Barrel Of A Gun

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Notes

Martin Gore in the July 1997 issue of Keyboard Magazine:

'Barrel Of A Gun' was one [song of Ultra] that remained very similar to the original demo. All the parts were basically there, so it was just a question of bettering the sounds and making it a bit harder. But that was probably one of the most similar demos to the finished version. I think we originally started off with loops [for the intro], and then tried to recreate them. It's very hard sometimes because a loop has an immediate atmosphere, but you don't always want to use a loop. So in this case it was a matter of recreating it by cutting up various loops to get snares and bass drum sounds.

'Ultra' programmer Dave Clayton in the same magazine issue:

"['Barrel Of A Gun'] started off with a very strong melody, and the lyrics were there. [Martin] had a little loop on the demo, a bass, a pad, and a couple of guitar lines. It was very sparse. Even though we basically started over from scratch, we tried not to lose the essence of the demo. [The drum pattern was] a combination of a cut-up loop, just the top end of it, and single shots of bass drum, snare, and so forth. It's not a loop, per se. It's a pattern, but I think it has a feel of a loop. [The sequencing was done on] an old Atari with Notator. I've tried everything else, but the ST seems to have the best feel. [The sounds in the intro] came from a combination patch made on a Waldorf Wave, and a Korg Trinity Plus and M1R. A lot of people thinks [the M1R] just a preset synth but once you get into it, there's a lot to be had. [The bass line was recorded on a PPG Wave 2.3 which crashed prior to printing it to tape but] fortunately, I got it back, but it gave me quite a scare."

Martin Gore in Bong issue no. 37, 1998:

"I think that after Alan left the band, and after an absence of four years, we all individually came to the conclusion that it would be a good idea to release something that was a bit more of a challenge, something that wasn’t necessarily so Depeche Mode-like. We felt that “Barrel Of A Gun” was probably about the furthest from what we’ve done in the past. I think it was me who first tentatively suggested that maybe 'Barrel Of A Gun' should be released as a single. I expected a lot of resistance and expected all the others to be arguing for days, saying ‘you must be mad’, but immediately they said ‘we’ve actually been thinking the same’ – so it was such an easy decision to make. I think we’re all really pleased we took that route, and didn’t release “It’s No Good” as the first single."

Dave Gahan told Entertainment Weekly in 2017:

[Ultra] is one of my favourites, 'Barrel of a Gun' in particular, because I think Martin was also playing with this imagery as well, sort of pointing the finger at me. When I perform that song now, it really describes the way I felt at that time: This creature that was barely existing, but somehow still thought he had it going on [laughs]. Martin was spot-on with his lyrics. I mean, I don’t even know if the song was written about me, or for me, or poking at me to say "For f–k’s sake, get your s–t together!" But it worked. I liked it."

Dates with available recordings of Barrel Of A Gun

There are currently 135 recordings of Barrel Of A Gun available.

Dates where Barrel Of A Gun was played

1997 Ultra Parties

Barrel Of A Gun was played 3 times during this tour.

1998 The Singles Tour

Barrel Of A Gun was played 65 times during this tour.

2001 Exciter Tour

  • Barrel Of A Gun was not played during this tour.

2003 Paper Monsters Tour (Dave Gahan solo)

  • Barrel Of A Gun was not played during this tour.

2003 "A Night With Martin L. Gore" (Martin L. Gore solo)

  • Barrel Of A Gun was not played during this tour.

2005-2006 Touring The Angel

  • Barrel Of A Gun was not played during this tour.

2009-2010 Tour Of The Universe

  • Barrel Of A Gun was not played during this tour.

2013-2014 Delta Machine Tour

Barrel Of A Gun was played 57 times during this tour.

2017-2018 Global Spirit Tour

Barrel Of A Gun was played 122 times during this tour.