Richard III (song)

"Richard III"
Single by Supergrass
from the album In It for the Money
B-side
  • "Sometimes I Make You Sad"
  • "Sometimes We're Very Sad"
  • "Nothing More's Gonna Get in My Way"
  • "20ft Halo"
Released31 March 1997 (1997-03-31)
StudioSawmills (Golant, UK)
GenreRock[1]
Length3:13
LabelParlophone
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Supergrass
  • John Cornfield
Supergrass singles chronology
"Going Out"
(1996)
"Richard III"
(1997)
"Sun Hits the Sky"
(1997)
Alternative cover
CD 2 single cover

"Richard III" is a song by English rock band Supergrass. It was the second single released from the band's second album, In It for the Money (1997), after "Going Out", which was released over a year before. "Richard III" was released in March 1997 and reached number two on the UK Singles Chart on 6 April, their highest placing since "Alright" / "Time" in 1995, which also peaked at number two. The song also reached number 21 in Iceland and number 30 in Ireland.

The song's name comes from the band's method of creating working titles for songs—giving them people's names. This was the third called "Richard" and the band liked the reference to the king Richard III and the Shakespeare play Richard III in which the king is depicted as a dark and evil character, as it matched the menacing tone of the song.[2] Neither the king nor the play is mentioned in the song. Both the 2nd CD (of the CD release format) and the 7-inch vinyl format have the "Richard III" cover design but with the colours altered instead. A Peel session of the song was released on the CD single for "Mary".

  1. ^ Segretto, Mike (2022). "1997". 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Minute - A Critical Trip Through the Rock LP Era, 1955–1999. Backbeat. p. 564. ISBN 9781493064601.
  2. ^ The Strange Ones Supergrass Site