Red Rider – Lunatic Fringe

When I first heard the song the first thing I thought of…love that guitar tone! Some people have falsely said it was about Lennon’s murder but it was already written by then.

Red Rider was a Canadian band that had a lot of success in Canada but this song is their best-known song in the United States. They were known as Red Rider and later Tom Cochrane and Red Rider. They lasted until 1990 and reformed in 2002 and are still together with three original members including Cochrane.

This song was released in 1981. It starts off very ominous until a great-sounding guitar comes in and plays the main riff. The demo of this song was recorded on the night John Lennon was murdered.

Cochrane said the record company stated it wasn’t commercial enough but Lennon’s death made him want to release it all the more because Lennon echoed the song’s meaning. “It just hit me like a ton of bricks and I thought, here’s a guy that always wore his heart on his sleeve. For better, for worse, these lyrics are going to stand. I didn’t think the song would see the light of day because it was just so different, so unique. I’m very proud of this song. It’s probably one of the more unique pieces of music I’ve ever written.”

Tom Cochrane said he wrote this song about the oppression of people. He was inspired by a book about Raoul Wallenberg who rescued Jewish people from the Holocaust during the Second World War.

The song peaked at #11 on the U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks in 1981.

Tom Cochrane: “Everybody was saying, ‘What are these lyrics? These are way too heavy for rock and roll. Why don’t you just get down to writing a pop song? Just write some pop lyrics and let’s get on with it.’ And I thought, ‘No, this is important to say.’ The song speaks out against racism, it speaks out against a number of things, and it topically is current today, I suppose, as it was back then in some ways. It’s about being vigilant, about our freedom.”

“Lunatic Fringe”

Lunatic fringe
I know you’re out there
You’re in hiding
And you hold your meetings
I can hear you coming
I know what you’re after
We’re wise to you this time (wise to you this time)
We won’t let you kill the laughterOh oh oh
Oh oh oh
Oh oh oh

Lunatic fringe
In the twilight’s last gleaming
But this is open season
But you won’t get too far
‘Cause you’ve got to blame someone
For your own confusion
We’re on guard this time (on guard this time)
Against your final solution

Oh no

Oh oh oh
Oh oh oh
Oh oh oh

We can hear you coming (we can hear you coming)
No, you’re not going to win this time (not gonna win)
We can hear the footsteps (we can hear the footsteps)
Hey, out along the walkway (out along the walkway)

Lunatic fringe
We all know you’re out there
Can you feel the resistance
Can you feel the thunder

Oh no

Hey!

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

30 thoughts on “Red Rider – Lunatic Fringe”

  4. a good post! I’ve known the song, and some other Red Rider material for decades – they were bigger in Canada as you might expect – but I never had any idea what he was really signing about on this one, makes it a bit better still. I was quite surprised to find it was a hit down here, I still hear it periodically on radio or in stores.

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    1. Thanks Dave! I couldn’t find the charting in Canada… it was played in our area to death. With Lennon being murdered…the song took on a new meaning for people.

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      2. I can’t believe it didn’t chart there Randy and Dave. It was played so much where I live…I assumed it was top 40 here…so it surprised me about not charting in Canada at all.

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    1. Oh I love it. I did think it was about Lennon when it was released because of the murder. I like what I’ve heard from him…Life is a Highway and a few others.

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