DARE (song)
Encyclopedia
"DARE" is a song by Gorillaz
and is featured on their 2005 album
Demon Days
. It was released 29 August 2005 as the second single
from the album and became the first Gorillaz single to hit number one on the UK Singles Chart
. On online music store
s such as iTunes
, the radio edit of the song was released on 20 June 2005. "DARE" was released to US airplay in mid-October. On the Billboard Hot 100
, it peaked at number 87 on 3 January 2006, going on to reach #8 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart on 21 February 2006. The commentator on the 2006 Brit Awards
said that the song was originally to be called "It's There", but was changed because Shaun Ryder
's strong Mancunian
accent made it sound like he was saying 'It's dare.' Rosie Wilson takes over the role of "Noodle
" from Miho Hatori
, who provided the vocals for her on the first album
. 2D provides backing vocals; however, to blend his vocals with Noodle's, his voice was toned down to be slightly covered up by Noodle. 2D's full vocalization can be heard on the D-Sides
remix album. D-Sides features a demo version of "DARE" entitled "People". This version contains the same background beat while lacking the majority of the keyboards and effects in the final recording. Unlike the new version, it is completely sung by Damon Albarn (as 2D).
CD2
Enhanced CD Single
CD Promo
DVD Single
Australian Single
Japanese Single
iTunes E.P
(of Happy Mondays
and Black Grape
fame, at the request of Damon Albarn
) as a giant disembodied head kept alive by machinery in Noodle
's wardrobe. In a departure for the band, the song is mostly performed in the video by Noodle, with 2D, Russel, and Murdoc only appearing in short cameos in the video; 2D is seen listening into Noodle's room by pressing his ear to the floor, Russel is shown seated on a toilet reading a newspaper directly below Noodle's room and Murdoc appears at the end of the video lying in bed with Shaun Ryder, who wakes up, apparently having dreamt up the entire sequence of the video. A voice beside him growls, "go back to sleep, honey," revealing the voice to belong to Murdoc, after which it is further revealed to be another nightmare dreamt by Murdoc, who also wakes up bolt upright (well, nearly bolt upright) in his own bed gasping and panting. If you look closely at Murdoc's room at the end of the video, there is a picture of HIM's band sign, suggesting that maybe Murdoc might be a fan of the band. In commentary, Noodle claims that Murdoc initially protested at her doing the entire video by herself, but she countered that she wrote the song and she had seen him show off too much in the "Feel Good Inc.
" music video - and adds that he was asleep in his Winnebago for the whole of the shoot up until the final scene. The video was directed by Jamie Hewlett
and Pete Candeland.
The video was leaked a few days prior to its 17 July 2005 release on the Gorillaz official website. Some say that legal threats were made against the individuals who uploaded the video, but none of these claims can be confirmed. The video was later recalled from other websites and the final scene was tweaked slightly; Murdoc's Confederate
Naval Jack flag was replaced with that of the Jolly Roger
. (The version with the Naval Jack is played in some countries, including Canada
.)
This video calls back to classic horror movies. In the very beginning of the video we see Gorillaz' 'reject false icons' statue, which one may recognize as Pazuzu
, the figurine from The Exorcist
and son of the devil. Crows are flying around the building, in a tribute to Alfred Hitchcock
's The Birds
. Shaun Ryder is depicted as a Frankenstein
-like monster who is brought to life as the music begins. Amongst the contraptions that are part of the life support system
appear to be two Atari
joysticks and a Speak & Spell
from the early 1980s. Ryder's head being kept alive is a reference to the movie The Brain That Wouldn't Die
. The tube attached to Ryder's cheek switches from side to side as a tribute to the goofs commonly made in early horror movies. When we see Russel sitting on the toilet, he is holding a newspaper with a headline that reads CANNIBAL MASSAKREN, the Danish title of Cannibal Holocaust
, and on the back of the newspaper a headline text of the name "Freddie Shepherd," intended as a reference to former Newcastle United Chairman Freddie Shepherd. The zoom
on Noodle's eye at the end of the video is taken directly from Ringu and its American remake, The Ring
.
Gorillaz
Gorillaz is an English musical project created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. This project consists of Gorillaz music itself and an extensive fictional universe depicting a "virtual band" of cartoon characters...
and is featured on their 2005 album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
Demon Days
Demon Days
Demon Days is the second studio album by British virtual band Gorillaz, released in May 2005. The album features contributions from De La Soul, Neneh Cherry, Martina Topley-Bird, Roots Manuva, MF DOOM, Ike Turner, Bootie Brown of the Pharcyde, Shaun Ryder, Dennis Hopper, the London Community Gospel...
. It was released 29 August 2005 as the second single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
from the album and became the first Gorillaz single to hit number one on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. On online music store
Online music store
An online music store is an online business which sells audio files, usually music, on a per-song and/or subscription basis. It may be differentiated from music streaming services in that the music store offers the actual music file, while streaming services offer partial or full listening without...
s such as iTunes
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
, the radio edit of the song was released on 20 June 2005. "DARE" was released to US airplay in mid-October. On the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, it peaked at number 87 on 3 January 2006, going on to reach #8 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart on 21 February 2006. The commentator on the 2006 Brit Awards
2006 Brit Awards
The 2006 BRIT Awards were the 26th edition of the biggest annual pop music awards in the United Kingdom. They are run by the British Phonographic Industry and took place on 15 February 2006 in Earls Court Exhibition Centre im London. It attracted 4.70 million viewers, one of the lowest viewed...
said that the song was originally to be called "It's There", but was changed because Shaun Ryder
Shaun Ryder
Shaun William Ryder, aka X, is an English musician, occasional newspaper columnist, actor, author, singer-songwriter and television personality, best known as lead singer for Happy Mondays and Black Grape – and more recently as the runner-up of the 2010 version of the British TV Show I'm a...
's strong Mancunian
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
accent made it sound like he was saying 'It's dare.' Rosie Wilson takes over the role of "Noodle
Noodle (Gorillaz)
Noodle is a musician and member of the virtual band Gorillaz. She provides the guitar and keyboard, as well as some main and backing vocals for the band. She, like all other Gorillaz members, was created by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett...
" from Miho Hatori
Miho Hatori
is a singer, songwriter, and musician. She is primarily known as the vocalist of the New York City group Cibo Matto, and the first person to provide the voice of Gorillaz member Noodle.-Biography:...
, who provided the vocals for her on the first album
Gorillaz (album)
Gorillaz is the debut album by the British virtual band Gorillaz, released in March 2001. It includes the singles "Clint Eastwood", "19-2000", "Rock the House" and "Tomorrow Comes Today"...
. 2D provides backing vocals; however, to blend his vocals with Noodle's, his voice was toned down to be slightly covered up by Noodle. 2D's full vocalization can be heard on the D-Sides
D-Sides
D-Sides is a 2007 compilation album by Gorillaz. The album contains B-sides and remixes from singles and bonus tracks for the band's second studio album Demon Days. It was released on 19 November 2007 in the UK and on 20 November in the United States and is available in standard and deluxe editions...
remix album. D-Sides features a demo version of "DARE" entitled "People". This version contains the same background beat while lacking the majority of the keyboards and effects in the final recording. Unlike the new version, it is completely sung by Damon Albarn (as 2D).
Track listings
CD1- "DARE" - 4:04
- "Clint EastwoodClint Eastwood (song)"Clint Eastwood" is a song by Gorillaz. It was released as the first single from their debut album in March 2001. It peaked at #4 in the UK and #57 in the US on 11 September 2001. The single has sold 480,000 copies in the UK according to the Official UK Charts Company. The song is a mix of...
" (Live) - 4:34
CD2
- "DARE" - 4:04
- "Highway (Under Construction)" - 4:20
- "DARE" (Soulwax Remix) - 5:42
Enhanced CD Single
- "DARE" - 4:04
- "Highway (Under Construction)" - 4:20
- "DARE" (Soulwax Remix) - 5:42
- "DARE" (Music Video) - 4:48
CD Promo
- "DARE" - 4:04
DVD Single
- "DARE" (Video) - 4:48
- "Samba at 13" - 6:23
- "People" - 3:28
- "DARE" (Animatic)
Australian Single
- "DARE" - 4:04
- "Highway (Under Construction)" - 4:20
- "DARE" (Soulwax Remix) - 5:42
- "Feel Good Inc." - 3:41
- "DARE" (Video) - 4:48
Japanese Single
- "DARE" - 4:04
- "Highway (Under Construction)" - 4:20
- "DARE" (Soulwax Remix) - 5:42
- "Clint Eastwood" (Live) - 4:34
- "DARE" (Video)- 4:48
iTunes E.P
- "DARE" - 4:04
- "Clint Eastwood" (Live) - 4:34
- "DARE" (Live In Harlem) - 4:28
- "People" - 3:28
- "DARE" (Animatic)
Chart positions
| Chart (2005) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
11 |
| Austrian Singles Chart Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
29 |
| Belgian Singles Chart Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... |
3 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 98 |
| German Singles Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
37 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
7 |
| Italian Singles Chart Federation of the Italian Music Industry The Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy.... |
11 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
5 |
| Swiss Singles Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
34 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
87 |
| U.S. Billboard Pop 100 Pop 100 The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009... |
67 |
| U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks | 8 |
Music video
The music video for "Dare" includes an appearance by Shaun RyderShaun Ryder
Shaun William Ryder, aka X, is an English musician, occasional newspaper columnist, actor, author, singer-songwriter and television personality, best known as lead singer for Happy Mondays and Black Grape – and more recently as the runner-up of the 2010 version of the British TV Show I'm a...
(of Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays are an English alternative rock band from Salford, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1980, the band's original line-up was Shaun Ryder on lead vocals, his brother Paul Ryder on bass, lead guitarist Mark Day, keyboardist Paul Davis, and drummer Gary Whelan...
and Black Grape
Black Grape
Black Grape were a 1990s rock band from England, featuring former members of Happy Mondays. The group's music was funky and eclectic, using varied instrumentation and samples.-History:...
fame, at the request of Damon Albarn
Damon Albarn
Damon Albarn is an English singer-songwriter and record producer who has been involved in many high profile projects, coming to prominence as the frontman and primary songwriter of Britpop band Blur...
) as a giant disembodied head kept alive by machinery in Noodle
Noodle (Gorillaz)
Noodle is a musician and member of the virtual band Gorillaz. She provides the guitar and keyboard, as well as some main and backing vocals for the band. She, like all other Gorillaz members, was created by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett...
's wardrobe. In a departure for the band, the song is mostly performed in the video by Noodle, with 2D, Russel, and Murdoc only appearing in short cameos in the video; 2D is seen listening into Noodle's room by pressing his ear to the floor, Russel is shown seated on a toilet reading a newspaper directly below Noodle's room and Murdoc appears at the end of the video lying in bed with Shaun Ryder, who wakes up, apparently having dreamt up the entire sequence of the video. A voice beside him growls, "go back to sleep, honey," revealing the voice to belong to Murdoc, after which it is further revealed to be another nightmare dreamt by Murdoc, who also wakes up bolt upright (well, nearly bolt upright) in his own bed gasping and panting. If you look closely at Murdoc's room at the end of the video, there is a picture of HIM's band sign, suggesting that maybe Murdoc might be a fan of the band. In commentary, Noodle claims that Murdoc initially protested at her doing the entire video by herself, but she countered that she wrote the song and she had seen him show off too much in the "Feel Good Inc.
Feel Good Inc.
"Feel Good Inc." is a song by Gorillaz, on their album Demon Days, featuring De La Soul. The song was released as the lead single from the album on 9 May 2005 in the United Kingdom . "Feel Good Inc." peaked at #2 in the United Kingdom and #14 in the United States, at the time the band's highest...
" music video - and adds that he was asleep in his Winnebago for the whole of the shoot up until the final scene. The video was directed by Jamie Hewlett
Jamie Hewlett
Jamie Christopher Hewlett is an English comic book artist and designer. He is known for being the co-creator of the comic Tank Girl and co-creator of the virtual band Gorillaz.-Biography:...
and Pete Candeland.
The video was leaked a few days prior to its 17 July 2005 release on the Gorillaz official website. Some say that legal threats were made against the individuals who uploaded the video, but none of these claims can be confirmed. The video was later recalled from other websites and the final scene was tweaked slightly; Murdoc's Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
Naval Jack flag was replaced with that of the Jolly Roger
Jolly Roger
The Jolly Roger is any of various flags flown to identify a ship's crew as pirates. The flag most commonly identified as the Jolly Roger today is the skull and crossbones, a flag consisting of a human skull above two long bones set in an x-mark arrangement on a black field. This design was used by...
. (The version with the Naval Jack is played in some countries, including Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.)
This video calls back to classic horror movies. In the very beginning of the video we see Gorillaz' 'reject false icons' statue, which one may recognize as Pazuzu
Pazuzu
In Assyrian and Babylonian mythology, Pazuzu was the king of the demons of the wind, and son of the god Hanbi. He also represented the southwestern wind, the bearer of storms and drought.- Iconography :...
, the figurine from The Exorcist
The Exorcist (film)
The Exorcist is a 1973 American horror film directed by William Friedkin, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty and based on the exorcism case of Robbie Mannheim, dealing with the demonic possession of a young girl and her mother’s desperate attempts to win back her...
and son of the devil. Crows are flying around the building, in a tribute to Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's The Birds
The Birds (film)
The Birds is a 1963 horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock based on the 1952 short story "The Birds" by Daphne du Maurier. It depicts Bodega Bay, California which is, suddenly and for unexplained reasons, the subject of a series of widespread and violent bird attacks over the course of a few...
. Shaun Ryder is depicted as a Frankenstein
Frankenstein
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel about a failed experiment that produced a monster, written by Mary Shelley, with inserts of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty-one. The first...
-like monster who is brought to life as the music begins. Amongst the contraptions that are part of the life support system
Life support system
In human spaceflight, a life support system is a group of devices that allow a human being to survive in space.US government space agency NASA,and private spaceflight companies...
appear to be two Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
joysticks and a Speak & Spell
Speak & Spell (toy)
The Speak & Spell line is a series of electronic handheld educational toys created by Texas Instruments that consist of a speech synthesizer, a keyboard, and a receptor slot to receive one of a collection of ROM game library modules...
from the early 1980s. Ryder's head being kept alive is a reference to the movie The Brain That Wouldn't Die
The Brain That Wouldn't Die
The Brain That Wouldn't Die, also known as The Head That Wouldn't Die, is a 1962 science-fiction/horror film directed by Joseph Green and written by Green and Rex Carlton. The film was completed in 1959 under the title The Black Door, but was not released until May 3, 1962, when it was renamed...
. The tube attached to Ryder's cheek switches from side to side as a tribute to the goofs commonly made in early horror movies. When we see Russel sitting on the toilet, he is holding a newspaper with a headline that reads CANNIBAL MASSAKREN, the Danish title of Cannibal Holocaust
Cannibal Holocaust
Cannibal Holocaust is a 1980 Italian horror film directed by Ruggero Deodato from a screenplay by Gianfranco Clerici. Filmed in the Amazon Rainforest and dealing with indigenous tribes, it was cast mostly with United States actors and filmed in English to achieve wider distribution...
, and on the back of the newspaper a headline text of the name "Freddie Shepherd," intended as a reference to former Newcastle United Chairman Freddie Shepherd. The zoom
Zoom lens
A zoom lens is a mechanical assembly of lens elements for which the focal length can be varied, as opposed to a fixed focal length lens...
on Noodle's eye at the end of the video is taken directly from Ringu and its American remake, The Ring
The Ring (2002 film)
The Ring is a 2002 American psychological horror film directed by Gore Verbinski and starring Naomi Watts and Martin Henderson. It is a remake of the 1998 Japanese horror film Ring....
.