"DARE"
Single by Gorillaz featuring Shaun Ryder
from the album Demon Days
Released	August 29, 2005 (UK) November 1, 2005 (US)
Format	CD, Maxi-CD, DVD
Recorded	2004
Genre	Trip hop Hip House Alternative dance Hip Hop
Length	4:04
Label	Parlophone Virgin Records America
Producer	Gorillaz, DJ Danger Mouse
Certification	Gold (Australia)[1]
Gorillaz singles chronology
"Feel Good Inc." (2005) "DARE" (2005) "Dirty Harry" (2005)

"DARE" ("挑戦 (DARE)" on the single packaging) is a song by Gorillaz and is featured on their 2005 album Demon Days. It was released 29 August 2005 as the second single from the album and became the first Gorillaz single to hit #1 on the UK Singles Chart. On online music stores such as iTunes, the radio edit of the song had been available since 20 June 2005.

"DARE" was released to US airplay in mid-October. On the Billboard Hot 100, it peaked at #87 on January 3, 2006, going on to reach #8 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart on February 21, 2006.

The commentator on the 2006 BRIT Awards said that the song was originally to be called 'It's There' but they changed it because Shaun Ryder's strong Mancunian accent made it sound like he was saying 'It's dare.' It is unknown whether this is true or if it was intended as a joke. Rosie Wilson takes over the role from Miho Hatori, who provided the vocals for "Noodle" on the first album.

2D provides backing vocals, however to blend his vocals with Noodle's, his voice was toned down to be slightly covered up by Noodle. 2D full vocalization can be heard on the DARE DFA Mix available on the DARE US Remixes Promo Album and on D-Sides . D-Sides features a demo version of DARE entitled "People". This version contains the same background beat while lacking majority of the keyboards and effects in the final recording. Unlike the new version it is completely sung by 2D.

[edit] Track listings

UK CD1

1. "Dare"
2. "Clint Eastwood" (Live)

UK CD2

1. "Dare"
2. "Highway (Under Construction)"
3. "Dare" (Soulwax Remix)

DVD

1. "Dare" (Video)
2. "Samba at 13"
3. "People"
4. "Dare" (Animatic)

Australia CD1

1. "Dare"
2. "Highway (Under Construction)"
3. "Dare" (Soulwax Remix)
4. "Dare" (Video)

Australia CD2

1. "Dare"
2. "Feel Good Inc."
3. "Highway (Under Construction)"
4. "Dare" (Soulwax remix)
5. "Dare" (Video)

Japan CD

1. "Dare"
2. "Highway (Under Construction)"
3. "Dare" (Soulwax Remix)
4. "Clint Eastwood" (Live)
5. "Dare" (Video)

iTunes EP

1. "Dare" (Animatic)
2. "Dare" (Live In Harlem)
3. "Clint Eastwood" (Live)
4. "People"

[edit] Chart positions

[edit] Music video

The music video for "DARE" includes an appearance by Shaun Ryder (of Happy Mondays fame, at the request of Damon Albarn) as a giant disembodied head kept alive by machinery in Noodle's closet. In a departure for the band, the song is mostly performed in the video by Noodle, with 2D, Russel, and Murdoc only appearing in short cameos in the video; 2D is seen listening into Noodle's room by pressing his ear to the floor, Russel is shown seated on a toilet reading a newspaper directly below Noodle's room and Murdoc appears at the end of the video lying in bed with Shaun Ryder, who wakes up, apparently having dreamt up the entire sequence of the video. Murdoc tells Ryder to "go back to sleep, honey," after which it is further revealed to be another nightmare dreamt by Murdoc, who also wakes up bolt upright in his own bed gasping and panting. If you look closely at Murdoc's room at the end of the video,there is a picture of HIM's band sign, suggesting that maybe Murdoc might be a fan of the band. In commentary, Noodle claims that Murdoc initially protested at her doing the entire video by herself, but she countered that she wrote the song and she had seen him show off too much in the "Feel Good Inc." music video - and adds that he was asleep in his Winnebago for the whole of the shoot up until the final scene. The video was directed by Jamie Hewlett and Pete Candeland.

The video was leaked a few days prior to its July 17, 2005 release on the Gorillaz official website. Some say that legal threats were made against the individuals who uploaded the video, but none of these claims can be confirmed. The video was later recalled from other websites and the final scene was tweaked slightly; Murdoc's Confederate Naval Jack flag was replaced with that of the Jolly Roger. (The version with the Naval Jack is played in some countries, including Canada.)

Russel makes a brief appearance in the "DARE" music video

This video calls back to classic horror movies. In the very beginning of the video we see Gorillaz' 'reject false icons' statue, which one may recognize as Pazuzu, the figurine from The Exorcist and son of the devil. Crows are flying around the building, in a tribute to Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. Shaun Ryder is depicted as a Frankenstein-like monster who is brought to life as the music begins. Amongst the contraptions that are part of the life support system appear to be two Atari joysticks and a Speak & Spell from the early 1980s. Ryder's head being kept alive is a reference to the movie The Brain That Wouldn't Die. The tube attached to Ryder's cheek switches from side to side as a tribute to the goofs commonly made in early horror movies. When we see Russel sitting on the toilet, he is holding a newspaper with a headline that reads CANNIBAL MASSAKREN, the Danish title of Cannibal Holocaust, and on the back of the newspaper a headline text of the name "Freddie" with the next word obscured, looks like a reference to former Newcastle United Chairman Freddie Shepherd. The zoom on Noodle's eye at the end of the video is taken directly from Ringu and its American remake, The Ring.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• WMV stream of "DARE" video clip