"You Belong in Rock n' Roll" is a song by Anglo-American hard rock band Tin Machine, released ahead of their second album in August 1991. The song was the bandâÂÂs first release on Victory Records, which was distributed by London Records in the UK.
Recorded in 1989 after Tin Machine's first tour, the song spent a year in mixing and overdubs by guitarist Reeves Gabrels, who was inspired by Nine Inch Nails' album Pretty Hate Machine (1989), saying that "You Belong in Rock n' Roll" started basically "as a bass song. I wanted to lay in some industrial stuff against it." Gabrels tried using an electric razor to influence the sound of his guitar for the song, but ended up instead using a vibrator that he bought from a local sex store.
The single was launched with a barrage of publicity, including appearances on Top of the Pops, where Gabrels chose to play his guitar with a chocolate éclair, and Wogan, where the band again mimed, and this time Gabrels played his guitar with the vibrator, and lead vocalist David Bowie visibly tired of the hostâÂÂs patter. The single peaked at UK No. 33 â a disappointment, but it would be Tin MachineâÂÂs biggest hit single.
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