Fools Gold/What the World Is Waiting For

"Fools Gold"/"What the World Is Waiting For"
Single by The Stone Roses
Released	13 November 1989
Format	7" vinyl 12" vinyl Cassette CD
Recorded	1989
Genre	Madchester[1][2][3] dance-rock[4]
Length	4:15 (7" version) 9:53 (12" version) 3:55 ("What The World Is Waiting For")
Label	Silvertone
Writer(s)	Ian Brown John Squire
Producer(s)	John Leckie
Certification	Silver (BPI)[5]
The Stone Roses singles chronology
"I Wanna Be Adored" (US) (1989) "Fools Gold"/"What the World Is Waiting For" (1989) "One Love" (1990)

"Fools Gold"/"What the World Is Waiting For" is a non-album double A-side by the Stone Roses. It was released in the UK, the US, Mexico, Australia, Germany, Japan, and Spain. It appeared on their self-titled debut album in the United States.

"Fools Gold" became the band's biggest commercial hit at the time. It was their first single to reach the top ten of the UK Singles Chart and stayed in the Top 75 for fourteen weeks, peaking at number eight.^[6]

Recording

"Fools Gold" and "What the World Is Waiting For" were recorded at Sawmills Studios in Cornwall during the late summer of 1989, with additional vocal and guitar parts recorded later at London's Battery Studios, during the autumn of 1989. The tracks had been worked on for four months, and the intention was to put "What the World Is Waiting For" as the A side; however, when Roddy Mckenna, Silvertone's A&R man, heard "Fools Gold" he urged the band to use that as the A-side. The band were not completely convinced, and it was agreed, instead, to release the two tracks as a double A-side.^[7]

The dance-oriented song showcased the rhythm section of Mani on bass and Reni on percussion. Ian Brown stated the song was written over "The Funky Drummer" by James Brown, which Reni had to learn the beat from.^[8]

John Squire also plays guitar with various wah-wah pedal effects. Ian Brown sings the vocals in a whispered delivery. He would also perform with this technique for the track "Something's Burning". The bassline was inspired by "Know How" by Young MC, which is a sample from the Shaft theme song, performed by Isaac Hayes. The lyrics reference Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" and Marquis de Sade. Singer Ian Brown said "The verses were inspired by the 1948 Humphrey Bogart The Treasure of the Sierra Madre film adaptation." "In the film the friends go up a mountain looking for gold. But as they go on, they start turning on one another."

Release

The single was released in 1989 and entered the UK top ten. It was promoted with a music video, showing The Stone Roses performing outdoors and walking across the volcanic landscape of Lanzarote, Canary Islands. The cover art was a painting by John Squire, "Double Dorsal Dopplegänger",^[9] which was later exhibited at Squire's 2004 art exhibition.

The band's appearance on the same November Top of the Pops as the Happy Mondays, who performed "Hallelujah" from the Madchester Rave on E.P.,^[10] is regarded as a "cultural high-water mark", exposing the emerging Madchester scene to a wider audience, and popularizing a new dance-oriented music genre, baggy.^[11]

Although a non-album double A-sided single, both tracks have appeared on the compilation albums Turns into Stone, The Complete Stone Roses and The Very Best of The Stone Roses. Both tracks have also appeared on some reissued editions of their debut album The Stone Roses, although Fools Gold has appeared more often than What The World Is Waiting For.

Reception

In May 2007, NME magazine placed "Fools Gold" at number 32 in its list of the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever.

In 2009, listeners of the Australian radio station Triple J voted "Fool's Gold" #76 in the Triple J Hottest 100 Of All Time.

Sampled in media

• Run–D.M.C. sampled the bassline and drum beat of "Fools Gold" for their hit "What's It All About?" in 1990. Ian Brown eventually met Reverend Run in 1999 and in an interview with Q magazine, Ian recalled their meeting: "I actually met Reverend Run at a party a few years ago and I was going to go up to him and say, 'Look you don't know me but I was in this band called The Stone Roses and you sampled us.' Before I even got over there, he pointed at me, made his hands into the shape of a guitar and just did the riff- 'bom-bom-bom, bom, ba-na-na-na-na-nom, ba-na-na-na-nom.' I was buzzin'. He had the full priest's outfit on an' all. What a genius."
• "Fools Gold" was "mashed-up" with "If Your Girl Only Knew" by Aaliyah for the bootleg "If Only Your Girlfriend Was Stoned".
• A "Fools Gold" sample is used in the 1990 Bananarama song "Only Your Love".
• It was also used by Wretch 32 in his song "Unorthodox", which features Example.

Grooverider's Mix

In 1999, drum and bass DJ Grooverider remixed the song for the 1999 re-release remix CD. The remix peaked at number 25 on the UK Singles Chart, and has often been described as one of the best of the many remixes of songs by The Stone Roses. It has also been featured on many chillout CDs.

Use in film and video games

• "Fools Gold" is used in the computer games FIFA Football 2004 and NBA 2K8 as well as the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas soundtrack, playing on alternative station Radio X.
• The "Grooverider's Mix" appeared on the soundtrack for the BMX-oriented video game Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX.
• The song appears in Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels when Big Chris (Vinnie Jones) says "it's been emotional".
• A sample of the song appears in the loading screens of the tennis game Top Spin 3.
• The single edit of the song appears in Edgar Wright's The World's End in 2013.
• The song is played in the first episode of Shane Meadows' 1990 set drama This Is England '90 during the disco rave scene.

Track listing

1989 UK release

7" vinyl (Silvertone ORE 13)

1. Fools Gold 4.15 (4:15)
2. What the World Is Waiting For (3:55)

12" vinyl (Silvertone ORE T 13)

1. Fools Gold 9.53 (9:53)
2. What the World Is Waiting For (3:55)

Cassette (Silvertone ORE C 13)
CD (Silvertone ORE CD 13)

1. Fools Gold 9.53 (9:53)
2. What the World Is Waiting For (3:55)
3. Fools Gold 4.15 (4:15)

1990 US release

12" gold vinyl (Silvertone 1315-1-JD)
Cassette (Silvertone 1315-4-JS)
CD (Silvertone 1315-2-JD)

1. Fools Gold 9.53 (9:53)
2. What the World Is Waiting For (3:55)
3. Fools Gold 4.15 (4:15)

1990 Japanese release

CD (Silvertone/Alfa 18B2-103)

1. What The World Is Waiting For (3:55)
2. Fools Gold (12" mix) (9:53)
3. She Bangs The Drums (12" mix) (3:43)
4. Elephant Stone (4:51)
5. Guernica (4:23)
6. Going Down (2:26)

Fools Gold 1992 UK reissue

12" vinyl, Cassette and CD the same as 1989 releases

CD2 (Silvertone ORE CD Z 13)

1. Fools Gold (The Top Won Mix!) (10:03)
2. Fools Gold (The Bottom Won Mix!) (7:00)

Fools Gold '95

12" vinyl (Silvertone ORE T 71)

1. Fools Gold (The Tall Paul Remix) (7:21)
2. Fools Gold 9.53 (9:53)
3. Fools Gold (Cricklewood Ballroom Mix) (4:16)

Cassette (Silvertone ORE C 71)

1. Fools Gold 4.15 (4:15)
2. Fools Gold (The Tall Paul Remix) (7:21)

CD (Silvertone ORE CD 71)

1. Fools Gold 4.15 (4:15)
2. Fools Gold 9.53 (9:53)
3. Fools Gold (The Tall Paul Remix) (7:21)
4. Fools Gold" (Cricklewood Ballroom Mix) (4:16)

Fools Gold (1999 remix) UK release

12" vinyl (Jive Electro 0523090)

1. "Fools Gold" (Grooverider's Mix) (6:36)
2. "She Bangs the Drums" (Kiss My Arse Mix) (4:02)
3. "Fools Gold" (Rabbit in the Moon's Message to the Majors) (8:24)

Cassette (Jive Electro 0523094)

1. "Fools Gold" (Grooverider's Mix – Edit) (4:30)
2. "She Bangs the Drums" (Kiss My Arse Mix) (4:02)

CD (Jive Electro 0523092)

1. "Fools Gold" (Grooverider's Mix – Edit) (4:30)
2. "Fools Gold" (Rabbit in the Moon's Message to the Majors) (8:24)
3. "She Bangs the Drums" (Kiss My Arse Mix) (4:02)

Fools Gold (1999 remix) German release

CD (Jive Electro 0523362)

1. "Fools Gold" (Rabbit in the Moon's Message to the Majors – Edit) (4:43)
2. "Fools Gold" (Grooverider's Mix – Edit) (4:30)
3. "Fools Gold" (Rabbit in the Moon's Message To the Majors) (8:24)
4. "She Bangs the Drums" (Kiss My Arse Mix) (4:02)

Fools Gold (1999 remix) US release

12" vinyl (Jive Electro 01241-42579-1)

1. "Fools Gold" (Grooverider's Mix) (6:37)
2. "Fools Gold" (Rabbit in the Moon's Straight Beat Pyrite Dub) (7:35)
3. "Fools Gold" (Rabbit in the Moon's Message to the Majors – Extended) (9:42)

Fools Gold (UK 2009 remaster)

7" vinyl (Silvertone 88697535907)
CD (Silvertone 886975631124)

1. Fools Gold (4:15)
2. What the World Is Waiting For (3:55)

Charts

References

External links

• The Definitive Stone Roses Discography entry