Kids with Guns

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

"Kids with Guns"
Single by Gorillaz
from the album Demon Days
A-side	"El Mañana"
Released	10 April 2006 (2006-04-10)
Genre	Alternative rock electronic new wave[1]
Length	3:45
Label	Parlophone
Songwriter(s)	Damon Albarn
Producer(s)	Gorillaz Danger Mouse Jason Cox James Dring
Gorillaz singles chronology
"Dirty Harry" (2005) "Kids with Guns" / "El Mañana" (2006) "Stylo" (2010)
Alternate covers
Double A-side cover
Music video
"Kids With Guns" on YouTube

"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 at Damon Albarn's daughter's school, who had arrived one day with a knife. Albarn said, "A nice boy 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."^[2]

Music video

Although "Kids with Guns" does not 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 listings

UK CD single

1. "Kids with Guns" – 3:45
2. "El Mañana" – 3:50
3. "Stop the Dams" – 5:39

UK DVD single

1. "El Mañana" (music video) – 3:54
2. "Kids with Guns" (music video) – 3:46
3. "Don't Get Lost in Heaven" (Original Demo Version) – 2:29
4. "El Mañana" (animatic) – 3:57

UK 7-inch single

1. "Kids with Guns" – 3:45
2. "El Mañana" – 3:50

European CD single

1. "Kids with Guns" – 3:45
2. "El Mañana" – 3:50
3. "Stop the Dams" – 5:39
4. "El Mañana" (music video) – 3:54

Japanese CD single

1. "El Mañana" – 3:50
2. "Kids with Guns" – 3:45
3. "Stop the Dams" – 5:39
4. "Don't Get Lost in Heaven" (Original Demo Version) – 2:29
5. "El Mañana" (music video) – 3:54

US digital single

1. "El Mañana" – 3:50
2. "Hong Kong" (Live in Manchester) – 6:36

US digital E.P.

1. "El Mañana" – 3:50
2. "Stop the Dams" – 5:39
3. "Hong Kong" (Live in Manchester) – 6:36
4. "Kids with Guns" (music video) – 3:46
5. "El Mañana" (Live in Harlem video) – 3:59

Personnel

• Damon Albarn – vocals, guitars, keyboards
• Neneh Cherry – additional vocals
• Danger Mouse – drum programming, mixing
• James Dring – drums, drum programming
• Jason Cox – mixing, engineering
• Steve Sedgwick – mixing assistance
• Howie Weinberg – mastering

Charts

Chart (2006)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[3]	31
Germany (Official German Charts)[4]	94
Ireland (IRMA)[5]	39
Italy (FIMI)[6]	33
Scotland (OCC)[7]	17
UK Singles (OCC)[8]	27

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United Kingdom	10 April 2006 (2006-04-10)	7-inch vinyl CD DVD	Parlophone	[9]
Australia	8 May 2006 (2006-05-08)	CD		[10]

References

1. D., Spence (19 May 2012). "Gorillaz - Demon Days". IGN. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
2. Watson, Ian (November 2005). "Damon Albarn". Notion.
3. "Gorillaz – El Mañana / Kids with Guns". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
4. "Gorillaz – El Mañana/Kids with Guns" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
5. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Gorillaz". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
6. "Gorillaz – El Mañana / Kids with Guns". Top Digital Download. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
7. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
8. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
9. "Kids with Guns / El Mañana". vblurpage.com. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
10. "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 8th May 2006" (PDF). ARIA. 8 May 2006. p. 28. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 May 2006. Retrieved 22 October 2021.

External links

• Release - Kids with Guns Toshiba EMI (Archived) - Japanese release page