"Legacy" is a song by English rock band Mansun. It was released as a single in 1998 from the group's album, Six, and was the lead track on Eight EP. It follows a similar template to many of the group's other hits and was also their highest-charting single, peaking at No. 7 in the UK Singles Chart.

"Legacy"
Single by Mansun
from the album Six
B-side
  • "Can't Afford to Die"
  • "Spasm of Identity"
  • "Check Under the Bed"
  • "GSOH"
  • "Face in the Crowd"
  • "The Impending Collapse of It All" (acoustic)
  • "Ski Jump Nose" (acoustic)
Released29 June 1998 (1998-06-29)
Length
  • 6:29 (album version)
  • 5:57 (radio edit)
  • 4:41 (short radio edit)
LabelParlophone
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Paul Draper
Mansun singles chronology
"Closed for Business"
(1997)
"Legacy"
(1998)
"Being a Girl (Part One)"
(1998)

Overview

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"Legacy" was released as the first single from Mansun's second album, Six. It preceded the album by three months, but is somewhat unrepresentative of the overall sound of its parent album. It bears similarities with "Wide Open Space" and "Closed for Business"; two of the band's most popular singles. The song references the Marquis de Sade. The song's name was later used as the title for the group's retrospective compilation Legacy: The Best of Mansun in 2005. The closing refrain "Nobody cares when you're gone" was later reused as the title of a documentary about the group included on DVD editions of the Legacy: The Best of Mansun compilation.

The music video was directed by Mike Mills. After the controversial "Taxloss" video, it is probably their most unconventional and well known video. The video parodies the group and others like themselves, sending up the clichés of male pop and rock bands and the experience of the music industry. The entirety of the video is performed by simplistic and jerkily animated puppets against unconvincing but humorous cardboard backdrops.

B-sides

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The single was released in the final week of 1998 that allowed singles to have four tracks on each format. The new chart rules were instated the following week that meant that singles could only be eligible to chart with three tracks per format. The four-track EP was nostalgically valued by many musicians;[who?] this compromised the Mansun releases, which had offered value and incentives to fans by cramming numerous B-sides on each format. For example, "Legacy" provided a wealth or a plethora of content depending on a person's disposition by having five original B-sides, a remix, two versions of "Legacy" and two acoustic re-recordings across the single's four formats.

After the instatement of the new chart rules, ineligible four-track EPs were released as statements by musicians; the premise was to elevate the material as being a whole as opposed to a commercial pop hit. 3 Colours Red's EP Paralyse (1998) and Who the Fuck Are Arctic Monkeys? (2006) by Arctic Monkeys are examples of the practice. The chart rules were revised in October 2007 allowing four-track releases under the 'Maxi' name.

Track listings

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UK EP CD1 (includes a free poster)[1]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Legacy" (extended version)Paul Draper6:29
2."Can't Afford to Die"Draper, Dominic Chad2:49
3."Spasm of Identity"Draper, Chad3:03
4."Check Under the Bed"Draper, Chad4:09
UK EP CD2[2]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Legacy"Draper5:57
2."Wide Open Space" (The Perfecto remix)Draper7:16
3."GSOH"Draper, Chad1:22
4."Face in the Crowd"Chad3:43
UK EP limited-edition 7-inch red vinyl[3]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Legacy"Draper5:57
2."GSOH"Draper, Chad1:22
3."Can't Afford to Die"Draper, Chad2:49
UK EP cassette[4]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Legacy" (extended version)Draper6:29
2."Wide Open Space" (The Perfecto remix)Draper7:16
3."The Impending Collapse of It All" (acoustic)Draper, Chad4:16
4."Ski Jump Nose" (acoustic)Draper2:30
Japanese EP[5]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Legacy" (radio edit)Draper5:56
2."Can't Afford to Die"Draper, Chad2:48
3."Spasm of Identity"Draper, Chad3:02
4."Check Under the Bed"Draper, Chad4:09
5."GSOH"Draper, Chad1:22
6."Face in the Crowd"Draper, Chad3:43
7."Wide Open Space" (The Perfecto remix)Draper7:16
8."Legacy" (Bridge Master)Draper6:26

Personnel

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Mansun

Production

  • Paul Draper – producer ("Legacy")
  • Mark 'Spike' Stent – producer ("Legacy"), mixing ("Legacy", "Spasm of Identity", "Face in the Crowd"), recording ("Spasm of Identity", "Face in the Crowd")
  • Mike Hunter – additional recording ("Legacy", "Face in the Crowd"), engineer ("Legacy"), recording ("Can't Afford to Die", "Check Under the Bed", "GSOH", "Wide Open Space (The Perfecto Remix)", "The Impending Collapse of It All (Acoustic)", "Ski Jump Nose (Acoustic)")
  • Ian Grimble – mixing ("Can't Afford to Die", "Check Under the Bed", "GSOH", "The Impending Collapse of It All (Acoustic)", "Ski Jump Nose (Acoustic)")
  • Ian Caple – recording ("Wide Open Space (The Perfecto Remix)")
  • Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osborne – additional production and remix ("Wide Open Space (The Perfecto Remix)")
  • Danton Supple – remix engineer ("Wide Open Space (The Perfecto Remix)")
  • Alex Sava – remix programmer ("Wide Open Space (The Perfecto Remix)")
  • Pennie Smith – photography

Charts

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Chart (1998) Peak
position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[6] 30
Scotland (OCC)[7] 8
UK Singles (OCC)[8] 7

Release history

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Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom 29 June 1998
  • CD
  • cassette
Parlophone [9]
6 July 1998 7-inch vinyl [10]
Japan 7 August 1998 CD
[11]

References

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  1. ^ Legacy (UK EP CD1 liner notes). Mansun. Parlophone. 1998. CDRS 6497.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ^ Legacy (UK EP CD2 liner notes). Mansun. Parlophone. 1998. CDR 6497.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  3. ^ Legacy (UK EP limited 7-inch vinyl sleeve). Mansun. Parlophone. 1998. R 6497.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  4. ^ Legacy (UK EP cassette sleeve). Mansun. Parlophone. 1998. TCR 6497.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. ^ レガシィ [Legacy] (Japanese EP liner notes). Mansun. Parlophone, EMI. 1998. TOCP-50553.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 15, no. 29. 18 July 1998. p. 10. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  7. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  8. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  9. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 27 June 1998. p. 27. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  10. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 4 July 1998. p. 31.
  11. ^ "レガシィEP | マンサン" [Legacy EP | Mansun] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 27 November 2023.