"Know Your Product" is a song written by

Ed Kuepper Edmund Kuepper (born 20 December 1955) is a German-born Australian guitarist, Singing, vocalist and songwriter. He co-founded the punk band The Saints (Australian band), The Saints in 1973, the experimental post-punk group Laughing Clowns (acti ...

and Chris Bailey of Australian

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band The Saints. Released in February 1978, it was the second single from the group's second album, '' Eternally Yours''. Noted for its unusual mix of prominent brass with a

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

guitar sound, the track has been described as a "pile-driving surge of raw soul power and one of the greatest singles from the punk rock period."John Robb (2006). ''Punk Rock: An Oral History'': pp. 412-413

Production and release

A transitional record for The Saints, "Know Your Product" developed the aggressive punk sound of their debut single, "

(I'm) Stranded ''(I'm) Stranded'' is the debut album by Australian punk rock group The Saints (Australian band), The Saints which was released by EMI on 21 February 1977. Their debut single, "(I'm) Stranded (song), (I'm) Stranded", was issued ahead of the album ...

" (1976), while anticipating the horn-driven R&B of their next album, ''

Prehistoric Sounds ''Prehistoric Sounds'' is the third album by the Australian punk rock group The Saints, released in 1978 via Harvest. This was the final album to feature founding lead guitarist, Ed Kuepper, who left the band shortly after its release. In Octob ...

'' (1978).Andrew Stafford (2004, 2006). ''Pig City: From The Saints to Savage Garden'': pp. 57-76 Regarding its musical influences, singer Chris Bailey later said, "Thank

Sam and Dave Sam & Dave were an American soul and R&B duo who performed together from 1961 until 1981. The tenor (higher) voice was Sam Moore (1935–2025) and the baritone/tenor (lower) voice was Dave Prater (1937–1988). Nicknamed "Double Dynamite", " ...

for the brass section! And

Stax Stax can refer to: * StAX, (Computer Programming) Streaming API for reading and writing XML in Java * Stax Ltd, a Japanese brand of electrostatic headphones * Stax Records Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, ...

's horns." Lyrically the song was a cynical take on consumerism; in a 2004 interview, guitarist Ed Kuepper agreed that it was "like a distant cousin to '

(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. A product of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' songwriting partnership, it features a guitar riff by Richards that opens and drives the song. The riff is w ...

'." A video of the band performing "Know Your Product" was released, shot entirely in solarised colour. The single did not chart, however. Referring to one of the leading mainstream DJs on

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 ...

, Bailey noted "

Tony Blackburn Anthony Kenneth Blackburn (born 29 January 1943) is an English disc jockey, singer and television presenter, whose career spans over 60 years. Blackburn first achieved fame broadcasting on the pirate stations Radio Caroline and Radio Londo ...

didn't like it, which was the biggest compliment you could have at the time." The B-side, "Run Down", also appeared on ''Eternally Yours''; in place of the A-side's horns it employed harmonica to augment the band's regular guitar, bass and drum sound. Another track on the album was punningly titled "No, Your Product".

Reception

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' opined that making this the opening track on ''Eternally Yours'' "confused pretty much everyone: what the hell was a brass section doing on a punk record? The punchy horns are the perfect counterpart to Bailey’s drawled vocals and Kuepper’s buzzsaw guitar." While noting that the song was doomed to make little impact in the charts, it was described as "one of the greatest Australian singles ever made."

Other uses

'' Know Your Product'' was used as the title of a 1996 compilation of The Saints' punk-era music.

Hunters and Collectors Hunters & Collectors are an Australian rock band from Melbourne, formed in 1981. Fronted by founding member, singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Seymour, the band's other mainstays are John Archer on bass guitar and Doug Falconer on drums an ...

covered the song in 1994, while

Midnight Oil Midnight Oil (known informally as "The Oils") are an Australian rock band composed of Peter Garrett (vocals, harmonica), Rob Hirst (drums), Jim Moginie (guitar, keyboard) and Martin Rotsey (guitar). The group was formed in Sydney in 1972 by H ...

recorded a live version in the late 1990s. It appeared on the soundtrack of the film '' Head On'' in 1998. Other bands to cover the song include

Painters and Dockers Painters and Dockers are a rock band formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1982. Paul Stewart, singer-songwriter and trumpet player, Dave Pace (vocals and trumpet) and Mick Morris (vocals and sax) are all original members in the band which was n ...

, The Porkers, Blowhard, and

King Khan and the Shrines King Khan and the Shrines, sometimes referred to as King Khan and (His) Sensational Shrines are a Berlin-based garage rock and psychedelic soul band. History The band was founded in 1999 by then 22-year-old King Khan, formerly of Canadian gara ...

. The

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

show '' Spicks and Specks'' used the name of the song in a segment of the show every week.

Kurt Cobain Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – ) was an American musician. He was the lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter, and a founding member of the grunge band Nirvana (band), Nirvana. Through his angsty songwriting and anti-establis ...

listed it in his top fifty recordings of all time.

Track listing

Both songs written by Ed Kuepper and Chris Bailey #"Know Your Product" – 3:14 #"Run Down" – 2:31

Personnel

* Chris Bailey –

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

–

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

*Ivor Hay –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

Algy Ward Alasdair Mackie "Algy" Ward (11 July 1959 – 17 May 2023) was an English punk rock and heavy metal bass guitarist and singer. He began his career in 1977, as a bassist for the Australian proto punk garage band the Saints. Afterwards, he jo ...

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

Graham Preskett Graham Donald Harry Preskett is a British composer and musician who has been active since the early 1970s. He appeared on the Mott the Hoople albums ''Mott'' (1973) and '' The Hoople'' (1974), playing violin on both, and arranging and conducting ...

– brass arrangements ("Know Your Product") *Iain Ward –

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

("Run Down")

References

{{authority control 1978 songs The Saints (Australian band) songs Songs written by Ed Kuepper Songs written by Chris Bailey (musician) EMI Records singles