Machine Gun is the first 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...

 taken from the 2008 LP Third

Third (Portishead album)

Third is the third studio album by English musical group Portishead, released on 27 April 2008, on Island Records in the United Kingdom, two days after on Mercury Records in the United States, and on 30 April 2008 on Universal Music Japan in Japan. It is their first release in 10 years, and their...

by Portishead. The song made its radio and download debut on 18 March 2008. It premiered on Zane Lowe

Zane Lowe

Zane Lowe also known as 'Zipper', is a radio DJ and television presenter. He was born in New Zealand and grew up in Auckland, where he was a presenter on the local music station Max TV, before moving to England...

's BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...

 show and was made available for download on the band's official website. A UK one-sided 12 inch vinyl was released on 14 April 2008.

The music video

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

 features the band playing the song at the studio. The 12-inch vinyl was released on 14 April, while a digital version was made available from the official site on 10 April. On 29 May, during the first concert at the Estrella Damm Primavera Sound Festival

Primavera Sound Festival

San Miguel Primavera Sound, commonly known as Primavera Sound or simply Primavera, is an annual music festival which takes place in Barcelona, Spain in late May and, in some years, early June...

 in Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

, Chuck D

Chuck D

Carlton Douglas Ridenhour , better known by his stage name, Chuck D, is an American rapper, author, and producer. He helped create politically and socially conscious rap music in the mid-1980s as the leader of the rap group Public Enemy.- Early life :Ridenhour was born in Queens, New York...

 of Public Enemy joined the band onstage to perform a rap section on the instrumental part at the end of the song.

Sales chart performance

"Machine Gun" entered 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 ...

 at #52 on 30 March 2008, their first singles chart entry for ten years since "Only You

Only You (Portishead song)

"Only You" is a single by Portishead, released in 1998. It was later released in a promotional French language lyrics version.The video to "Only You" was directed by Chris Cunningham, who has also worked with Aphex Twin, Bjork, and Placebo. It involved Beth Gibbons floating in air, and a young boy...

" in March 1998.

Chart (2008)	Peak position
French Singles Chart France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...	82

Popular culture

"Machine Gun" is featured in the Skins

Skins (TV series)

Skins is a BAFTA award-winning British teen drama that follows a group of teenagers in Bristol, South West England, through the two years of college. The controversial plot line explores issues such as dysfunctional families, mental illness , adolescent sexuality, substance abuse and death...

 Season 3 episode "Effy".
The song is also featured on the teaser trailer

Trailer (film)

A trailer or preview is an advertisement or a commercial for a feature film that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema. The term "trailer" comes from their having originally been shown at the end of a feature film screening. That practice did not last long, because patrons tended to leave the...

 for the upcoming 2012 video game Metro: Last Light

Metro: Last Light

Metro: Last Light is an upcoming action-oriented video game with a combination of survival horror and first-person shooter elements. It is expected to be released in the summer of 2012....

and is also featured on the gameplay trailer for Metro: Last Light

Metro: Last Light

Metro: Last Light is an upcoming action-oriented video game with a combination of survival horror and first-person shooter elements. It is expected to be released in the summer of 2012....

 .

External links

• Machine Gun vinyl 12-inch edition at Discogs
  Discogs
  Discogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
  
  .