"We Are All Prostitutes" is a song by English post-punk band The Pop Group. It was released as the band's second single on 9 November 1979 through Rough Trade Records. The song is a critique of consumerism.
The song was included as the third track in the 2016 reissue of The Pop Group's 1980 album For How Much Longer Do We Tolerate Mass Murder?
Reception Songwriter Nick Cave declared the song to be the band's masterpiece, saying, "It had everything that I thought rock and roll should have. It was violent, paranoid music for a violent, paranoid time." Writer Mark Fisher described the song "scouring, seesawing, seasick funk, a pied piper’s exit from dominant reality, fired by a fissile compound of millenarian terror and militant jubilation."Fisher, Mark. "The Pop Group's How Much Longer Do We Tolerate Mass Murder?." Fact. February 2016.
Legacy Publication Country Accolade Year Rank Mojo United Kingdom 100 Punk Scorchers 2001 33 Gary Mulholland United Kingdom This Is Uncool: The 500 Best Singles Since Punk Rock 2002 * Mojo United Kingdom The Mojo 100 Greatest Protest Songs 2004 93 Q United Kingdom The Ultimate Music Collection (Punk) 2005 *
(*) designates unordered lists.
Formats and track listing All songs written by The Pop Group.
UK 7" single (RT 023) "We Are All Prostitutes" – 3:08 "Amnesty International Report on British Army Torture of Irish Prisoners" – 3:08
Credits and personnel The Pop Group Dan Catsis – bass guitar Gareth Sager – guitar, saxophone Bruce Smith – drums, percussion Mark Stewart – vocals John Waddington – guitar
Additional musicians Tristan Honsinger – cello (B-side)
Technical personnel Maxwell Anandappa – mastering Dennis Bovell – production Adam Kidron – engineering The Pop Group – production
Charts Chart (1980) Peakposition UK Indie Chart8
References
External links
"We Are All Prostitutes" at Bandcamp