Club Foot is a song by English indie rock band Kasabian, featured on their 2004 debut album, Kasabian. It was released on 17 May 2004 in the UK.
The video of this song, directed by W.I.Z, is dedicated to Czech student Jan Palach who in 1969 set himself on fire in protest against renewed Soviet suppression of Czechoslovakia.
The video also refers to the Soviet government’s intervention in the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 on a banner showing the text in Hungarian (Szabad Európa Rádió) which translates as “Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty”.
In the scene where they are recording the radio broadcast, the camera lingers over a picture of Jan Palach.
East-Central Europe has three symbolic dates when it comes to freedom: 1956 for Hungary, 1968 for Czechoslovakia and 1989 for the system changes to democracy as well as the Romanian Revolution.
The scene with the inspector girl who stands before the tank harks back to the young man who stood in front of the line of tanks in 1989 in Tiananmen Square, which itself has become an icon for resistance.
In the middle of the video, we can also see a picture of Nicolae Ceaușescu, Romania’s feared dictator who was overthrown and executed during the Romanian Revolution.
The song is known for its distinctive distorted bass riff. In October 2011, NME placed it at number 108 on its list “150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years”.
Club Foot became instantly recognizable thanks to its distorted intro bassline and a catchy singalong hook. Since then, it has been featured on countless video games, television shows, and movies over the years, and is one of the biggest reasons for the band’s widespread international appeal.
