"The Earth Dies Screaming" is a song by British reggae band UB40, released as their third single in October 1980 as a double A-side with "Dream a Lie". It continued the band's chart success, peaking at number ten on the UK Singles Chart.[2]
| "The Earth Dies Screaming" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover of the 12-inch single | ||||
| Single by UB40 | ||||
| A-side | "Dream a Lie" | |||
| Released | 24 October 1980 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:45 | |||
| Label | Graduate | |||
| Songwriter(s) | UB40 | |||
| Producer(s) |
| |||
| UB40 singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background and release
editThe song was inspired and named after the 1964 science-fiction horror film. The lyrics were written by drummer Jimmy Brown, who in an interview prior to the release of the song said that when writing a song he liked to use "genre forms… using something popular to get our ideas across" and that in "The Earth Dies Screaming", "the story has a science-fiction setting to say what I want about now".[3] At the time, the fear of the threat of nuclear war was prevalent and this is what the band referred to in the song.[4]
The 12-inch version of the song differs to the 7-inch in that it begins with a dub instrumental before going into the main song. This diverged from the normal, with other 12-inch reggae songs typically featuring the dub instrumental after the main song.[5] The 12-inch single also featured a different cover sleeve, depicting the band performing. The 7-inch featured a picture of the British UB40 unemployment benefit card which had also been used as the artwork for the band's album Signing Off, and so to avoid confusion with the 12-inch release due to their similarity in size, the artwork was changed.[6]
Track listings
edit7": Graduate / GRAD 10
- "The Earth Dies Screaming" – 4:45
- "Dream a Lie" – 2:53
12": Graduate / 12 GRAD 10
- "The Earth Dies Screaming" – 8:20
- "Dream a Lie" – 7:52
12": Graduate / 12 GRAD 10 (Netherlands)
- "The Earth Dies Screaming" – 8:20
- "Dream a Lie" – 7:52
- "My Way of Thinking" – 6:45
Charts
edit| Chart (1980) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles (OCC)[2] | 10 |
| UK Independent Singles (Record Business)[7] | 1 |
References
edit- ^ Harrington, Jim (2016). "UB40 - Signing Off". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. London: Cassell Illustrated. p. 468.
- ^ a b "UB40: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
- ^ Sutcliffe, Phil (27 September 1980). "Punch Someone in Authority, That's Our Motto...". Sounds. p. 24.
- ^ Reynolds, Simon (2 April 2009). Rip it Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984. Faber & Faber. ISBN 978-0-571-25227-5.
- ^ Copland-Gray, Martin (6 September 2014). "UB40 In Conversation: Your City Needs You - Let's Strike Up the Band". Louder Than War. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ "UB40 - The Earth Dies Screaming / Dream A Lie". Discogs. 24 October 1980. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ Lazell, Barry (1997). "UB40". Indie Hits 1980–1989: The Complete U.K. Independent Charts (Singles & Albums). Cherry Red Books. ISBN 0-95172-069-4. Archived from the original on 20 April 2004. Retrieved 19 December 2020.