"The History of the World (Part 1)" is a single by The Damned. It was co-produced by the band with Hans Zimmer

Hans Zimmer

Hans Florian Zimmer is a German film composer and music producer. He has composed music for over 100 films, including critically acclaimed film scores for The Lion King , Crimson Tide , The Thin Red Line , Gladiator , The Dark Knight and Inception .Zimmer spent the early part of his career in the...

, later to go to become a noted film composer. The song marked a further move away from the band's raw punk rock

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 roots, with prog rock and gothic influences evident, as well.

The single was also issued in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. In the U.S., where the band had a deal with I.R.S. Records

I.R.S. Records

I.R.S. Records was a record label, started in the United States in 1979 by Miles Copeland III along with Jay Boberg and Carl Grasso. Miles was also the manager of Wishbone Ash, The Police, and later, Sting, as well as other bands. I.R.S. was the sister label of Copeland's Illegal Records .I.R.S...

, "Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde

Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde (song)

"Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde" was a single by The Damned.With the group signing a deal with I.R.S. to distribute their music in the USA, the label decided to release "Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde" to promote The Black Album....

" was issued as a single instead, while in Spain "Wait for the Blackout

Wait for the Blackout

"Wait for the Blackout" was a single by The Damned.Initially, Chiswick issued Wait for the Blackout instead of The History of the World Part 1 as a single to promote The Black Album in Spain, with Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde as the B-side....

" was the song chosen to promote the album.

Track listing

All songs by Scabies, Sensible, Vanian, Gray.

1. "The History of the World (Part 1)" - 3:45
2. "I Believe the Impossible"
3. "Sugar and Spite"

The 12" edition used an extended version of "I Believe the Impossible", instead of the "regular" version.

Production credits

Producers

• Hans Zimmer
  Hans Zimmer
  Hans Florian Zimmer is a German film composer and music producer. He has composed music for over 100 films, including critically acclaimed film scores for The Lion King , Crimson Tide , The Thin Red Line , Gladiator , The Dark Knight and Inception .Zimmer spent the early part of his career in the...
  
   ("The History of the World Part 1" only)
• The Damned

Musicians

• Dave Vanian: Vocals
• Captain Sensible
  Captain Sensible
  Captain Sensible is a singer, songwriter, guitarist who grew up in Croydon, England, and co-founded the punk rock band The Damned in 1976. After leaving the band, he reinvented himself as an alternative pop singer with a rebellious, self-conscious image...
  
  : Guitar
  Guitar
  The 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...
  
  , Vocals on "I Believe the Impossible"
• Rat Scabies
  Rat Scabies
  Christopher Millar , better known by his stage name Rat Scabies, is a musician best known for his tenure as the drummer for The Damned....
  
  : Drum
  Drum
  The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
  
  s
• Paul Gray
  Paul Gray (musician)
  Paul Gray was the second, most well known bassist for the Southend-on-Sea teen rockers Eddie and the Hot Rods, scoring several hit singles and albums in the late 1970s, including "Do Anything You Wanna Do". In early 1980, he was recruited to join the punk rock band The Damned to replace Algy Ward...
  
  : Bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....