Children of the Revolution
Encyclopedia
"Children of the Revolution" is a song by T. Rex
, written by Marc Bolan
. It was a #2 hit single in September 1972. The song broke their sequence of four official single releases all reaching #1 ("Hot Love", "Get It On
", "Telegram Sam
", "Metal Guru
"). It did not receive a regular album release.
propaganda, based on the title alone. It was included in the film Born to Boogie
, in the famous Apple Studios jam with Elton John
. During the jam, Marc Bolan
puts his head through a grand piano while John is playing.
covered the song on their album The Blind Leading the Naked
(1986). The Dead C
covered it on their album Eusa Kills (Flying Nun). Lloyd Cole
has recorded a cover of the song, as well as several other Marc Bolan songs. It was released as a b-side in 1991. The Killers (Former Iron Maiden
singer Paul Di'Anno
's Band, not the American band that goes by the same name) covered the song on the album Murder One (1992). A cover is also found on b-side of the swedish indieband The Wanndies second single (Heaven 1990, MNW). A cover performed by Gavin Friday
and singer Bono
of U2
appears on the 2001 film Moulin Rouge!
soundtrack. In the film itself, it is used as part of a flourishing medley at the climax of the show-within-the-movie as sung by the Bohemian
characters led by John Leguizamo
.
The song also appears on the soundtrack of Channel Four's adaptation of Zadie Smith
's White Teeth
. It was also covered by Elton John
and Pete Doherty
during the Live 8
concerts, but it was poorly received, as Doherty forgot many of the words and apparently was drunk during performance. In 2003 it was also covered by Berry Sakharof
during a live performance. In 2007, Patti Smith
performed the song live on stage in Istanbul
, at the Babylon jazz club. Toni Collette & the Finish
on their 2007 "Look Up" tour around Australia covered "Children of the Revolution". It was well received by the crowd and critics of each night of the tour. Toni is quoted in saying she covers it "because she just can". They performed the song at Live Earth
.
Imperiet
covered the song, as did the Danish band Sort Sol
.
British dance act Baby Ford
also covered the song in 1989.
Minimal Compact
's guitarist & founder, Berry Sakharof
, covered the song and released it on his Live double-album in 2003.
German songstress Nena
included a version in her 2007 album Cover Me
.
Belgian electro-rock band Soulwax
performed a version on a Belgian compilation album Glittering 2000.
Neon Indian
covered the song in late 2010, offering it as a free download in advance of its inclusion on a 2011 reissue of T. Rex's Tanx
.
American Irish punk band Flogging Molly
slated a version on their album Live at the Greek Theatre
. It was removed because of publishing concerns.
Japanese rock band SADS
published a version on their 2002 EP "Appetizing 4 songs".
British EBM outfit Inertia published a version on Kloned, an album of cover versions.
It also appeared as the soundtrack to Xbox 360's Fable III
(3) trailer in mid October 2010.
German rock band Scorpions
published a version on their 2011 compilation album "Comeblack
"
T. Rex (band)
T. Rex were a British rock band, formed in 1967 by singer/songwriter and guitarist Marc Bolan. The band formed as Tyrannosaurus Rex, releasing four folk albums under the name...
, written by Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and poet. He is best known as the founder, frontman, lead singer & guitarist for T. Rex, but also a successful solo artist...
. It was a #2 hit single in September 1972. The song broke their sequence of four official single releases all reaching #1 ("Hot Love", "Get It On
Get It On (T. Rex song)
"Get It On" was covered by the Power Station in 1985. Their version – titled "Get It On " – was released as their second single from their debut album. The track was a hit in both the UK, reaching number 22 on the UK Singles Chart, and the U.S., where the song peaked at number nine on the...
", "Telegram Sam
Telegram Sam
Telegram Sam was the third UK number one single for the British rock group T. Rex. The song also appeared on their 1972 album The Slider.Perhaps best known for bringing the term "main man" into popular culture, it was number one for two weeks, before being knocked off the top by "Son of My Father"...
", "Metal Guru
Metal Guru
"Metal Guru" is a song by the British rock band T.Rex, written by Marc Bolan. It was the band's fourth number one on the UK Singles Chart when it topped the chart for four weeks in May-June 1972. It was also included on the album The Slider in 1972.Despite coming only ten months after the success...
"). It did not receive a regular album release.
Origins
The song is about teenage rebellion, and upon its release, some critics blasted the song, as it marked a change in the band's overall tempo. Some even believed the song was pro-communistCommunism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
propaganda, based on the title alone. It was included in the film Born to Boogie
Born to Boogie
Born to Boogie is a 1972 concert film based around a concert at Wembley Empire Pool starring Marc Bolan and T. Rex. Directed by Ringo Starr, the movie was released on The Beatles' Apple Films label...
, in the famous Apple Studios jam with Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
. During the jam, Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and poet. He is best known as the founder, frontman, lead singer & guitarist for T. Rex, but also a successful solo artist...
puts his head through a grand piano while John is playing.
Appearances in other media
- It's part of film Moulin Rouge!Moulin Rouge!Moulin Rouge! is a 2001 romantic jukebox musical film directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. Following the Red Curtain Cinema principles, the film is based on the Orphean myth, La Traviata, and La Bohème...
, performed by BonoBonoPaul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
, Gavin FridayGavin FridayGavin Friday is an Irish singer and songwriter, composer, actor and painter.-Career:Gavin was born in Dublin and grew up in Finglas, a neighbourhood located on Dublin's Northside...
and Maurice SeezerMaurice SeezerMaurice Seezer is an Irish musician, whose real name is Maurice Jebidiah Roycroft. He has frequently written and composed songs with Gavin Friday, who he first met through a mutual friend...
. It's also in the Original Soundtrack of the filmMoulin Rouge! Music from Baz Luhrmann's FilmMoulin Rouge! Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film is a soundtrack album to Baz Luhrmann's 2001 film Moulin Rouge!. It was released on May 8, 2001. The album features most of the songs featured in the film. However, some of the songs are alternate versions and there are two or three major songs that are...
. - It was also included in the film Billy ElliotBilly ElliotBilly Elliot is a 2000 British drama film written by Lee Hall and directed by Stephen Daldry. Set in the fictional town of "Everington" in the real County Durham, UK, it stars Jamie Bell as 11-year-old Billy, an aspiring dancer, Gary Lewis as his coal miner father, Jamie Draven as Billy's older...
in the scene after Billy's father confronts him about learning ballet. - In the film Breakfast on PlutoBreakfast on Pluto (film)Breakfast on Pluto is a 2005 comedy-drama film directed by Neil Jordan and based on the novel of the same name by Patrick McCabe, as adapted by Jordan and McCabe...
, the song is used during a dance scene, and also it is the theme song of the 1996 satire Children of the Revolution. - In Dogtown and Z-BoysDogtown and Z-BoysDogtown and Z-Boys is a 2001 documentary film directed by Stacy Peralta. Using a mix of film the Zephyr skateboard team shot in the 1970s by Craig Stecyk and more recent interviews, the documentary tells the story of a group of teenage surfer/skateboarders and their influence on the history of...
, a documentary on the origins of skateboarding in the 1970s, the song plays during a montage of skateboarding. - The song is also played in the Norwegian movie Den Siste Revejakta (The Last Joint Venture).
Cover versions
The Violent FemmesViolent Femmes
Violent Femmes were an American alternative rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, initially active between 1980 and 1987 and again from 1988 to 2009...
covered the song on their album The Blind Leading the Naked
The Blind Leading the Naked
The Blind Leading the Naked is the third album by Violent Femmes. It was produced by Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads and released in 1986. The title is a play on the title of the famous Bruegel painting "The Blind Leading the Blind".-Track listing:All songs written by Gordon Gano except as...
(1986). The Dead C
The Dead C
The Dead C are a New Zealand based noise rock trio made up of members Bruce Russell, Michael Morley and Robbie Yeats. Most often, Russell plays electric guitar, Morley sings and plays electric guitar or laptop, and Yeats plays drums....
covered it on their album Eusa Kills (Flying Nun). Lloyd Cole
Lloyd Cole
Lloyd Cole is an English singer and songwriter, known for his role as lead singer of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions from 1984 to 1989, and for his subsequent solo work.-Early life:...
has recorded a cover of the song, as well as several other Marc Bolan songs. It was released as a b-side in 1991. The Killers (Former Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
singer Paul Di'Anno
Paul Di'Anno
Paul Andrews , better known as Paul Di'Anno, is an English singer best known as the first vocalist to record with the iconic heavy metal band Iron Maiden, from 1978 to 1981....
's Band, not the American band that goes by the same name) covered the song on the album Murder One (1992). A cover is also found on b-side of the swedish indieband The Wanndies second single (Heaven 1990, MNW). A cover performed by Gavin Friday
Gavin Friday
Gavin Friday is an Irish singer and songwriter, composer, actor and painter.-Career:Gavin was born in Dublin and grew up in Finglas, a neighbourhood located on Dublin's Northside...
and singer Bono
Bono
Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
of U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
appears on the 2001 film Moulin Rouge!
Moulin Rouge!
Moulin Rouge! is a 2001 romantic jukebox musical film directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. Following the Red Curtain Cinema principles, the film is based on the Orphean myth, La Traviata, and La Bohème...
soundtrack. In the film itself, it is used as part of a flourishing medley at the climax of the show-within-the-movie as sung by the Bohemian
Bohemian
A Bohemian is a resident of the former Kingdom of Bohemia, either in a narrow sense as the region of Bohemia proper or in a wider meaning as the whole country, now known as the Czech Republic. The word "Bohemian" was used to denote the Czech people as well as the Czech language before the word...
characters led by John Leguizamo
John Leguizamo
Jonathan Alberto "John" Leguizamo is an Colombian-American actor, producer, voice artist, and comedian.-Early life:...
.
The song also appears on the soundtrack of Channel Four's adaptation of Zadie Smith
Zadie Smith
Zadie Smith is a British novelist. To date she has written three novels. In 2003, she was included on Granta's list of 20 best young authors...
's White Teeth
White Teeth
White Teeth is a 2000 novel by the British author Zadie Smith. It focuses on the later lives of two wartime friends—the Bangladeshi Samad Iqbal and the Englishman Archie Jones, and their families in London...
. It was also covered by Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
and Pete Doherty
Pete Doherty
Peter Doherty is an English musician, writer, actor, poet and artist. He is best known musically for being co-frontman of The Libertines, which he reformed with Carl Barât in 2010. His other musical project is indie band Babyshambles...
during the Live 8
Live 8
Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 Conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland from 6–8 July 2005; they also coincided with the 20th anniversary of Live Aid...
concerts, but it was poorly received, as Doherty forgot many of the words and apparently was drunk during performance. In 2003 it was also covered by Berry Sakharof
Berry Sakharof
Berry Sakharof is an Israeli rock guitarist, songwriter and singer.-Biography:Sakharof was born in Izmir, Turkey in 1957. His family immigrated to Israel when he was 3 years old.-Start of career:...
during a live performance. In 2007, Patti Smith
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....
performed the song live on stage in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, at the Babylon jazz club. Toni Collette & the Finish
Toni Collette & the Finish
Toni Collette & The Finish are a band fronted by Australian actress, singer and songwriter Toni Collette. Other band members include Collette's husband Dave Galafassi, Glenn Richards, David Lane and Pete Farley.- Personnel :...
on their 2007 "Look Up" tour around Australia covered "Children of the Revolution". It was well received by the crowd and critics of each night of the tour. Toni is quoted in saying she covers it "because she just can". They performed the song at Live Earth
Live Earth
-Background:Founded by Emmy-winning producer Kevin Wall, in partnership with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Live Earth was built upon the belief that entertainment has the power to transcend social and cultural barriers to move the world community to action...
.
Imperiet
Imperiet
' were a Swedish 1980s rock band from Stockholm, that existed from 1983 to 1988. They were arguably the most influential band in Sweden of the period, but definitely dominated the new wave scene, which at the time was seen as the same as the punk rock scene....
covered the song, as did the Danish band Sort Sol
Sort Sol
Sort Sol is a pioneer rock band from Copenhagen, Denmark. The band was formed in 1977 as a punk rock outfit, originally under the name Sods. Despite drastic changes in the group's line-up, their current name, which translates to English as black sun, has remained with them since the early 1980s...
.
British dance act Baby Ford
Baby Ford
Peter Ford, better known as Baby Ford, is a British electronic music record producer, known particularly for his contributions to the birth of acid house...
also covered the song in 1989.
Minimal Compact
Minimal Compact
Minimal Compact were an Israeli rock band associated with the post punk and indie rock movement of the 1980s.-Biography:Between its foundation in 1981 and its dissolution seven years later, Minimal Compact played a small role in the European rock scene...
's guitarist & founder, Berry Sakharof
Berry Sakharof
Berry Sakharof is an Israeli rock guitarist, songwriter and singer.-Biography:Sakharof was born in Izmir, Turkey in 1957. His family immigrated to Israel when he was 3 years old.-Start of career:...
, covered the song and released it on his Live double-album in 2003.
German songstress Nena
Nena
Gabriele Susanne Kerner , better known by her stage name Nena, is a German singer and actress. She rose to international fame in 1983 with the New German Wave song "99 Luftballons". In 1984, she re-recorded this song in English as "99 Red Balloons". Nena was also the name of the band with whom she...
included a version in her 2007 album Cover Me
Cover Me (Nena album)
Cover Me is a cover album by German pop star Nena, released in 2007. It contains songs that she likes.- CD 1 :# "Mach die Augen auf" # "Eiszeit" # "Der Sheriff" # "Mein weg ist mein Weg" # "Helden"...
.
Belgian electro-rock band Soulwax
Soulwax
Soulwax, headed by David and Stephen Dewaele, are an alternative rock/electronic band from Ghent, Belgium. Next to the Dewaele brothers, Soulwax consists of bassist Stefaan Van Leuven and drummer Steve Slingeneyer. They were first noticed after the release of their album Much Against Everyone's...
performed a version on a Belgian compilation album Glittering 2000.
Neon Indian
Neon Indian
Neon Indian is an indie electronic band from Denton, Texas. The music is composed by Mexican-born Alan Palomo , also known for his work with the band Ghosthustler and as the artist VEGA. The band's debut, Psychic Chasms, has received many favorable reviews, including the designation of Best New...
covered the song in late 2010, offering it as a free download in advance of its inclusion on a 2011 reissue of T. Rex's Tanx
Tanx
Tanx is the eighth album by British rock band T. Rex, released in 1973. Tanx was a hit in UK and Europe but it failed to emulate the success of The Slider in the U.S., reaching only #102 in the album charts...
.
American Irish punk band Flogging Molly
Flogging Molly
Flogging Molly is a seven-piece Irish-descendant band from Los Angeles, California, that is currently signed to their own record label, Borstal Beat Records.-Early years:...
slated a version on their album Live at the Greek Theatre
Live at the Greek Theatre (Flogging Molly album)
Live at the Greek Theatre is a live album by the band Flogging Molly, recorded at The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, CA. It was released on March 2, 2010 on SideOneDummy Records...
. It was removed because of publishing concerns.
Japanese rock band SADS
SADS (band)
Sads is a post-punk and glam rock band formed in Japan in 1999. The band made its debut with the single "Tokyo". They released nine singles and four albums before their disbandment in 2003. In 2010, Sads reformed with a more metal sound and signed to the Avex label...
published a version on their 2002 EP "Appetizing 4 songs".
British EBM outfit Inertia published a version on Kloned, an album of cover versions.
It also appeared as the soundtrack to Xbox 360's Fable III
Fable III
Fable III is the third video game in the Fable series of action role-playing games . The game was developed by Lionhead Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360. The story focuses on the player character's struggle to overthrow the King of Albion by...
(3) trailer in mid October 2010.
German rock band Scorpions
Scorpions (band)
Scorpions are a heavy metal/hard rock band from Hannover, Germany, formed in 1965 by guitarist Rudolf Schenker, who is the band's only constant member. They are known for their 1980s rock anthem "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and many singles, such as "No One Like You", "Send Me an Angel", "Still...
published a version on their 2011 compilation album "Comeblack
Comeblack
Comeblack is the nineteenth studio album by German heavy metal band Scorpions.The album is composed half of their own classics' re-recorded versions and half cover versions of 60s' and early 70s' popular rock songs. It was announced on 3 October 2011, with a planned release date of 4 November...
"