Rush (Big Audio Dynamite II song) explained

Rush
Cover:	Big Audio Dynamite II - Rush.jpg
Type:	single
Artist:	Big Audio Dynamite II
Album:	The Globe
Released:	June 1991
Length:	4:17 (album version) 3:11 (7-inch version)
Label:	Columbia
Producer:	Mick Jones Andre Shapps
Prev Title:	Free
Prev Year:	1990
Next Title:	The Globe
Next Year:	1991

"Rush" is a song by English band Big Audio Dynamite II from their fifth album, The Globe (1991). A longer version of "Rush", entitled "Change of Atmosphere", had previously appeared on the group's 1990 album Kool-Aid.

The song samples several musical recordings, including the keyboard component of the Who's song "Baba O'Riley", the organ from the introduction to the Deep Purple song "Child in Time", a drum break from Tommy Roe's "Sweet Pea", drums and guitars from a break in Pigmeat Markham's "Here Comes the Judge", a line from the Sugarhill Gang's song "Rapper's Delight" where Big Bank Hank raps "a time to cry, a time to laugh", and a vocal sample from "You Keep Me Swingin'", from Peter Sellers' Songs for Swingin' Sellers. The shorter 7-inch version omits all the samples except for the "Baba O'Riley" keyboard and the "Sweet Pea" drums.

"Rush" was a number-one hit on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart for four weeks in 1991, becoming the chart's most successful hit of 1991, and it also topped the Australian and New Zealand singles charts. In the United Kingdom, "Rush" was originally released as the B-side to the 1991 re-release of the Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go". The A-side was immensely popular due to its inclusion in a Levi Strauss & Co. advert, causing it to climb to number one on the UK Singles Chart. The sleeve art for the 7-inch and CD singles displayed the Clash on the front, and BAD II on the rear. The record label displays "Should I Stay or Should I Go" as side "A" and "Rush" as side "AA", making it effectively a double A-side release.

Track listings

UK 7-inch and cassette single^{[1] [2]}

1. "Rush" (7-inch original version) – 3:11
2. "Rush" (New York remix) – 3:55

UK 12-inch single^[3]

1. "Rush" (New York club mix) – 5:50
2. "Rush" (New York instrumental mix) – 5:51
3. "Rush" (New York 12-inch mix) – 7:57
4. "Rush" (7-inch original version) – 3:11

UK CD single^[4]

1. "Rush" (7-inch original version) – 3:11
2. "Rush" (New York club mix) – 5:50
3. "Rush" (New York 12-inch mix) – 7:57
4. "City Lights" (full length) – 7:47

US cassette single^[5]

1. "Rush" (edit)
2. "Kool-Aid"

US 12-inch single^[6]

A1. "Rushdance" – 8:04

A2. "Rush" (club instrumental) – 9:08

B1. "Rush" (album version) – 4:17

B2. "City Lights" – 7:18

US CD single^[7]

1. "Rush" (album version) – 4:17
2. "Rushdance" – 8:04
3. "City Lights" – 7:18
4. "Rush" (live) – 5:45

Australian 12-inch, CD, and cassette single^{[8] [9] [10]}

1. "Rush"
2. "E=MC2"
3. "Medicine Show"

Personnel

• Mick Jones – vocals, guitar
• Nick Hawkins – guitar
• Gary Stonadge – bass
• Chris Kavanagh – drums
• Andre Shapps – keyboards, sampling

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for "Rush"!Chart (1991–92)!Peak
position

Year-end charts

1991 year-end chart performance for "Rush"!Chart (1991)!Position

Australia (ARIA)^[11]	16
US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)^[12]	1

1992 year-end chart performance for "Rush"!Chart (1992)!Position

New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[13]	16

See also

• List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1990s
• List of Billboard Mainstream Rock number-one songs of the 1990s
• List of number-one singles from the 1990s (New Zealand)

Notes and References

1. Rush. Big Audio Dynamite II. 1991. UK 7-inch single sleeve. Columbia Records. 657640 7.
2. Rush. Big Audio Dynamite II. 1991. UK cassette single sleeve. Columbia Records. 656978 4.
3. Rush. Big Audio Dynamite II. 1991. UK 12-inch single sleeve. Columbia Records. 657640 6.
4. Rush. Big Audio Dynamite II. 1991. UK CD single liner notes. Columbia Records. 657640 2.
5. Rush. Big Audio Dynamite II. 1991. US cassette single sleeve. Columbia Records. 38T 73987.
6. Rush. Big Audio Dynamite II. 1991. US 12-inch single vinyl disc. Columbia Records. 44 74134.
7. Rush. Big Audio Dynamite II. 1991. US CD single liner notes. Columbia Records. 44K 73844.
8. Rush. Big Audio Dynamite II. 1991. Australian 12-inch single vinyl disc. Columbia Records. 656978 6.
9. Rush. Big Audio Dynamite II. 1991. Australian CD single liner notes. Columbia Records. 656978 2.
10. Rush. Big Audio Dynamite II. 1991. Australian cassette single sleeve. Columbia Records. 656978-4.
11. Web site: 1991 ARIA Singles Chart. ARIA. 30 July 2019.
12. The Year in Music 1991: Top Modern Rock Tracks. Billboard. 21 December 1991. YE-41. 10 May 2022.
13. Web site: End of Year Charts 1992. Recorded Music NZ. 30 July 2019.