Kung Fu (song)
Encyclopedia
"Kung Fu" is a song by Ash
Ash (band)
Ash are an alternative rock band that formed in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland in 1992. The band has sold 8 million albums worldwide.-Band beginning, Trailer and 1977 :...

, released as the first single from their album 1977 on 20 March 1995 - as a CD single, limited edition 7”, and standard 7” vinyl.

The song was written in five minutes on Boxing Day 1994 at Belfast International Airport, and recorded in one take on the following day. The song lyrics reference martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....

 movie star Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts...

 and the song was used in the advertising of and during the bloopers at the end of the American release of Chan's film Rumble in the Bronx
Rumble in the Bronx
Rumble in the Bronx is a 1995 Hong Kong martial arts action comedy film starring Jackie Chan and Anita Mui. Released in the US in 1995, Rumble in the Bronx had a successful theater run, and brought Chan into the American mainstream...

. Additionally, the song's intro is a sample from kung-fu flick Close Encounters of the Spooky Kind, starring Sammo Hung
Sammo Hung
Sammo Hung is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film producer and director, known for his work in many martial arts films and Hong Kong action cinema...

, which was being shown as part of a Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

 Kung-Fu film season shown over Christmas of that year. It is Sammo's voice that can be heard in the sample.

Like "Jack Names the Planets
Jack Names the Planets
"Jack Names the Planets" is a song by Ash. It was their first official single release in February 1994. It was originally released on vinyl only. The single version of the song is also entirely different from the album version that appears on their EP, Trailer...

", this song was also on the Angus soundtrack. Interestingly, the song was recorded on The Verve's
The Verve
The Verve were an English rock band formed in 1989 in Wigan by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bassist Simon Jones, and drummer Peter Salisbury. Guitarist and keyboardist Simon Tong later became a member. Beginning with a psychedelic sound indebted to shoegazing and space...

 equipment, who were nearby recording their A Northern Soul
A Northern Soul
A Northern Soul is the second studio album by English alternative rock band The Verve. The album was released in the United States on 20 June 1995 on the Hut label and in the United Kingdom on 3 July 1995 on Vernon Yard Records...

album at the same time.

The song appears on Intergalactic Sonic 7″s, Ash's first greatest hits collection, and Ash's Tokyo Blitz DVD. Live versions of the song appear on the Barbie 7” EP and the Ash album Live at the Wireless
Live at the Wireless (Ash album)
Live at the Wireless was a limited edition, live album by Ash, released in 1997. It was recorded live at the Triple J Studios in Australia during the group's 1996 Australian tour and printed on the band's own Deathstar label....

.

When performed live, it traditionally closed the set as a two minute stomper, but since has been moved up the list. On the "Nu-Clear Sounds
Nu-Clear Sounds
Nu-Clear Sounds is the second official studio album by Ash, released on 5 October 1998. Despite not being as publicly acclaimed as the other albums, it was certified Gold by the BPI.On May 11, 1999 Nu-Clear Sounds was released in the United States....

" tour, it ran to around 5 minutes, with a DJ filling the song with martial arts and computer game noises.

The single was Ash's highest charting so far, reaching number 57 in the UK singles chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

, and the sleeve pictured footballer
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 Eric Cantona
Eric Cantona
Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona is a French actor and former French international footballer. He played for Auxerre, Martigues, Marseille, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Nîmes and Leeds United before ending his professional footballing career at Manchester United, where he won four Premier League titles in...

's kick on a spectator that occurred in January 1995.

The song was 'Single of the Week' in NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...

, while the incident would top Q magazine's list of Top 50 Most Rock 'n Roll Moments of 1995.

The first B-side, "Day of the Triffids" tells an apocalyptic story of an invasion by aliens, and appears on the Cosmic Debris B-sides collection. It also appears on the US version of Trailer
Trailer (album)
Trailer is a punk influenced mini album by the band Ash featuring their first three singles. An expanded edition also includes 4 b-sides. The album was released in October, 1994 through Infectious Records...

.

The second B-side "Luther Ingo's Star Cruiser" is infamous for having uncommonly explicit lyrics. This was the B-side of the standard 7" vinyl (INFECT 21S) but since it was unsuitable for use in jukeboxes, another version (INFECT 21J) was pressed with "Day of the Triffids" as the B-side. This version was also released as a numbered limited edition.

The music video consists of the band playing the song "Kung Fu" in concert, and occasionally footage of different people performing martial arts moves are cut in to the video. The video was directed by Steven Wells and Nick Small.

Track listing

CD
  1. "Kung Fu" (Wheeler)
  2. "Day of the Triffids" (Wheeler)
  3. "Luther Ingo's Star Cruiser" (Hamilton/Wheeler)


7"
  1. "Kung Fu" (Wheeler)
  2. "Luther Ingo's Star Cruiser" (Hamilton/Wheeler)


Ltd 7"
  1. "Kung Fu" (Wheeler)
  2. "Day of the Triffids" (Wheeler)
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