| "Clint Eastwood" | ||||
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| Single byGorillaz | ||||
| from the albumGorillaz | ||||
| B-side | "Dracula" | |||
| Released | 5 March 2001 (2001-03-05) | |||
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| Label | Parlophone | |||
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| Gorillaz singles chronology | ||||
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| Del the Funky Homosapien singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Clint Eastwood" onYouTube | ||||
"Clint Eastwood" is a song by Englishvirtual bandGorillaz, released as their debut single and the lead single fromtheir self-titled debut album on 5 March 2001. The song is named after theactor of the same name due to its similarity tothe theme music ofThe Good, the Bad and the Ugly.[5] The song is a mix ofelectronic music,dub,hip-hop androck. The verses are rapped byDel the Funky Homosapien, portrayed as a blue phantom in the video, while the chorus is sung byDamon Albarn (2-D in the video).
"Clint Eastwood" peaked at number four on theUK Singles Chart, reached number 57 on the USBillboard Hot 100, and entered the top 10 in nine other countries, including Italy, where it peaked at number one. The single has sold 1,200,000 copies in the UK and has been certified double platinum by theBritish Phonographic Industry (BPI).Rolling Stone ranked it at number 38 on its 100 best songs of the 2000s.[6] In October 2011,NME placed it at number 141 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".[7] The magazine also ranked it at number 347 on their list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[8] In 2021,Double J ranked it as the 14th best debut single of all time.[9]
Demo versions of "Clint Eastwood" were originally recorded byDamon Albarn on afour-track using adrum machine and guitar. A re-recording similar to these demos was recorded intoLogic for use as a backing track. The strings featured in the song are from a string machine, theSolina String Ensemble. According to engineer, Jason Cox, "Damon gave us the OK to set fire to it on stage, but we said 'No, you can't set fire to that! It's a classic!'", and it ended up being used on the song as well as some other tracks on the album.[10] The drums are provided by a drum machine and the main instrument used in the song is themelodica, which Albarn used to make the basic track as well.[10] The instrumental beat originated from the first preset of theOmnichord, an electronic instrument.[11]
RapperDel the Funky Homosapien was brought onto the track at the last minute. The rap verses had originally been recorded by British groupPhi Life Cypher, but producerDan the Automator asked Del to quickly record his own verses for the song during a recording session for the 2000 albumDeltron 3030 which he was recording with Del and the groupDeltron 3030 at the same time. Del then wrote and recorded his verses in 30 minutes, utilizing the bookHow to Write a Hit Song gifted to him by his mother.[12] Del later said that he was completely unaware of the song's release on the albumGorillaz and its success until people he personally knew began telling him that it was being played all over the radio.[13]
Of the song's title, Albarn explained during aRedditAsk Me Anything: "We were recording in Jamaica and listening to a lot ofdancehall music and we imagined a cool moniker to have would beClint Eastwood. Also I'm a great fan of the actor and ofSergio Leone andEnnio Morricone".[14]
Some of the single releases featured an alternative version of the song which featured Britishhip hop group Phi Life Cypher, who also feature on the group's B-side "The Sounder". This was the original version.[10]
For some live performances of the song, alternative rappers are used. At theBrit Awards 2002, the original version was performed, withPhi Life Cypher. For the 2005 Demon Detour Live shows, a version of the song featuringDe La Soul, who have also appeared on "Feel Good Inc." and "Superfast Jellyfish", andBootie Brown, who has also appeared on "Dirty Harry", was written and recorded. This version was released on the CD single of "Dare". During theEscape to Plastic Beach Tour, a third version of the track, featuring British rapperTinie Tempah, was written and performed. During July 2010, when Tempah was unable to make tour performances, a fourth version of the song, featuring Tempah's verses performed by Britishgrime MCsKano andBashy, was devised.Snoop Dogg also performed a rap during the group's2010 Glastonbury performance. During the group's Asian tour dates, a fifth version of the song, featuring all new verses from Lebanese-Syrian rapperEslam Jawaad, was performed.[15]
During Gorillaz co-creator Damon Albarn's 2014 solo tour forEveryday Robots, he performed the song live with Dan the Automator and Del the Funky Homosapien for the first time.[16][17] Later in the tour, he played the song with new guest rappers likeVic Mensa, while also bringing back rappers who have previously performed the song with Gorillaz like Bashy and Snoop Dogg.[18]
Since Gorillaz' return in 2017, other rappers have performed the track, such asLittle Simz andVince Staples, with others like Kano and Del returning at select shows.[19]
Argentine rap star andfreestylerTrueno performed the song alongside Gorillaz atQuilmes Rock in 2022.[relevant?] Later that same year, American rapperFreddie Gibbs made a guest appearance onstage with Gorillaz where he performed his verse from "Thuggin'" off his 2014 albumPiñata.[relevant?]
"Clint Eastwood" received widespread acclaim from critics, who praised the catchiness and the blend of hip-hop with alternative rock. Alex Needham ofNME praised theEd Case Remix, stating that it "hauls [the track] down the dancefloor of Twice As Nice, where all the disparate elements fall into place and the jarring culture clash suddenly makes perfect sense. A little shift in perspective and, suddenly, you've got aWest LondonBasement Jaxx, embodying a more interesting – and accurate – vision of England than anythingBlur (Albarn's other project) have dared to attempt."[20]
In 2001,Jamie Hewlett and Albarn indicated that they had not received any feedback fromClint Eastwood himself over the song.[21] Albarn expressed a desire to send the actor some of the band's merchandise as a mark of respect, and said, "I'm sure Clint Eastwood would like [the song]. He's an intelligent man."[21]
Theanimatedmusic video was directed byJamie Hewlett and Pete Candeland. It starts with the Gorillaz logo in red against a black screen, and the following quote from the 1978 filmDawn of the Dead: "Every dead body that is not exterminated, gets up and kills. The people it kills, get up and kill" in Japanese then in English. This phrase was deemed offensive in some countries and a censored version was produced that omits this intro. The video and song name is a reference to the famous Western starring actor Clint Eastwood,The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. An interpolation of the yell from thefilm's theme song, in particular that film's protagonist Tuco Ramirez (Eli Wallach)'s leitmotif, can be heard at the beginning of the video, followed by sinister laughter fromMurdoc Niccals. The notes that the melodica plays are also based on the yell.
The band is seen playing their music against a completely white backdrop.2-D is seen wearing a T-Virus shirt most likely referencingResident Evil. Russel Hobbs' cap then begins to mysteriously rise on its own, and the ghost of Del appears to be emerging from under it. He begins to rap, leaving the other band members dumbfounded, and the backdrop slowly develops dark clouds in the sky. Enormoustombstones start to burst out of the ground, and the scene becomes that of acemetery, as a shower of rain and thunderstorm begins. Shortly afterwards,zombie gorilla hands rise up from the ground. Murdoc is grabbed by the crotch and pulled to the ground, a reference to thePeter Jackson zombie filmBraindead. Seconds later, the zombie gorillas themselves rise up. Murdoc immediately flees at the sight of them, with a number of them pursuing him. He then turns and glares at them out of frustration at his inability to escape, and the zombie apes engage in a bizarre dance routine before Murdoc is knocked back by alightning bolt; this dance routine is similar to thechoreography ofMichael Jackson's music video "Thriller".[22]
Noodle is then shown joyfully skipping along, almost as if she is completely unaware of her surroundings, and in her playful skipping, she delivers a hard kick to one of the zombie gorillas in the face. Immediately afterwards, Del is then sucked back into Russel's head as the gorillas all disintegrate, and the band members are left standing in the cemetery, now bright with sunlight. The video then concludes with a split screen showing each of the four band members and their names. The video has a running time of 4:32, which is significantly different from the album version, which runs for approximately 5:42, however, the album version features about 1:10 of the backing track playing with no vocals over the top. The BPM of the music video is also slightly slower than that of the album version, and the music video version has an ending after the last time "My future" is sung, whilst the album version fades out at the end.
The video for "Clint Eastwood" won an award at the Rushes Soho Short Film Festival Awards in 2001, defeating entries by Blur,Fatboy Slim,Radiohead andRobbie Williams.[23]
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Personnel are adapted from the liner notes andTidal.[29]
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[70] | Gold | 35,000^ |
| Austria (IFPI Austria)[71] | Gold | 20,000* |
| Canada (Music Canada)[72] | 3× Platinum | 240,000‡ |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[73] | Gold | 45,000‡ |
| France (SNEP)[74] | Gold | 250,000* |
| Germany (BVMI)[75] | Gold | 250,000^ |
| Italy (FIMI)[76] sales since 2009 | Gold | 25,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[77] | 2× Platinum | 60,000‡ |
| Sweden (GLF)[78] | Gold | 15,000^ |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[79] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[80] | Gold | 20,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[81] | 2× Platinum | 1,200,000‡ |
| United States | — | 1,228,344[82] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 5 March 2001 |
| Parlophone | [83] |
| Australia | 7 May 2001 | CD | EMI | [84] |
| United States | 30 July 2001 | Radio | Virgin | [85] |
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