Vision of Dead Desire"
  • "It's So Easy" (CD and 12")
  • "We Her Majesty's Prisoners" (CD)
Released20 January 1992 (1992-01-20)
RecordedMid 1991
Genre
Length3:14 (single edit), 4:18 (album version)
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire, Sean Moore, Richey Edwards
Manic Street Preachers singles chronology
"Love's Sweet Exile"
(1991) 		"You Love Us"
(1992) 		"Slash 'n' Burn"
(1992)

"You Love Us" is a song by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. It was initially released as a single on 7 May 1991 by Heavenly. The song was re-recorded and released on 20 January 1992 by Columbia Records as the third single from the band's debut studio album, Generation Terrorists.

Release

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"You Love Us" was originally released as a single on 7 May 1991 by record label Heavenly. This version of the song begins with a sample of Krzysztof Penderecki's "Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima" and ends with a coda which includes a drum sample from Iggy Pop's "Lust for Life".[3]

B-side "Spectators of Suicide" includes a vocal sample of a speech by Black Panther Bobby Seale,[4] a shorter clip of which had previously appeared on the last track of McCarthy's 1989 album The Enraged Will Inherit the Earth.[5]

You Love Us was also re-recorded and released again on 20 January 1992 as the third single from Generation Terrorists. The new version also featured no hook, but had a much heavier rock sound and the "Lust for Life" coda was replaced, on the album version of the track, by an extended guitar solo. This version of the song reached number 16 in the UK charts on 1 February 1992. It was the most successful single released from the album.[6] It also made an appearance as track number six on the 2002 greatest hits compilation, Forever Delayed.

The CD single included the B-sides "A Vision of Dead Desire", "We Her Majesty's Prisoners" and a live cover of Guns N' Roses' "It's So Easy". The 12" featured "A Vision of Dead Desire" and "It's So Easy" and the 7" and cassette just "A Vision of Dead Desire".

Content and style

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David Owens proclaimed the track a "firebrand punk classic".[2] By Clash Music, You Love Us has been illustrated as an example of "glam metal glory".[1]

Live performances

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The song was performed live with missing guitarist and lyricist Richey James Edwards just five weeks before he vanished, which was the last time Edwards was seen on stage. The band as a foursome played the song as set-closer for their sell-out final gig at the London Astoria.[7][page needed]

Legacy

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"You Love Us" is widely regarded as one of the band's best songs. In 2011, NME ranked the song number six on their list of the 10 greatest Manic Street Preachers songs,[8] and in 2022, The Guardian ranked the song number five on their list of the 30 greatest Manic Street Preachers songs.[9]

In December 2015, Cardiff brewers Crafty Devil named a beer after the song.[2]

Track listing

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Heavenly Version

[edit]
CD and 12" version
No.TitleLength
1."You Love Us"4:27
2."Spectators of Suicide"5:05
3."Starlover"2:41
4."Strip It Down" (live at Bath Moles)2:40
7" version
Side A
No.TitleLength
1."You Love Us" 
Side B
No.TitleLength
1."Spectators of Suicide" 

Album version

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CD version
No.TitleLength
1."You Love Us"4:18
2."A Vision of Dead Desire"3:14
3."We Her Majesty's Prisoners"5:22
4."It's So Easy" (live Guns N' Roses cover at London Marquee, 4 September 1991)2:52
12" version
Side A
No.TitleLength
1."You Love Us"4:18
Side B
No.TitleLength
2."A Vision of Dead Desire"3:14
3."It's So Easy" (live Guns N' Roses cover at London Marquee, 4 September 1991)2:52
7" version
Side A
No.TitleLength
1."You Love Us" 
Side B
No.TitleLength
2."A Vision of Dead Desire" 
CD (Japan)
No.TitleLength
1."You Love Us" (edit)3:16
2."You Love Us" (full)4:18
3."You Love Us" (Heavenly)4:26
4."It's So Easy" (live Guns N' Roses cover at London Marquee, 4 September 1991)2:52

Charts

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Chart (1991) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[10] 62
Chart (1992) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[10] 16

References

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  1. ^ a b Murray, Robin (20 June 2019). "Live Report: Manic Street Preachers - Shepherd's Bush Empire, London". Clash Music. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Owens, David (23 December 2015). "Cardiff brewery names beer after Manic Street Preachers' anthem". Wales Online. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  3. ^ Power, Martin (17 October 2010). Manic Street Preachers. Omnibus Press.
  4. ^ "[B12] 'Spectators of Suicide (Heavenly Version)'". 24 January 2013.
  5. ^ "Throw Him Out He's Breaking My Heart". sances.info. Archived from the original on 19 January 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  6. ^ "Manic Street Preachers | Artist | Official Charts". Official Charts. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  7. ^ Price 1999.
  8. ^ Elan, Priya (7 October 2011). "Manic Street Preachers – Their 10 Best Tracks". NME. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  9. ^ Petridis, Alexis (10 February 2022). "Manic Street Preachers' 30 greatest songs – ranked!". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  10. ^ a b "Manic Street Preachers: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 8, 2017.

Sources

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