New Release – The Dollar & The Pound by The Gastown Panic

New Release – The Dollar & The Pound by The Gastown Panic

New Release – The Dollar & The Pound by The Gastown Panic: The Gastown Panic are Glasgewian duo Gordon Johnstone and Martin Harrold. With two albums already under their belt, they’ve released two stand-alone singles this year, ‘Something for the Weekend’ and ‘Electric Box’, while continuing to work on new music. The boys also keep busy with a fortnightly radio show on Radio Wigwam.

Their third single of this year ‘The Dollar & The Pound’ will be out 5th December.

What’s the song about?

“This is the last of three single releases this year, and this one’s probably the most synical/political of the three. It’s about big business and the outward caring/sharing appearance basically masking the true purpose – which is ALWAYS about money, profit and shareholder value. We’ve tried to do that a little bit tongue and cheek, as we don’t want to lecture anyone to death. Hopefully that has worked pretty well.”

What inspired you to write this song?

“I don’t think we’re very different from the vast majority of ordinary folk who are pretty astounded by the sheer brass neck of many of the biggest Global companies – that inability to take even a small profit hit to protect the people who pay for their services. It’s how the system works and the rest of us have to live with that unfortunately. The song was actually written and recorded before the recent increases in energy costs, but the themes are universal and have been here for a long, long time. That’s something we do try to keep in mind when writing – keep the themes big and they continue to resonate. There’s a part in there that asks “how do we get your money when you’re six feet underground?” – it is never ending. Look, business is about making money but be fair and reasonable and pay your taxes. It’s not much to ask.”

Is it autobiographical?

“Only in the sense that we’re all on the end of this system and it’s getting harder and harder for many by the day. But it’s an upbeat and jaunty sounding number so hopefully that offsets the balance a little bit. It also felt right that we released this one last and close to Christmas – for obvious reasons. We hope everyone enjoys it, has a great festive break and we’re looking forward to making and sharing more new music in 2023.”

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