"You Love Us" is a song by

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

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

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 ...

. It was initially released as a single on 7 May 1991 by Heavenly. The song was re-recorded and released on 20 January 1992 by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

as the third single from the band's debut studio album, ''

Generation Terrorists ''Generation Terrorists'' is the debut studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 10 February 1992 by Columbia Records. On the back of significant media attention and a "disproportionately high press profil ...

''.

Release

"You Love Us" was originally released as a single on 7 May 1991 by record label Heavenly. This version of the song begins with a sample of

Krzysztof Penderecki Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best-known works include '' Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', '' Polish Requiem'', '' ...

's "

Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima ''Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', also translated as ''Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima'' (), is a musical composition for 52 string instruments composed in 1961 by Krzysztof Penderecki. Dedicated to the residents and ''hibakusha'' ...

" and ends with a coda which includes a drum sample from

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...

's "Lust for Life". B-side "Spectators of Suicide" includes a vocal sample of a speech by

Black Panther A black panther is the Melanism, melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical Rosette (zoology), rosettes are al ...

Bobby Seale Robert George Seale (born October 22, 1936) is an African American revolutionary, political activist and author. Seale is widely known for co-founding the Marxist–Leninist and black power political organization the Black Panther Party (BPP) ...

, a shorter clip of which had previously appeared on the last track of

McCarthy McCarthy (also spelled MacCarthy or McCarty) may refer to: * MacCarthy dynasty, a Gaelic Irish clan * McCarthy, Alaska, United States * McCarty, Missouri, United States * McCarthy Road, a road in Alaska * McCarthy (band), an indie pop band * Châte ...

's 1989 album '' The Enraged Will Inherit the Earth''. You Love Us was also re-recorded and released again on 20 January 1992 as the third single from ''

''. The new version also featured no

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...

, but had a much heavier rock sound and the "Lust for Life" coda was replaced, on the album version of the track, by an extended guitar solo. This version of the song reached number 16 in the UK charts on 1 February 1992. It was the most successful single released from the album. It also made an appearance as track number six on the 2002 greatest hits compilation, ''

Forever Delayed ''Forever Delayed'' is a greatest hits album and DVD by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 28 October 2002 by Epic Records. The album included three singles which had never appeared on any of the band's earlier al ...

''. The CD single included the

B-sides The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

"A Vision of Dead Desire", "We Her Majesty's Prisoners" and a live cover of

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...

' " It's So Easy". The 12" featured "A Vision of Dead Desire" and "It's So Easy" and the 7" and cassette just "A Vision of Dead Desire".

Content and style

David Owens proclaimed the track a "firebrand

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

classic". By ''

Clash Music ''Clash'' is a Music magazine, music and fashion magazine and website based in the United Kingdom. It is published four times a year by Music Republic Ltd, whose predecessor Clash Music Ltd went into liquidation. The magazine won awards includin ...

'', ''You Love Us'' has been illustrated as an example of "

glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal music, heavy metal that features pop music, pop-influenced Hook (music), hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat arena rock, rock anthems, and slow Sentimental ballad#Powe ...

glory".

Live performances

The song was performed live with missing guitarist and lyricist

Richey James Edwards Richard James Edwards (22 December 1967 – disappeared 1 February 1995, declared dead 24 November 2008), also known as Richey James or Richey Manic, was a Welsh musician who was the lyricist and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band ...

just five weeks before he vanished, which was the last time Edwards was seen on stage. The band as a foursome played the song as set-closer for their sell-out final gig at the

London Astoria The London Astoria was a music venue at 157 Charing Cross Road, in London, England, that operated from 1976 to 2009. Originally a warehouse during the 1920s, the building became a cinema and ballroom. It was converted for use as a theatre in t ...

Legacy

"You Love Us" is widely regarded as one of the band's best songs. In 2011, ''

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 ...

'' ranked the song number six on their list of the 10 greatest Manic Street Preachers songs, and in 2022, ''

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 ...

'' ranked the song number five on their list of the 30 greatest Manic Street Preachers songs. In December 2015, Cardiff brewers Crafty Devil named a beer after the song.

Track listing

Heavenly Version

; CD and 12" version ; 7" version

Album version

; CD version ; 12" version ; 7" version ; CD (Japan)

Charts

References

Sources

External links

* {{Manic Street Preachers 1991 songs 1991 singles 1992 singles Manic Street Preachers songs Columbia Records singles Songs written by Richey Edwards Songs written by James Dean Bradfield Songs written by Nicky Wire Songs written by Sean Moore (musician)