Motown Junk

"Motown Junk"
Single by Manic Street Preachers
Released	January 21, 1991, Re-issue May 21st, 2011
Format	CD, vinyl record (12", 7")
Recorded	Late 1990
Genre	Alternative, glam punk, hard rock, indie rock
Length	3:59
Label	Heavenly HVN8 12
Producer	Robin Wynn Evans
Manic Street Preachers singles chronology
"New Art Riot" (1990) "Motown Junk" (1991) "You Love Us" (1991)

"Motown Junk" is an early stand alone single from the rock band Manic Street Preachers. It was released on January 21, 1991, and peaked at #94 on the UK Singles Chart. The track has long been a live favourite from the earlier part of their career to the present day. The title track shows the band during their pinnacle of iconoclastic attitude, such as in the lyric, "I laughed when Lennon got shot". The Motown in the title refers to famed 60s and 70s label Motown Records. The song also displayed their diverse cultural scope with a Public Enemy-sampling intro and an outro sample of The Skids.

Both B-sides featured on the single ("Sorrow 16" and "We Her Majesty's Prisoners") were on the later singles "Slash 'n' Burn" - "You Love Us" respectively - from the band's debut album, Generation Terrorists. The single was the band's first from their then record label, Heavenly Records. Despite its relatively poor charting, the single gained the band much attention from the press.

The single's cover features a watch recovered from the Hiroshima bomb site depicting the exact moment of detonation.

In 2008, the band added a Johnny Boy Anniversary Mix free embedded version to their official website, which featured spoken dialogue by Richey Edwards.

In 2011, Heavenly Records re-released Motown Junk to sell at the Manic Street Preachers gig on the 21st of May 2011 and at the Berwick Independent Marker.

Track listing

CD / 12"

1. "Motown Junk"
2. "Sorrow 16"
3. "We Her Majesty's Prisoners"

Track listing

7"

1. "Side A: Motown Junk"
2. "Side B: Sorrow 16"