Hometown Unicorn
Encyclopedia
"Hometown Unicorn" is the debut single by Super Furry Animals
, released on Alan McGee's
Creation Records
label on February 26, 1996. It reached #47 in the UK Singles Chart
and was voted as "Single of the Week" in the NME
magazine.
The packaging of the single features a quote in Welsh, 'Bydded goleuni!', which means 'Let there be light!' in English. This practise of including Welsh quotes was followed by every subsequent SFA single up to, and including, the release of "Demons
" in 1997.
The song's lyrics make reference to Franck Fontaine, who claimed to have been abducted by aliens in 1979. A photograph of Fontaine appears on the CD single and in the sleeve of Fuzzy Logic.
Super Furry Animals
Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band that lean towards psychedelic rock and electronic experimentation. Since their formation in Cardiff, Wales in 1993, the band has consisted of Gruff Rhys , Huw Bunford , Guto Pryce , Cian Ciaran and Dafydd Ieuan Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band...
, released on Alan McGee's
Alan McGee
Alan McGee has been a record label owner, musician, manager, and music blogger for The Guardian.McGee is best-known for co-forming and running the independent Creation Records label from 1983–1999, and then Poptones from 1999-2007...
Creation Records
Creation Records
Creation Records was a British independent record label headed by Alan McGee. Along with Dick Green and Joe Foster, McGee founded Creation in 1983. The label lasted until its demise in 1999. The name came from the 1960s band The Creation , whom McGee greatly admired. McGee, Green and Foster were...
label on February 26, 1996. It reached #47 in 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 ...
and was voted as "Single of the Week" in the NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
magazine.
The packaging of the single features a quote in Welsh, 'Bydded goleuni!', which means 'Let there be light!' in English. This practise of including Welsh quotes was followed by every subsequent SFA single up to, and including, the release of "Demons
Demons (Super Furry Animals song)
"Demons" is the eighth single by Super Furry Animals and the last to be taken from the album Radiator. It reached #27 on the UK Singles Chart on its release in November 1997.The video was filmed in Colombia.-Release and critical reception:...
" in 1997.
The song's lyrics make reference to Franck Fontaine, who claimed to have been abducted by aliens in 1979. A photograph of Fontaine appears on the CD single and in the sleeve of Fuzzy Logic.
Critical response
The track appears in Garry Mulholland's book This Is Uncool, a list of the "500 greatest singles since punk and disco".Tracklisting
All songs by Super Furry Animals.- "Hometown Unicorn" – 3:35
- "Lazy Life (Of No Fixed Identity)" – 2:15
- "Don't Be A Fool, Billy!" – 4:17
Personnel
- Gruff RhysGruff RhysGruffydd Maredudd Bowen Rhys is a Welsh musician, performing solo and with several bands, including Super Furry Animals who obtained mainstream success in the 1990s. He also most recently formed the electro-pop outfit Neon Neon with Boom Bip. Their album Stainless Style was nominated for the 2008...
– vocals, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Huw BunfordHuw BunfordHuw "Bunf" Bunford is the guitarist in the rock band, Super Furry Animals.-Biography:...
– guitar, backing vocals, celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is... - Guto PryceGuto PryceGuto Dafydd Pryce is a bass guitar player in the band Super Furry Animals.The name Guto is pronounced in Welsh....
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Cian CiaranCian CiaranCian Ciaran is the keyboard player in the band, Super Furry Animals.Ciaran is the brother of Dafydd Ieuan . He plays keyboards, electronics and occasional guitar, drums, steel drum and vocals...
– keyboards, backing vocals - Dafydd IeuanDafydd IeuanDafydd Ieuan is the drummer with the band, Super Furry Animals and The Peth. He currently lives in Cardiff with his wife Debbie, and their two children Cai and Lleucu....
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, backing vocals