Forbidden City (Electronic song)
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| "Forbidden City" | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Single by Electronic | ||
| Released | 24 June 1996 | |
| Format | 7", CD, cassette | |
| Label | Parlophone (UK); Virgin (Europe); Warner Bros. Records (America and Australia). | |
| Producer(s) | Bernard Sumner & Johnny Marr | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| Electronic singles chronology | ||
| "Disappointed" (1992) |
"Forbidden City" (1996) |
"For You" (1996) |
"Forbidden City" was the fifth single released by the English band Electronic, which comprised Bernard Sumner and Johnny Marr with guesting co-writer Karl Bartos of Kraftwerk. It was the lead single from their second album Raise the Pressure, and their first release in almost exactly four years, the last being the stand-alone single Disappointed.
The track was one of the fastest to be written and recorded on the album,[1] with most of the music by Marr and the lyrics by Sumner (much like 1991's "Get the Message" and "Make It Happen" two years later). It is a guitar pop/rock song with a heavily distorted guitar solo by Marr; lyrically it is about a young man who has an abusive relationship with his father but wants to return home despite this antagonism.[2]
As well as a UK release, "Forbidden City" was also issued in Australia and Germany on Compact Disc, and in America as a 1-track radio promo. The commercial releases came with two non-album B-sides, "Imitation of Life" (an edited version of which would appear on Get the Message - The Best of Electronic ten years later) and "A New Religion", which featured Denise Johnson providing backing vocals. All three songs were written with Karl Bartos. The Australian CD omitted "A New Religion" in favour of "Getting Away With It".
The song was not a huge hit but did receive substantial radio play in Britain. It remains one of Johnny Marr's favourite Electronic songs, and opened up the best of in 2006, with stills from its Tom Merriton-directed video used for the front cover and inside the booklet.
