Girish Mahajan (Editor)

Machine Gun (Portishead song)

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Released
  
24 March 2008

Recorded
  
2005–2008

Format
  
Digital download, 12"

Length
  
4:45

Genre
  
Electro-industrial, experimental

Writer(s)
  
Geoff Barrow and Beth Gibbons

"Machine Gun" is the first single taken from the 2008 LP Third by English band Portishead. The song made its radio and download debut on 24 March 2008. It premiered on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show and was made available for download on the band's official website. A UK one-sided 12 inch vinyl was released on 14 April 2008.

Contents

The music video features the band playing the song at the studio. The 12-inch vinyl was released on 14 April, while a digital version was made available from the official site on 10 April. On 29 May, during the first concert at the Estrella Damm Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona, Chuck D of Public Enemy joined the band onstage to perform a rap section on the instrumental part at the end of the song.

The song's beat was sampled by The Weeknd on his song "Belong to the World" from his debut album Kiss Land. According to Geoff Barrow, the sample was used without the band's permission.

Track listing

  1. "Machine Gun" – 4:43
  • A different version of the song appeared in the teaser for the video game Metro: Last Light.
  • The song was featured in an episode of the British teen drama Skins, which is set in Bristol which is where the band are from.
  • The song is used as entrance theme of professional wrestler Marty Scurll in Progress Wrestling.

    • Charts

    "Machine Gun" entered the UK Singles Chart at number 52 on 30 March 2008, their first singles chart entry for ten years since "Only You" in March 1998.

    References

    Machine Gun (Portishead song) Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA