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When You Gonna Learn
 
 
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"When You Gonna Learn" is the premiere single by the British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 band Jamiroquai
Jamiroquai

Jamiroquai are an England acid jazz/funk/Soul music/disco band. Jamiroquai was initially the most prominent component in the early-1990s London-based acid jazz movement, alongside groups such as Incognito , the Brand New Heavies, Galliano , and Corduroy ....
.

In the United Kingdom, this was the song that first drew attention to the band. It was originally released in 1992 by Acid Jazz Records
Acid Jazz Records

Acid Jazz Records is a record label based in east London. It takes its name from Acid Jazz, a genre of jazz music. Alternative version states that the genre itself was named after the record label....
, and later re-released on Sony Records in 1993 as the lead-off single for the Emergency on Planet Earth
Emergency on Planet Earth

Emergency on Planet Earth is the debut album of the band Jamiroquai.Published in 1993, it features strong elements of the funk and acid-jazz genre, along with lyrics about world issues and self-consciousness, which made the album a great success....
 album; The lyric themes, like many of Jamiroquai's early songs, speak of environmental awareness. While the single commercially flopped, due to the lack of promotion, the song still remains well-known among fan circles, while its respective single (especially the Acid Jazz Records
Acid Jazz Records

Acid Jazz Records is a record label based in east London. It takes its name from Acid Jazz, a genre of jazz music. Alternative version states that the genre itself was named after the record label....
 release) is a rare collectible, also valued much among fan circles.

oldest demo tape of the song dates back to 1989.






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Encyclopedia


"When You Gonna Learn" is the premiere single by the British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 band Jamiroquai
Jamiroquai

Jamiroquai are an England acid jazz/funk/Soul music/disco band. Jamiroquai was initially the most prominent component in the early-1990s London-based acid jazz movement, alongside groups such as Incognito , the Brand New Heavies, Galliano , and Corduroy ....
.

In the United Kingdom, this was the song that first drew attention to the band. It was originally released in 1992 by Acid Jazz Records
Acid Jazz Records

Acid Jazz Records is a record label based in east London. It takes its name from Acid Jazz, a genre of jazz music. Alternative version states that the genre itself was named after the record label....
, and later re-released on Sony Records in 1993 as the lead-off single for the Emergency on Planet Earth
Emergency on Planet Earth

Emergency on Planet Earth is the debut album of the band Jamiroquai.Published in 1993, it features strong elements of the funk and acid-jazz genre, along with lyrics about world issues and self-consciousness, which made the album a great success....
 album; The lyric themes, like many of Jamiroquai's early songs, speak of environmental awareness. While the single commercially flopped, due to the lack of promotion, the song still remains well-known among fan circles, while its respective single (especially the Acid Jazz Records
Acid Jazz Records

Acid Jazz Records is a record label based in east London. It takes its name from Acid Jazz, a genre of jazz music. Alternative version states that the genre itself was named after the record label....
 release) is a rare collectible, also valued much among fan circles.

History


Demo version

The oldest demo tape of the song dates back to 1989. The only known demo version, unlike the album one, has a different chorus, and a largely different feeling to itself. The demo was recorded without Wallis Buchanan
Wallis Buchanan

Wallis Buchanan is a former didgeridoo player in the United Kingdom band , Jamiroquai. Buchanan's first appearance on a gramophone record was on Jamiroquai's "When You Gonna Learn", a song from the band's Emergency on Planet Earth....
, as he probably wasn't a member of the band at that point. The demo version described here can only be found on the long-gone single for the track. It is labeled as the "Original demo", what has led fans to consider the chance of more demo tapes being in existence, possibly in the possession of the guitarist of The Brand New Heavies, Gavin Dodds who worked with the band at that time.

Album version


While the most commonly known version of the song lasts for 3:50, and can be found on the CD album, another, longer version exists. It is known as the "J.K. mix" and lasts for 6 minutes and 28 seconds, and even then fading out in the ending. Fans often assume that the song's actual take might've been 10 or more minutes long, and was cut down because of lack of space.

Live Versions


When You Gonna Learn was performed a great number of times during the band's tours. There are many versions of the song, with the most notable being the 30-minute performance in Amsterdam in 1994, which actually consists of multiple songs (including cover songs) seguing seamlessly into one another, in the following order:

  • WYGL (didgeridoo
    Didgeridoo

    The didgeridoo is a wind musical instrument of the Australian Aborigines of northern Australia. It is sometimes described as a natural wooden trumpet or "drone pipe"....
     intro) - 0:00 - 9:20;
  • WYGL - 9:20 - 11:20;
  • Jam session/Jungle Boogie
    Jungle Boogie

    "Jungle Boogie" is a funk song recorded by Kool & the Gang for their 1973 album Wild and Peaceful . It soared to number four as a single and became hugely popular in the clubs....
     by Kool & the Gang
    Kool & the Gang

    Kool & the Gang are an American jazz/R&B/soul music/funk/disco group. They originally formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S. in 1964 in music. They went through several musical phases in their career, starting out with a purist jazz sound, becoming practitioners of R&B and funk, progressing to a smooth disco ensemble, and ended the successfu...
     - 11:20 - 24:26
  • Rapper's Delight
    Rapper's Delight

    "Rapper's Delight" is a 1979 single by American Hip hop music trio The Sugarhill Gang. While it was not the first hip hop single, "Rapper's Delight" is generally considered to be the song that first popularized hip hop in the United States and around the world....
     by The Sugarhill Gang
    The Sugarhill Gang

    The Sugarhill Gang is an United States Hip Hop group, known mostly for their biggest hit, "Rapper's Delight", the first hip hop music single recorded to become a Top 40 hit....
     - 24:26 - 30:16
  • Unknown title, outroduction - 30:16 - 30:50


The song can be found on a silver bootleg called "Funky Paradise".

During the Emergency on Planet Earth
Emergency on Planet Earth

Emergency on Planet Earth is the debut album of the band Jamiroquai.Published in 1993, it features strong elements of the funk and acid-jazz genre, along with lyrics about world issues and self-consciousness, which made the album a great success....
, and the The Return of the Space Cowboy
The Return of the Space Cowboy

The Return of the Space Cowboy is the second album by the band Jamiroquai. Released in 1994, it is usually classified under the acid-jazz and funk genre....
 tours, the song had a very lengthy didgeridoo
Didgeridoo

The didgeridoo is a wind musical instrument of the Australian Aborigines of northern Australia. It is sometimes described as a natural wooden trumpet or "drone pipe"....
 introduction (circa 10 minutes), as seen above, which almost always overshadowed the rest of the song in length.

Mixes


  • WYGL (Digeridoo);
    • Normal album version.
  • WYGL (Digeridon't);
    • Normal album version, cuts the didgeridoo parts
  • WYGL (Original demo);
    • Earliest demo version. The adjective "Original" might suggest there might be other unreleased demos.
  • WYGL (J.K. extended mix);
    • Extended album version. Features didgeridoo instrumentation not heard in the original album version, and some additional, minor things. It might be the original album version, with the (Digeridoo) version being just a radio edit, as its length is usual for a Jamiroquai song of that era.
  • WYGL (Cantè Hondo mix);
    • Remix of the song, shares identical chord progression with both WYGL, and Johnny "Hammond" Smith's song, "Los Conquistadores Chocolates".
  • WYGL (Cantè Hondo instrumental);
    • Same as above, but completely instrumental.
  • WYGL (Didgeridoo instrumental).


Music video


A music video was shot for "When You Gonna Learn". It was directed by Morgan Lawley and interspersed artistic shots of lead singer Jay Kay, footage of the band playing and graphic stock footage
Stock footage

Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures and file footage are film or video footage that is not custom shot for use in a specific film or television program....
 of animals being experimented on and whaling
Whaling

Whaling is the hunting of whales and dates back to at least 4,000 BC. The evolution of traditional Arctic whaling developed with increasing rapidity with early organized fleets in the 17th century; competitive national whaling industries in the 18th and 19th centuries; and the introduction of factory ships along with the concept of whale "har...
 operations. The original version was banned from MTV
MTV

MTV is an United States cable television network based in Media of New York City. Launched on August 1, 1981, the original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJ ....
 because of this imagery, and was replaced with a "cleaner" edit. The uncut video can be seen .

When Jason talked about the video in an interview, he said that his intention was to make an intense 'shock video' in the first place, depicting various experiments done on animals, whaling operations, and the Nazis, all in the most negative light.

Release Versions


UK CD release (Acid Jazz Records
Acid Jazz Records

Acid Jazz Records is a record label based in east London. It takes its name from Acid Jazz, a genre of jazz music. Alternative version states that the genre itself was named after the record label....
)


  1. When You Gonna Learn (Digeridoo) - 3.47
  2. When You Gonna Learn (Digeridon't) - 3.55
  3. When You Gonna Learn (JK Mix) - 6.20
  4. When You Gonna Learn (Canté Hondo Mix) - 5.47
  5. When You Gonna Learn (Original Demo) - 4.50
  6. When You Gonna Learn (Canté Hondo Instrumental) - 5.47
Cat. Num.: JAZID46 Year: 1992

UK 12" release (AJ)


This release shares the tracklist with another 12" promo. That 12" promo is the band's first ever release, if the "Natural Energy" single is ignored.

Side A:
  1. When You Gonna Learn - JK Mix - 6.20
  2. When You Gonna Learn - JK Instrumental - 6.20


Side B:
  1. When You Gonna Learn (Canté Hondo Mix) - 5.47
  2. When You Gonna Learn (Original Demo) - 4.50
  3. When You Gonna Learn (Didj. Instrumental) - 6.28
Cat. Num.: JAZID46T (Regular); JAZID46P (Promo). Year: 1992

UK 7" release (AJ)


Side A:
  1. When You Gonna Learn (Digeridoo) - 3.47


Side B:
  1. When You Gonna Learn (Digeridon't) - 3.55
Cat. Num.: JAZID46 Year: 1992

UK CD release (Sony Soho Square / S2
S2 Records

S2 Records, formerly named Sony Soho Square after its location at London's Soho Square, is a record label subsidiary of Sony Music. It is headed by Muff Winwood, brother of Steve Winwood....
)


(This release was also distributed in Europe)
  1. When You Gonna Learn (Digeridoo) - 3.47
  2. Didgin' Out (Live at the Milky Way, Amsterdam) - 3.27
  3. Too Young to Die (Live at Leadmill, Sheffield) - 5.25
  4. When You Gonna Learn (Canté Hondo Mix) - 5.47
Cat. Num.: 659695 2 Year: 1993

UK Cassingle Release / EU CD Release (S2
S2 Records

S2 Records, formerly named Sony Soho Square after its location at London's Soho Square, is a record label subsidiary of Sony Music. It is headed by Muff Winwood, brother of Steve Winwood....
)


(Both sides on the cassingle play the same)

  1. When You Gonna Learn (Digeridoo) - 3.47
  2. Didgin' Out (Live at the Milky Way, Amsterdam) - 3.27
Cat. Num.: 659695 4 (Cassingle); 659695 1 (European CD) Year: 1993

UK 12" Release (S2
S2 Records

S2 Records, formerly named Sony Soho Square after its location at London's Soho Square, is a record label subsidiary of Sony Music. It is headed by Muff Winwood, brother of Steve Winwood....
)


Side A:
  1. When You Gonna Learn (JK Mix) - 6.20
  2. When You Gonna Learn (JK Instrumental) - 6.20
  3. When You Gonna Learn (Live at Leadmill, Sheffield) - 9.50


Side B:
  1. When You Gonna Learn (Canté Hondo Mix) - 5.47
  2. When You Gonna Learn (Original Demo) - 4.50
  3. When You Gonna Learn (Didj. Instrumental) - 6.28
Cat. Num.: 659695 6 Year: 1993

UK promo 12" release (S2
S2 Records

S2 Records, formerly named Sony Soho Square after its location at London's Soho Square, is a record label subsidiary of Sony Music. It is headed by Muff Winwood, brother of Steve Winwood....
)


Side A:
  1. When You Gonna Learn (JK Mix) - 6.20


Side B:
  1. When You Gonna Learn (Canté Hondo Mix) - 5.47
Cat. Num.: XPR 1959 Year: 1993

US/Australian CD release (Columbia Records
Columbia Records

Columbia Records is an American record label founded in 1888.Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in pre-recorded sound, being the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders....
)


This release mislabels the "Didgeridoo instrumental" as the "Canté Hondo" mix.

  1. When You Gonna Learn (Digeridoo) - 3.47
  2. When You Gonna Learn (Digeridon't) - 3.55
  3. When You Gonna Learn (JK Mix) - 6.20
  4. When You Gonna Learn (Canté Hondo Mix) - 5.47
  5. When You Gonna Learn (Original Demo) - 4.50
  6. When You Gonna Learn (Digeridoo Instrumental) - 6.28
Cat. Num.: 44K 74925 (US); 659325 2 (Australia) Year: 1993

US CD promo release (Columbia Records
Columbia Records

Columbia Records is an American record label founded in 1888.Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in pre-recorded sound, being the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders....
)


The tracks on this promo are exclusive to this release.

  1. When You Gonna Learn (Digeridon't Edit) - 3.01
  2. When You Gonna Learn (Digeridoo Edit) - 2.57
Cat. Num.: CSK 5600 Year: 1993

US 12" release (Columbia Records
Columbia Records

Columbia Records is an American record label founded in 1888.Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in pre-recorded sound, being the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders....
)


This release mislabels the "Didgeridoo instrumental" as the "Canté Hondo" mix.

Side A:
  1. When You Gonna Learn (Digeridoo) - 3.47
  2. When You Gonna Learn (Digeridon't) - 3.55
  3. When You Gonna Learn (JK Mix) - 6.20


Side B:
  1. When You Gonna Learn (Canté Hondo Mix) - 5.47
  2. When You Gonna Learn (Original Demo) - 4.50
  3. When You Gonna Learn (Digeridoo Instrumental) - 6.28


Cat. Num.: 44 74925 (Regular); ACD 74925 (Promo with same tracklist) Year: 1993

JP
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
 CD release (epic
Epic Records

Epic Records is an United States record label. It is owned and operated by Sony Music Entertainment. The label was founded in 1953 as a jazz label, and was eventually expanded to several genres of music....
)


This release of the single bears two CDs (WYGL and Too Young to Die
Too Young to Die (Jamiroquai song)

"Too Young to Die" is a single by the United Kingdom band Jamiroquai, the second from their first album Emergency on Planet Earth.It received a heavy radio edit, cutting the original 10:18 track to a six minute album version, and then cutting the album version down to the 3:22 running time by cutting out the second verse and chorus; the...
. The front of the case bears the cover for Too Young To Die and the back of the case bears the cover for When You Gonna Learn. The front cover of this release of WYGL bears striking resemblance to the original AJ release, but replaces the green with a lighter shade of orange.

  1. When You Gonna Learn (Digeridoo) - 3.47
  2. Too Young to Die (7" Edit) - 3.22
  3. When You Gonna Learn (Canté Hondo Mix) - 5.47
  4. Too Young to Die (12" Version) - 6.04
Cat. Num.: ESCA 5692 (First JP release); ESCA 6623 ("The Singles Box" re-release) Year: 1993

Spanish 7" promo (Epic
Epic Records

Epic Records is an United States record label. It is owned and operated by Sony Music Entertainment. The label was founded in 1953 as a jazz label, and was eventually expanded to several genres of music....
)


This 7"'s cover bears the cover of the original Acid Jazz records release, even though it was released through Epic.

  1. When You Gonna Learn (Digeridoo) - 3.47
Cat. Num.: ARIE 3200 Year: 1993

Song samples & trivia



  • Contrary to the popular opinion, "When You Gonna Learn" is not the first single written and issued by Jason Kay
    Jason Kay

    Jason Cheetham known by his stage name Jason "Jay" Kay is an English musician. He is the principal member, songwriter, and lead singer of the band Jamiroquai....
    , though it is the first single issued by his band. Jason's first single is a white label acetate called "Natural Energy", which was pressed only in 3 copies.


  • Kiss 100 FM
    Kiss 100 London

    Kiss 100 is a radio station broadcasting to London on 100.0 MHz FM specialising in hip hop music, R&B, Mainstream Urban and dance music. It also broadcasts on Digital radio in the United Kingdom in other parts of the UK on Digital audio broadcasting and nationally on Freeview , Sky Digital and Tiscali TV....
     was the first radio station to play the single.


  • The chord progressions of WYGL bears striking resemblance to the chord progressions of a Johnny "Hammond" Smith's song called "Los Conquistadores Chocolates", however, not by accident, because the booklet of the Acid Jazz Records
    Acid Jazz Records

    Acid Jazz Records is a record label based in east London. It takes its name from Acid Jazz, a genre of jazz music. Alternative version states that the genre itself was named after the record label....
     release of the single bears a "special thanks" note to Smith, who gave permission to Jason to use the composition's structure. However, it is unknown whether Hammond received any royalties or not.


  • The chord progressions of the Cantè hondo mix of this song bear even more resemblance to "Los conquistadores Chocolates". The Cantè Hondo mixes also uses the wind sound effect from Hammond's song.


  • The cover used by Acid Jazz Records
    Acid Jazz Records

    Acid Jazz Records is a record label based in east London. It takes its name from Acid Jazz, a genre of jazz music. Alternative version states that the genre itself was named after the record label....
     is completely different from the cover on Sony's release, even though a Spanish promo issued by Sony bears the AJ cover.


  • There have been legal disputes between Acid Jazz Records
    Acid Jazz Records

    Acid Jazz Records is a record label based in east London. It takes its name from Acid Jazz, a genre of jazz music. Alternative version states that the genre itself was named after the record label....
     and Epic Records
    Epic Records

    Epic Records is an United States record label. It is owned and operated by Sony Music Entertainment. The label was founded in 1953 as a jazz label, and was eventually expanded to several genres of music....
     because Epic re-released the single without Acid Jazz Records' consent.