Barrel of a Gun (Depeche Mode song)

This article is about the Depeche Mode song. For the song by Guster, see Barrel of a Gun (Guster song).

"Barrel of a Gun"
Single by Depeche Mode
from the album Ultra
B-side	"Painkiller"
Released	February 3, 1997
Format	Vinyl record 7", 12", CD
Recorded	1996
Genre	Alternative rock, Industrial rock
Length	5:35 (Album Version) 4:00 (Radio Edit)
Label	Mute Records
Writer(s)	Martin Gore
Producer	Tim Simenon
Depeche Mode singles chronology
"In Your Room" (1994) "Barrel of a Gun" (1997) "It's No Good" (1997)

"Barrel of a Gun" is Depeche Mode's thirty-first UK single, released on February 3, 1997 (January 28 in the US), and the first single from the band's ninth studio album Ultra.

Track history

"Barrel of a Gun" came after some difficult times for the band and its members. Musician Alan Wilder left the band in 1995, and lead singer David Gahan nearly died while in the throes of heroin addiction. Martin Gore had a string of seizures, and Andrew Fletcher had some emotional problems of his own. In mid-1996, Gore tried to get Gahan and Fletcher interested in recording new Depeche Mode material by writing a few songs and seeing if anybody was interested in continuing after that. It worked, and the band were back together, except now a trio again for the first time since 1982's A Broken Frame.

"Barrel of a Gun" brings back the industrial music sound, and is one of the band's darkest songs. Gore wasn't sure if it was going to be a big hit, so he was reluctant to recommend this song as the first single, but when he eventually did, it turned out the rest of band, Daniel Miller, and producer Tim Simenon agreed. It reached #4 in the UK chart in 1997, which at the time was their highest chart position jointly with People Are People, released in 1984. Since then, Precious has also reached #4 in the UK, in 2005.

The B-side is a 7+ minute instrumental called "Painkiller", which reflects the new dirty-electronic, vaguely-rock angle of the band. A condensed (2+ minute) version shows up as a hidden track on the Ultra album as "Junior Painkiller".

Video

The music video for "Barrel of a Gun" is directed by Anton Corbijn, DM's long-time visual collaborator. It features Gahan singing with his eyes closed, with eyeballs drawn on his eyelids to make it seem like they are open. The video was shot in Morocco.

Track listings

12": Mute / 12Bong25 (UK)

1. "Barrel of a Gun" (5:29)
2. "Barrel of a Gun (Underworld Hard Mix)" (9:37)
3. "Barrel of a Gun (3 Phase Mix)" (5:23) (remixed by Sven Röhrig)
4. "Barrel of a Gun (One Inch Punch Mix V2)" (5:28) (remixed by One Inch Punch)
5. "Barrel of a Gun (Underworld Soft Mix)" (6:29)

12": Mute / L12Bong25 (UK)

1. "Painkiller (Plastikman Mix)" (8:39)
2. "Painkiller" (7:29)
3. "Barrel of a Gun (One Inch Punch Mix)" (5:25)
4. "Barrel of a Gun (United Mix)" (6:36) (remixed by United - Marc Waterman and Paul Freegard)

CD: Mute / CDBong25 (UK)

1. "Barrel of a Gun" (5:29)
2. "Painkiller" (7:29)
3. "Barrel of a Gun (Underworld Soft Mix)" (6:29)
4. "Barrel of a Gun (One Inch Punch Mix)" (5:25)

CD: Mute / LCDBong25 (UK)

1. "Barrel of a Gun (Underworld Hard Mix)" (9:37)
2. "Barrel of a Gun (United Mix)" (6:36)
3. "Painkiller (Plastikman Mix)" (8:39)

CD: Mute / CDBong25X (EU)

1. "Barrel of a Gun" (5:29)
2. "Painkiller" (7:29)
3. "Barrel of a Gun (Underworld Soft Mix)" (6:29)
4. "Barrel of a Gun (One Inch Punch Mix)" (5:25)
5. "Barrel of a Gun (Underworld Hard Mix)" (9:37)
6. "Barrel of a Gun (United Mix)" (6:36)
7. "Painkiller (Plastikman Mix)" (8:39)
8. "Barrel of a Gun (3 Phase Mix)" (5:23)
9. "Barrel of a Gun (One Inch Punch Mix V2)" (5:28)

• This CD is the 2004 re-release

Promo 12": Mute / P12Bong25 (UK)

1. "Barrel of a Gun (Underworld Hard Mix)" (9:37)
2. "Painkiller (Plastikman Mix)" (8:39)
3. "Barrel of a Gun" (5:29)
4. "Barrel of a Gun (Underworld Hard Instrumental)" (9:13)

Promo 12": Mute / PL12Bong25 (UK)

1. "Barrel of a Gun (One Inch Punch Mix V2)" (5:25)
2. "Painkiller (Original Mix)" (5:26)
3. "Barrel of a Gun (3 Phase Mix)" (5:29)
4. "Barrel of a Gun (Original Mix)" (5:35)

Promo CD: Mute / RCDBong25 (UK)

1. "Barrel of a Gun (Radio Edit)" (4:01)
2. "Barrel of a Gun (Album Version)" (5:29)

7": Reprise / 17390-7 (US)

1. "Barrel Of A Gun" (5:30)
2. "Painkiller" (7:28)

CD: Sire/Reprise / 2-17409 (US)

1. "Barrel of a Gun" (5:29)
2. "Barrel of a Gun (United Mix)" (6:36)
3. "Painkiller" (7:29)

CD: Sire/Reprise / 43828-2 (US)

1. "Barrel of a Gun" (5:29)
2. "Painkiller (Plastikman Mix)" (8:39)
3. "Barrel of a Gun (Underworld Soft Mix)" (6:27)
4. "Barrel of a Gun (One Inch Punch Mix V2)" (5:25)
5. "Barrel of a Gun (Underworld Hard Mix)" (9:36)

• "One Inch Punch Mix V2" was falsely mistaken for the regular "One Inch Punch Mix". The latter was not released in the US till the 2004 re-release.

Promo CD: Sire/Reprise / PRO-CD-8600 (US)

1. "Barrel of a Gun (Radio Edit)" (4:01)
2. "Barrel of a Gun" (5:29)

• All songs written by Martin L. Gore

Charts

Chart (1997)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart	33
Austrian Singles Chart	15
Finnish Singles Chart	3
French Singles Chart	22
German Singles Chart	3
Italian Singles Chart	4
Spain (AFYVE)	1
Swedish Singles Chart	1
Swiss Singles Chart	30
UK Singles Chart	4
US Billboard Hot 100	47
US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks	11

External links

• Single information from the official Depeche Mode web site