"Jonny Sniper" was the third physical single, and fourth overall, by

Enter Shikari Enter Shikari are a British Rock music, rock band formed in St Albans in 1999 by bassist Chris Batten, lead vocalist and keyboardist Rou Reynolds, and drummer Rob Rolfe. In 2003, guitarist Rory Clewlow joined the band to complete its current li ...

and the third single to be released from their debut album ''

Take to the Skies ''Take to the Skies'' is the debut studio album by British rock band Enter Shikari. Background and recording Following the demise of Hybryd, Enter Shikari was formed with Rou Reynolds on vocals, Rory Clewlow on guitar, Chris Batten on bass, an ...

''. The band have referred to the single as a "double a-side", possibly due to the positive response to "Kickin' Back on the Surface of Your Cheek", the b-side from the previous single.

Track listing

*CD #"Jonny Sniper" - 4:02 #"Acid Nation" - 3:12 #"Sorry You’re Not A Winner" (Live From

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reed Lowe (born 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence through pr ...

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

Session) - 4:23 *7" vinyl #"Jonny Sniper" - 4:02 #"Acid Nation" - 3:12 * Digital download (7digital and

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

) #"Jonny Sniper" - 4:02 #"Acid Nation" - 3:12 #"Sorry You’re Not A Winner" (Live From

Session) - 4:23 #"Jonny Sniper" (Emotiquon Remix) - 7:10 #"Jonny Sniper" (Ocelot Remix) - 4:41 - iTunes pack only

Music video

The video premiered on MTV2 Europe (now

MTV Two MTV Rocks (formerly MTV Two, MTV2 Europe and M2) was a British pay television music channel that was operated by ViacomCBS Networks UK & Australia. Its programming consisted of 24-hour non-stop rock/alternative music. The channel closed on 20 ...

) on Monday, May 21, 2007. It shows the band going up from a platform to pick up their instruments and play. The video also features special effects throughout the video. At the end, the band's old tour van, dubbed by fans as "The Shikari

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

", is blown up by

pyrotechnics Pyrotechnics is the science and craft of creating fireworks, but also includes safety matches, oxygen candles, Pyrotechnic fastener, explosive bolts (and other fasteners), parts of automotive airbags, as well as gas-pressure blasting in mining, q ...

Meaning

"Jonny Sniper" is described by Rou in the March 10th issue of ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British music webzine and quarterly magazine that primarily covers rock, punk and heavy metal music. Since 2017, the magazine has been published by Wasted Talent Ltd (the same company that owns electronic music publication ...

'' saying this of the song "It's about people having no respect for the earth. The lyrics are about the earth crying out, telling us to behave". This is similar to the description given for the song "No Sssweat" by the band at live shows. They were present in other areas as well when a demo version of the track, less produced, with different lyrics and a slightly different structure, was featured on Enter Shikari's third demo EP 'Anything Can Happen In The Next Half Hour'. The band has claimed that "Johnny Sniper" is the name of the comic figure that appeared in their

Key Stage 3 Key Stage 3 (commonly abbreviated as KS3) is the legal term for the three years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9, when pupils are aged between 11 and 14. In Northern Ireland the ...

sex education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual activity, sexual reproduction, safe sex, birth ...

lessons. Furthermore, during many gigs on their 2007

tour Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed ...

, promotional Jonny Sniper

condom A condom is a sheath-shaped Barrier contraception, barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a Sexually transmitted disease, sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both external condo ...

s were handed out.

Reception

The B-side "Acid Nation" was first aired on

on Wednesday, May 30, 2007, at 8:07 PM. The song was available free on

as part of the "Free Single Saturday" campaign. The popular music magazine

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

dubbed the single "The worst single ever made by anybody ever", which Chris Batten mocked during the secret

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Radio Theatre gig, and again by using the quote to introduce the song at the

Download Festival Download Festival is a rock festival created by Andy Copping, held annually at the Donington Park motorsport circuit in Leicestershire, England (since 2003); in Paris, France (since 2016); at Parramatta Park, Sydney (since 2019); Flemington ...

2007.

Chart performance

Personnel

;Enter Shikari *

Roughton "Rou" Reynolds Enter Shikari are a British Rock music, rock band formed in St Albans in 1999 by bassist Chris Batten, lead vocalist and keyboardist Rou Reynolds, and drummer Rob Rolfe. In 2003, guitarist Rory Clewlow joined the band to complete its current li ...

- vocals, piano, electronics * Chris Batten - bass, backing vocals * Liam "Rory" Clewlow - guitar, backing vocals * Rob Rolfe - drums ;Production *Enter Shikari - producer *John Mitchell - recording *Ben Humphreys - recording *Martin Giles - mastering *Keaton Henson - illustration, design

References

{{authority control 2007 singles Enter Shikari songs 2007 songs