"Highwire" is an anti-war song by English rock band the Rolling Stones, featured on their 1991 live album, Flashpoint.John Stewart Bowman Facts about the American wars -- 1998 p716 "But neither that nor another antiwar song, "Highwire," by the Rolling Stones, received much attention. Nor did "Die for Oil, Sucker," by Jello Biafra, formerly of the Dead Kennedys. " Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, the song is one of the rare examples of the Stones taking on political issues—in this case, the fall-out from Persian Gulf War.
"Highwire" was released as Flashpoints first single on 4 March 1991. It reached number four in Finland, Norway, and Portugal, number six in the Netherlands, number 10 in Canada, and number 57 in the United States. In the latter country, the single peaked at number one on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart for three weeks. An accompanying video directed by Julien Temple was released and depicts the Stones in an industrial set performing the song.
Background On the song, Jagger said at the time of its release, "It's not about the war. It's about how it started." His brother Chris Jagger noted "it is a sideways swipe at the policies surrounding the Gulf War". Richards continued, saying, "This is not about the war. It's about how you build up some shaky dictator. You can't build them up, 'cause then you've got to slam them down."
The song's lyrics deconstructs the build-up to the war and criticises the politics behind it:
Critical reception Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote, "Still controversial after all these years -- that is a compliment in itself. This antiwar song sounds as if it was recorded in the days of Exile On Main Street. Richards's mean guitar riff underpins Jagger's biting vocals. No DJ can possibly deny the strong impact of it."
Music video The accompanying music video for "Highwire" shows the band members performing against an industrial backdrop. The video did not feature Bill Wyman, leading to speculation that he had left the band. "Highwire" proved to be his penultimate single release with the band (he reappeared for the promotional video of the single "Sex Drive"), although his departure was not confirmed until 1993.
Personnel According to the authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon.
The Rolling Stones Mick Jagger – vocals, rhythm guitar Keith Richards – rhythm and lead guitar Ronnie Wood – guitar Bill Wyman – bass guitar Charlie Watts – drums
Additional personnel Bernard Fowler – backing vocals
Technical Chris Kimsey – producer The Glimmer Twins – producers Mark Stent – engineer Charlie Smith – engineer
Charts
Weekly charts +Chart (1991)PeakpositionAustralia (ARIA) 54Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) 21Europe (European Hit Radio) 8 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) 4Luxembourg (Radio Luxembourg)Radio Luxembourg Singles. 14 April 1991. 1Portugal (AFP) 4UK Airplay (Music Week) 11US Cash Box Top 100 49US AOR Tracks (Radio & Records) 1
Year-end charts +Chart (1991)PositionCanada Top Singles (RPM) 89Europe (European Hit Radio) 63Italy (Musica e dischi)98Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) 82Netherlands (Single Top 100) 75Sweden (Topplistan) 95US Album Rock Tracks (Billboard) 35
Release history +RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)United States4 March 1991Rolling StonesAustralia11 March 1991Japan21 March 1991Mini-CDAustralia25 March 1991CDUnited Kingdom8 April 1991
See also List of anti-war songs List of number-one mainstream rock hits (United States)
References