United/Zyklon B Zombie

"United"
Single by Throbbing Gristle
A-side"United"
B-side"Zyklon B Zombie"
ReleasedMay 1978
Recorded1977
Genre
LabelIndustrial
Producer(s)Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle singles chronology
"United" / "Zyklon B Zombie"
(1978) 		"We Hate You (Little Girls)/Five Knuckle Shuffle"
(1979)
Additional covers
Back cover
Alternative cover
Camouflage packaging bag

"United/Zyklon B Zombie" is the debut single by industrial band Throbbing Gristle. It was released in 7" vinyl format in May 1978, through the band's own Industrial Records.

Background

The single's A-side, "United", was called "one of the first electropop singles" by Jon Savage,[4] while the B-side, "Zyklon B Zombie", has been seen as a parody of punk rock music.[5] "United" featured a minimal drum loop and synthesizer pattern with uncharacteristically positive lyrics, while "Zyklon B Zombie" featured little more than growling, distorted vocals and bass guitar with a frenetic guitar solo. Both tracks were later released in the CD version of The Second Annual Report.

Release

The original pressing by Industrial Records had its own unique label and logo. After approximately 20,000 sales, re-pressing was taken over by Rough Trade and the single was re-cut with different messages ('Salon Kitty' on side B and '437 666 OTO' 'RE-CUT 4 Nov 79' and '20,000 DOWN' on side A). Cosey Fanni Tutti's guitar on "Zyklon B Zombie" was much louder on this repress than the original version.

A third pressing was in white vinyl (1,000 copies) and clear vinyl (1,000 copies) and features around two minutes of rain and train sounds at the end of side two.

"United" appeared on Throbbing Gristle's second studio album D.o.A: The Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle, sped up to a duration of only 0:16.

Track listing

Side U
No.TitleLength
1."United"4:03
Side Z
No.TitleLength
1."Zyklon B Zombie"3:43

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1980) Peak
position
UK Indie Chart[6] 39

References

  1. ^ Gimarc, George (1994). Punk Diary: 1970-1979. Vintage. p. 124. ISBN 009952211X.
  2. ^ Ingram. Matt (31 October 2010). "20 Best: Post-punk 7"'s ever made". Fact. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  3. ^ Evans, Richard (6 August 2024). "1978". Listening to the Music the Machines Make: Inventing Electronic Pop 1978-1983. Omnibus Press. pp. 64–65. ISBN 978-1-915841-45-2.
  4. ^ Savage, Jon (1991). England's Dreaming. Faber & Faber. ISBN 0571261191.
  5. ^ Reynolds, Simon (2005). Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984. Faber & Faber. ISBN 0571215696.
  6. ^ Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1989. Cherry Red Books. Archived from the original on 8 June 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2014.