"Take It Easy Chicken" (sometimes written "Take It Easy, Chicken") is a song by

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

rock band

Mansun Mansun were an English alternative rock band, formed in Chester in 1995. The band comprised vocalist/rhythm guitarist Paul Draper, bassist Stove King, lead guitarist/backing vocalist Dominic Chad, and drummer Andie Rathbone. It was annou ...

first released in 1995. It was the first song that the group ever recorded, and was later re-recorded and released as the lead track of the ''Two EP'', the group's fourth release overall. An instrumental version appears in the PAL version of ''

Gran Turismo 2 ''Gran Turismo 2'' is a 1999 racing game developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It is the sequel to '' Gran Turismo''. It was well-received critically and financially, shipping 1.71&n ...

''.

Overview

The début single was only pressed to one thousand 7" vinyl copies in 1995, on the band's own garden shed label "Sci-Fi Hi-Fi Records".''Kleptomania'' (2004) CD liner notes The spelling of the group's name was 'MANSON'. ''Two EP'' was released on CD, Cassette and 7" Vinyl. ''Two EP'' peaked at #32 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in June 1996. In Japan three tracks from ''Two EP'' were compiled with the majority of the group's later release '' Three EP'' under the title ''Special Mini Album (Japan Only EP)''. It was not included on the standard editions of the début album '' Attack of the Grey Lantern'', US editions released by Epic records substituted the single "

Stripper Vicar "Stripper Vicar" is a song by Chester rock band Mansun released in 1996. It was the lead track of ''Three EP'' and was the band's fifth release overall. The single was the group's first with the group's new drummer, Andie Rathbone. The EP became Ma ...

" for "Take It Easy Chicken". A music video for the song was directed by Walter Stern. Paul Draper explained in the liner notes to ''

Kleptomania Kleptomania is the inability to resist the urge to steal items, usually for reasons other than personal use or financial gain. First described in 1816, kleptomania is classified in psychiatry as an impulse control disorder. Some of the main ch ...

'' that the song was recorded in a day along with four other songs in a self-financed session in "the cheapest studio we could find in the back of the ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

''". The track was pressed up to vinyl and sent out to radio stations.

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

and

Steve Lamacq Stephen Paul Lamacq (born 16 October 1964), sometimes known by his nickname Lammo (given to him by John Peel), is an English disc jockey, currently working with the BBC radio station BBC Radio 6 Music. Early life He attended The Ramsey Acade ...

played the song 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 current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

to Draper's surprise: "I couldn't believe it when I first heard them play the song, we'd never played a gig, could hardly play live and had no record deal". "Take It Easy Chicken" was the group's traditional closing song during live performances and was regularly extended, a nine-minute version recorded at Barrowlands,

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

was included as a b-side to " Negative" in 1998. A live version of "Drastic Sturgeon" included as a b-side to "

She Makes My Nose Bleed "She Makes My Nose Bleed" is a song by the English alternative rock band Mansun. The song was written by band-leader Paul Draper. It was recorded and produced by Draper with additional production by Mark 'Spike' Stent during sessions for the grou ...

" in 1997. An acoustic version of "Moronica" was featured on the " Wide Open Space" single in 1996.

Track listing

Personnel

;Mansun *

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Repub ...

– Lead Guitar * Paul Draper – Vocals, Guitar *

Hib ''Haemophilus influenzae'' (formerly called Pfeiffer's bacillus or ''Bacillus influenzae'') is a Gram-negative, non-motile, coccobacillary, facultatively anaerobic, capnophilic pathogenic bacterium of the family Pasteurellaceae. The bacteri ...

– Drums *

Stove A stove or range is a device that burns fuel or uses electricity to generate heat inside or on top of the apparatus, to be used for general warming or cooking. It has evolved highly over time, with cast-iron and induction versions being develope ...

– Bass ;Production * Mike Hunter – Engineering ("Take It Easy Chicken", "Drastic Sturgeon", "Moronica") * Ronnie Stone – Engineering ("Take It Easy Chicken", "Drastic Sturgeon", "Moronica") * Clive Martin – Mixing ("Drastic Sturgeon", "The Greatest Pain", "Moronica"), Engineering ("The Greatest Pain") * Mark 'Spike' Stent – Mixing ("Take It Easy Chicken" Re-recorded version)

Chart positions

References

{{Mansun 1996 singles Mansun songs Songs written by Paul Draper (musician) 1996 songs