Kowalski (song)

"Kowalski"
Single by Primal Scream
from the album Vanishing Point
B-side
Released5 May 1997 (1997-05-05)
Length
  • 5:58 (album version)
  • 4:19 (radio edit)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Primal Scream singles chronology
"(I'm Gonna) Cry Myself Blind"
(1994) 		"Kowalski"
(1997) 		"Star"
(1997)

"Kowalski" is a song by Scottish rock band Primal Scream, released on 5 May 1997 as the lead single from their fifth studio album Vanishing Point. The song contains a drum sample from "Halleluhwah" by Can and an interpolation of the bassline from "Get Off Your Ass and Jam" by Funkadelic, and is named after the main character of the 1971 film Vanishing Point, played by Barry Newman; it also features various dialogue samples from this film.

The song peaked at number eight on the UK Singles Chart and became the band's highest-charting single in Scotland, reaching number two. In Australia, the song was a minor hit on the ARIA Singles Chart, peaking at number 79.

Music video

Scripted by Irvine Welsh and directed by Steven Hanft, the video features Kate Moss and Devon Aoki stealing a Dodge Challenger before then tracking down and assaulting the band. The band's lead singer, Bobby Gillespie, described the video as "a cross between Faster Pussycat, Kill! Kill! and The Sweeney."[1]

Track listings

7-inch single and Europe 2-track CD single
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Kowalski"Gillespie, Innes, Young, Duffy, Mounfield5:58
2."96 Tears" (? and the Mysterians cover)Rudy Martínez2:57
Europe 12-inch single
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Kowalski"Gillespie, Innes, Young, Duffy, Mounfield5:58
2."96 Tears" (? and the Mysterians cover)Martínez2:57
3."Kowalski" (Automator mix)Gillespie, Innes, Young, Duffy, Mounfield5:11
4."Know Your Rights" (The Clash cover)Joe Strummer, Mick Jones4:19
European and Australian CD single
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Kowalski"Gillespie, Innes, Young, Duffy, Mounfield5:58
2."96 Tears" (? and the Mysterians cover)Martínez2:57
3."Know Your Rights" (The Clash cover)Strummer, Jones4:19
4."Kowalski" (Automator mix)Gillespie, Innes, Young, Duffy, Mounfield5:11
US CD maxi-single
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Kowalski" (radio edit)Gillespie, Innes, Young, Duffy, Mounfield4:18
2."Kowalski"Gillespie, Innes, Young, Duffy, Mounfield5:58
3."96 Tears" (? and the Mysterians cover)Martínez2:57
4."Know Your Rights" (The Clash cover)Strummer, Jones4:19
5."Kowalski" (Adrian Sherwood dub)Gillespie, Innes, Young, Duffy, Mounfield5:01
Japan CD maxi-single
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Kowalski"Gillespie, Innes, Young, Duffy, Mounfield5:58
2."Star"Gillespie, Innes, Young, Duffy, Mounfield4:25
3."96 Tears" (? and the Mysterians cover)Martínez2:57
4."Kowalski" (radio edit)Gillespie, Innes, Young, Duffy, Mounfield4:18
5."Kowalski" (Automator mix)Gillespie, Innes, Young, Duffy, Mounfield5:11

Charts

Chart (1997) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[2] 79
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[3] 58
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[4] 16
Scotland (OCC)[5] 2
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[6] 20
UK Singles (OCC)[7] 8

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom 5 May 1997
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
 Creation [8]
Japan 28 May 1997 CD [9]

References

  1. ^ Perry, Andrew (June 1997). "Freeze!". Select. Archived from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2007.
  2. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 224.
  3. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 14, no. 21. 24 May 1997. p. 12. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  4. ^ "Primal Scream: Kowalski" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  5. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  6. ^ "Primal Scream – Kowalski". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  7. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  8. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 3 May 1997. p. 33. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  9. ^ "コワルスキー | プライマル・スクリーム" [Kowalski | Primal Scream] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 14 February 2024.