"
Two Tribes" is an
anti-war song by British band
Frankie Goes to Hollywood, released in the
UK by
ZTT Records on 4 June 1984.
The song was later included on the album
Welcome to the Pleasuredome. Presenting a
nihilistic, gleeful lyric expressing enthusiasm for
nuclear war, it juxtaposes a relentless pounding bass line and guitar riff inspired by American funk and
R&B pop with influences of Russian classical music, in an opulent arrangement produced by
Trevor Horn.
The single was released at a time when the
Cold War had
intensified and fears about global
nuclear warfare were at a peak. Although Johnson would attest in a 1984 radio interview that the "two tribes" of the song potentially represented any pair of warring adversaries (giving the examples of "
cowboys and
Indians or
Captain Kirk and
Klingons"), the line "On the air America/I modelled shirts by Van Heusen" is a clear reference to then
US President Ronald Reagan. Reagan had advertised for
Phillips Van Heusen in 1953 (briefly reviving the association in the early 1980s). The title of his first film had been
Love Is On The Air.
The lyric "working for the black gas" is, according to Johnson, "About oil surpassing gold. How you might as well be paid in petrol."And the line "Are we living in a land where sex and horror are the new gods?" was inspired by the 1959 British film
Cover Girl Killer.
Johnson explained, "The TV was on in the background while I was doing me ironing and suddenly this character came out with that statement." (The actual dialogue, which occurs at about 48 minutes 24 seconds into the film, is "Surely sex and horror are the new gods in this polluted world of so-called entertainment?")
The track featured snippets of narration from actor
Patrick Allen, recreating his narration from the British
Protect and Survive public information films about how to survive a nuclear war. (The original
Protect and Survive soundtracks were
sampled for the 7-inch mixes.)
A - Two Tribes »Cowboys And Indians« (3:54)
B - One February Friday »Doctors And Nurses« (4:56)
Companies, etc.
Notes
Released: 1984
Format: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Single
Country: Europe
Genre: Synth-pop
Label: Island Records
Catalog# 106 495