I Am the Mob

1997 single by Catatonia

"I Am the Mob"

Single by Catatonia

from the album International Velvet

B-side

"My Selfish Gene"

Released

6 October 1997 (1997-10-06)^[1]

Length

3:09

Label

Blanco y Negro

Songwriter(s)

Catatonia, Mark Roberts

Producer(s)

Catatonia, TommyD

Catatonia singles chronology

"You've Got a Lot to Answer For"
(1996)

"I Am the Mob"
(1997)

"Mulder and Scully"
(1998)

"I Am the Mob" is a song by Welsh rock band Catatonia from their album International Velvet. It became the band's second top 40 hit, peaking at No.40. The song's lyrics refer to the gangster movie The Godfather, with lines "I put horses' heads in people's beds, cause I am the Mob", and "That Luca Brasi: ah, he sleeps with the fishes".

The song received very little airplay,^{[citation needed]} due to the lyrics being considered^[who?] unfriendly for radio stations.

The recording begins with a short sample "from a discussion on bullying lifted from Jenny Jones – an American talk show."^[2]

The B-side "My Selfish Gene" later appeared on the International Velvet album.

Music video

The accompanying music video was directed by Kevin Allen in the highlands of Scotland, showing the band playing with toy boats and fishing.^[3] According to Catatonia's guitarist Owen Powell, the video took two days to shoot. He stated that the band did not want the song to look like a pop video, "We wanted it to be slightly different."^[4] Catatonia drummer Aled Richards can be seen playing a drum kit model that The Who's Keith Moon used to own, with goldfish inside. Owen Powell claimed that "[Moon] used to put goldfish in it. That's what Aled wanted – a sort of homage to Keith Moon."^[4]

Formats and track listings

UK CD single

"I Am the Mob"
"Jump or Be Sane"
"Selfish Gene"
"I Am the Mob" (Luca Brasi Mix)

Charts

Chart (1997)	Peak position
Scotland (OCC)^[5]	39
UK Singles (OCC)^[6]	40

References

^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 6 October 1997. p. 37. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
^ Owens 2000, p. 176.
^ Owens 2000, p. 183.
^ ^a ^b Owens 2000, p. 184.
^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 February 2016.