Sixty Eight Guns

"Sixty Eight Guns" is a song by Welsh rock band the Alarm that was released as a single in August 1983 and later appeared on the group's debut album Declaration in February 1984. It was written by Alarm members Mike Peters and Eddie MacDonald.

The song reached No. 17 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the Alarm's first top 40 appearance and their highest-ever position on that chart. The song also reached No. 39 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in the United States, the Alarm's first-ever chart position in that country. Soon after, it "bubbled under" the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart at No. 106, becoming the band's first charting single on the American pop charts.

The song was recorded at Good Earth Studios and mixed at Abbey Road Studios.

Background and writing
The lyrics to "Sixty Eight Guns" were inspired by a book that Peters had read about the 1960s street gangs of Glasgow.

Title
The song's title is written as "Sixty Eight  [sic] Guns" and "68 Guns" interchangeably on the various I.R.S. releases. The back cover of Declaration and the front cover of the 7" single show the title as "Sixty Eight Guns" while the labels on the discs themselves show the title as "68 Guns".

Track listings
All songs written by Mike Peters and Eddie MacDonald.

UK 7" single

 * 1) "68 Guns" - 3:15
 * 2) "68 Guns Part II" - 3:25

UK 12" single

 * 1) "68 Guns (Full Version)" - 5:45
 * 2) "Thoughts of a Young Man" - 2:50

Credits

 * Vocals - Mike Peters
 * Guitars - Dave Sharp, Mike Peters
 * Bass - Eddie MacDonald
 * Drums - Nigel Twist
 * Keyboards - Ian Kewley
 * Piano - Alan Shacklock
 * Trumpet - Arthur Fairlie
 * Single cover - Harry Murlowski

Other releases
The song appeared on several other Alarm releases:


 * As a live track on the maxi-version of the single "Spirit of '76".
 * As a live studio version on the "45 RPM" hoax single released by the Alarm under the name of the Poppy Fields.
 * As a live track on Peters' solo Live (From a Broadcast) album. It includes an additional verse that was dropped during the early stages of writing.