"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

UK 12" single

Credits

Charts

Other releases

The song appeared on several other Alarm releases: