Kids with Guns

"Kids with Guns"
Single by Gorillaz featuring Neneh Cherry
from the album Demon Days
Released	10 April 2006
Format	7", CD, DVD
Recorded	2004
Length	3:47
Label	Parlophone
Writer(s)	2D, Murdoc Niccals, Neneh Cherry
Producer(s)	Gorillaz, Danger Mouse, Jason Cox, James Dring
Gorillaz singles chronology
"El Mañana" (2006) "Kids with Guns" (2006) "Stylo" (2010)
Alternate covers Double A-side cover Music video "Kids With Guns" on YouTube

"Kids with Guns" is a song from the Gorillaz' second album, Demon Days. It was released on 10 April 2006 in the UK as a double A-side as the fourth and final singles from the album. "Kids with Guns" along with its other A-Side "El Mañana" reached #27 upon its release in the UK, a significantly lower position than its predecessors.

"Kids with Guns" features Neneh Cherry on guest vocals. A remix by Hot Chip was included on the release of The Inbetweeners Soundtrack in 2009.

Overview

"Kids with Guns" was inspired by a child in Damon Albarn's daughters school who had shown up to school with a knife. "A nice boy," claimed Albarn, "just decided to pick up a knife and show it to his friends at lunchtime. It's a very real problem, but I'm not treating it as a problem. It's part of the brutalization of a generation that's going on at the moment."^[1]

Music video

Although "Kids With Guns" doesn't have an official promo video, live visuals were shown during the Demon Days Live show at Manchester Opera House in November 2005. The visuals are a slideshow of guns, appearing in red, white and black. Sometimes a "23 mm" sign or a slide of the guns is positioned to make a windmill, representing Noodle's floating island.

On The Singles Collection DVD, the video used for the song was the live performance from Demon Days Live at the Manchester Opera House.

Track listing

UK CD Single

1. "Kids with Guns" – 3:47
2. "El Mañana" – 3:50
3. "Stop the Dams" – 5:39

UK DVD Single

1. "El Mañana" (Video) – 3:54
2. "Kids with Guns" (Video) – 3:47
3. "Don't Get Lost in Heaven" (Demo version) – 2:29
4. "El Mañana" (Animatic) – 3:54

UK 7-inch Single

1. "Kids with Guns" – 3:47
2. "El Mañana" – 3:50

European CD Single

1. "Kids with Guns" – 3:47
2. "El Mañana" – 3:50
3. "Stop the Dams" – 5:39
4. "El Mañana" (Video) – 3:54

Japanese CD Single

1. "El Mañana" – 3:50
2. "Kids with Guns" – 3:47
3. "Stop the Dams" – 5:39
4. "Don't Get Lost in Heaven" (Demo Version) – 2:29
5. "El Mañana" (Video) – 3:54

U.K. Digital single^[2]

1. "Kids with Guns" (Hot Chip remix) – 7:07

U.S. Digital Single

1. "El Mañana" – 3:50
2. "Hong Kong" (Live In Manchester) – 6:38

U.S. Digital E.P.

1. "El Mañana" – 3:50
2. "Stop the Dams" – 5:39
3. "Hong Kong" (Live In Manchester) – 6:38
4. "Kids with Guns" (Video) – 3:47
5. "El Mañana" (Live In Harlem - Video) – 3:55

Chart positions

Chart (2006)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart	31
German Singles Chart	94
Irish Singles Chart	39
Italian Singles Chart	33
UK Singles Chart	27

References

1. Watson, Ian (November 2005). "Damon Albarn". Notion.
2. https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/kids-with-guns-single/id254339320

External links

• Japanese release page
• MTV interview with Damon Albarn
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics