🎊𝐁𝐑𝐔𝐈𝐒𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐄: ⭐𝟐𝟓𝐓𝐇⭐ 𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐀𝐑𝐘🎊

Exactly 25 years ago, on May 12th, 1997, Placebo’s song 𝐁𝐑𝐔𝐈𝐒𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐄 was released as the fifth and final single from the band’s self-titled debut album. It reached no. 14 in the UK Singles Chart.

𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐨 - 𝐁𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞 (𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐕𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨)

➡️ https://bit.ly/3vZFF2R

Photo credit: Derek Ridges; covers of Bruise Pristine 1995 and 1997 singles / edit by Olga

The single was released on 7" vinyl, cassette, and CD.
The song is a heavy riff-based track and is notable for its "behind the bridge" guitar solo. The 𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒐 𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒕 is intended to be more radio friendly; after the intro it cuts directly to the vocal verse and the solo is cut short.


🔶In fact, the story of 𝐁𝐑𝐔𝐈𝐒𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐄 started much earlier. as it’s Placebo’s very first song that has ever been released. Its original version was featured on the split single with the band Soup released by the record label Fierce Panda in October 1995. This version is different from the one which appeared on the 1996 album Placebo.


𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐨 - 𝐁𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞 (𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨 𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟓)
➡️ https://bit.ly/3N3K4sH

Photo credit: Pat Pope

The 1995 single version was later included into the Fierce Panda compilation Nings and Roundabouts, which 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 wasn’t specifically happy about…😉
𝑨𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒗𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒕?
📢"Yeah, our very first single, "Bruise Pristine", and it's about to be released on a Fierce Panda compilation," blurts Brian, without hesitation. "We really hate that version, it's so fast and, honestly, I do sound like Mickey Mouse on it. We were going to say no, but it's so ridiculous it has to be documented in some way. I can't really understand where this helium thing came from. My balls have dropped since then."
(𝑀𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑀𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑟, 𝑂𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑏𝑒𝑟 1998)


Both 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 and 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐟𝐚𝐧 have some funny memories related to the first time they heard Placebo on the radio.
📢𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐟𝐚𝐧: “For me it was Bruise Pristine. The DJ played it at the wrong speed. He thought the voice was too high for a guy, so he played it from 45s to 33s. It was our first time on the radio.”
(𝑀6 𝑀𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑐, 𝑀𝑎𝑟𝑐ℎ 2004)


📢𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐌𝐨𝐥𝐤𝐨: “It was so fast Mark Radcliff played it on the radio at 33rpm because he was sure it was far too short. It came out sounding like the Swans. Our first play on the radio was at the wrong speed; we thought that was very funny.”
📢𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐟𝐚𝐧 𝐎𝐥𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐥: “We had a launch gig at the Freedom Café on bonfire night – I remember because people set off the fire alarms with their sparklers!”
📢𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧: “The version that came out as a (later) single was actually re-recorded in London with Phil Vynall who did ‘Pure Morning’, whereas the album was dome in Dublin. We wanted to go to Amsterdam, but our managers wouldn’t let us. The idea was to get out of London but not go too far. I think they thought Dublin would have a bit of a calming influence on us. It was quite a calming influence – we didn’t really do much…”
📢𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐟𝐚𝐧: “… because we only had three weeks to do it. It was a budget job so we had to record seven days a week working from nine till midnight.”
(𝑅𝑜𝑐𝑘 𝑆𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑, 𝑂𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑏𝑒𝑟 2004)

Photo credit: Stefan de Batselier

⭐We definitely shouldn’t underestimate the song's very first 1995 release. Despite the imperfections mentioned by Brian, the original version of 𝐁𝐑𝐔𝐈𝐒𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐄 occurred to be really crucial for Placebo’s career as it helped the young band to get their 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒍.
“In the annual rush to snap up The Next Big Thing, one of the most prominent names on everyone's lips last year was London-based trio Placebo, who sparked a bidding war on the back of one single, Bruise Pristine on Fierce Panda, and just a handful of gigs. The race was eventually won by Virgin subsidiary Hut which signed the band to a multi-album deal in February.”
(𝑑𝑜𝑡𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑐.𝑐𝑜𝑚, 𝑀𝑎𝑦'96)


🔶The 𝑪𝑶𝑽𝑬𝑹 𝑨𝑹𝑻𝑾𝑶𝑹𝑲 of the 1995 Bruise Pristine release is based on the photograph of children in a bomb shelter during the Blitz by 𝑪𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒍 𝑩𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒏, a famous British fashion, portrait and war photographer, diarist, painter, interior and costume designer.
On the cover of the 1997 single, there’s a photo by 𝑺𝒂𝒖𝒍 𝑭𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓.


🔶The 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒐 for 𝐁𝐑𝐔𝐈𝐒𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐄 was directed by 𝑯𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝑮𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒏𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒈𝒉 known for his work with some great artists as Elton John, Pet Shop Boys, INXS, George Michael, Soundgarden to name a few. Greenhalgh continued collaborating with Placebo over the next years and directed music videos for Nancy Boy, Special K, Slave to the Wage, The Bitter End, This Picture, and For What It's Worth for them.

Photo credit: Bruise Pristine cover

⭐𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟓 𝟕” 𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓⭐
𝑭𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝑺𝒊𝒅𝒆
Placebo – Bruise Pristine
𝑷𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂 𝑺𝒊𝒅𝒆
Soup – m.e.l.t.d.o.w.n.


⭐𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟕 𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓⭐
𝑪𝑫 𝟏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆
Bruise Pristine (Radio Edit)
Then the Clouds Will Open for Me
Bruise Pristine (1" Punch Mix)
𝑪𝑫 𝟐
Bruise Pristine
Waiting for the Son of Man
Bruise Pristine (Lionrock Mix)
𝟕" 𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒚𝒍
Bruise Pristine (Radio Edit)
Bruise Pristine (1" Punch Mix)


Post by Olga