Take The Skinheads Bowling
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"Take the Skinheads Bowling" is a song by the American
alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
band
Camper Van Beethoven Camper Van Beethoven is an American rock band formed in Redlands, California, in 1983, later based in Santa Cruz and San Francisco. Their style mixes elements of pop, ska, punk, folk, alternative, country, and world music, among other ge ...
, written by the band's frontman David Lowery and released on their 1985 album '' Telephone Free Landslide Victory''. Though never released as a single or appearing on any radio charts, the song's "incredibly catchy singalong chorus" led it to become their
signature song A signature (; from , "to sign") is a depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. Signatures are often, but not always, handwritten or styliz ...
. "Take the Skinheads Bowling" received substantial airplay on
KROQ KROQ-FM (106.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pasadena, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock format known as "The World Famous KROQ" (pronounced "kay-rock"). The sta ...
and
BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...
as well as on The Dr. Demento Show. Lowery admits to being surprised by the success of "Take the Skinheads Bowling," stating on his blog:


Lyrics

The lyrics of the song mainly discuss the titular action of " akingthe skinheads bowling", but there are also some humorous lines relating to bowling alleys ("Some people say that bowling alleys got big lanes"), the song itself ("There's not a line that goes here that rhymes with anything") or surrealistic asides ("I had a dream; I wanted to lick your knees")


Other versions

A version of the song performed by
Teenage Fanclub Teenage Fanclub are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in Glasgow in 1989. The group were founded by Norman Blake (Scottish musician), Norman Blake (vocals, guitar), Raymond McGinley (vocals, lead guitar) and Gerard Love (vocals, bass), al ...
was featured in the
Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and author. Moore's work frequently addresses various Social issue, social, political, and economic topics. He first became publicly known for his award-winning debut ...
documentary '' Bowling for Columbine'', The song was covered by Welsh rock band
Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Wales, Welsh Rock music, rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, in 1986. The band consists of Nicky Wire (bass guitar, lyrics) and cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, le ...
as a B-side to their 1996 single "
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
" and subsequently included on their B-side compilation album '' Lipstick Traces (A Secret History of Manic Street Preachers)''. The norwegian pop band Astroburger covered the song on their debut album ''I used to be mod'' in 1992. The Australian indie rock band ''
Custard Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with Eggs as food, egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in con ...
'' did a cover on their 2020 album, '' Respect All Lifeforms''.


Take the Skinheads Bowling EP


Track listing

# "Take the Skinheads Bowling" # "Cowboys From Hollywood" # "Epigram" # "Atkuda" # "Epigram" # "Colonel Enrique Adolfo Bermudez"


Charts


References

1985 songs 1986 singles Ten-pin bowling mass media I.R.S. Records singles Camper Van Beethoven songs Manic Street Preachers songs {{Camper_Van Beethoven