🎊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

🔹💦 𝐁𝐑𝐔𝐈𝐒𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐎 '𝟗𝟓 💦🔹

🔸 𝑫𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝑺𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔, 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒍𝒆𝒕'𝒔 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝑩𝒓𝒖𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒐 '95 🌠✨

🔷 The song was released in October 1995 as a 7' LP single.

🔷 It features the very first known version of Bruise Pristine. The song was recorded on the 𝑭𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝑷𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂 𝑹𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔 label at 𝑮𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒏𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒐. The rhythm is faster and Brian's vocals are rather high. He said himself that he has a "Mickey Mouse voice" on this recording.

Photo credit: Andy Wilsher, Bruise Pristine demo cover / edit by Laetitia

▪ 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. 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.
✔️ 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘔𝘰𝘭𝘬𝘰 - 𝘔𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳 - 𝘖𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘳 1998


🔷 Fierce Panda was founded by NME rock critics Paul Moody, John Harris and Simon Wiliams in 1993. For a long time the label specialized in releasing singles without signing artists to long term contracts, releasing the first records of noticeable bands as Coldplay, Ash or Keane. Simon Williams remembers the moment:


💬 We agreed to a single and the way they charmed meant that you just agree to everything they said. Normally, you do a settling single. Obviously, il belongs to one band and there's the A Side and the B Side but in this case, Placebo said: "We give you Bruise Pristine but on the B Side, we want our mates to have a song on there. Their mates were called Soup. We said: "Alright".
✔️ 𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘮𝘴 - 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘣𝘰, 𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘺𝘯𝘦 𝘋𝘝𝘋

🔷 Indeed, the record contains on the A side Bruise Pristine and the song 𝒎.𝒆.𝒍.𝒕.𝒅.𝒐.𝒘.𝒏 by the band 𝑺𝒐𝒖𝒑 on the B side. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any link to this song. It's a song with a 70's British vibe, with calm and somewhat haunting vocals. An excellent song by the way! I understand why Placebo wanted to share the record with them.


🔷 For the cover, Soup chose a black and white grainy picture of a light bulb. As for Placebo, it's a retouched photo by Cecil Beaton of children in a bomb shelter during the Blitz. It was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term Blitzkrieg, the German word for 'lightning war. It took place during September 1940 and May 1941.


▪𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞?"

💬 "It's a Cecil Beaton photograph of children in a bomb shelter during the Blitz."
✔️ 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘔𝘰𝘭𝘬𝘰 - 𝘙𝘢𝘧𝘵 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘣𝘰 - 2001

Photo credit: Andy Wilsher 

🔷 Cecil Beaton (1904-1980) was a British designer, writer, cartoonist, diarist and socialite who loved theatre in all its forms. But he is chiefly remembered as the leading British portrait and fashion photographer of his day. Beaton’s glamorous, elaborately staged photographs of twentieth century royalty and celebrities reflected his theatrical tastes.

Less well known is the fact that Beaton was one of Britain’s hardest working war photographers during the Second World War. As an official photographer for the British Ministry of Information, Beaton travelled far and wide to document the impact of war on people and places in his own unique style. In later life, Beaton came to regard his war photographs as his single most important body of photographic work. He took some 7,000 photographs for the Ministry of Information covering all aspects of the Second World War.
✔️ 𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘞𝘢𝘳 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘶𝘮𝘴


🔷 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒕 1500. Quite rare then. You are lucky if you own one ! 😄 👏


🔷 This song can be found on 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑶𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑫𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒔 CD as well with Nancy Boy, Teenage Angst and 36 Degrees.


🔷 The 𝒍𝒚𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒔 are identical to the studio version. Just one change though. Instead of the echoing "Encore" on the standard version, you can hear Brian singing in French "encore, encore, encore, encore, encore plus bas, encore plus fort, encore", which translation is "again, again, again, again, lower, harder, again".


🔸 𝑰 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒊𝒕'𝒔 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒕 !
📢 https://bit.ly/3IoEnDc ✨🎸

Post by Laetitia


#Placebo #Placeboworld #Soulmates #PlaceboAnyway #BruisePristine #BrianMolko #StefanOlsdal #BruisePristineDemo #BruisePristine95 #PlaceboLyrics #PlaceboSong #PlaceboHistory #PlaceboSingle #FiercePanda #CecilBeaton #BrianMolkoQuote #PlaceboRecord #PlaceboCollector #PlaceboRelease #PaulMoody #JohnHarris #SimonWiliams #NME