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Shot Down in the Night is a 1979 song written by Steve Swindells, who was at that time keyboardist with the UK rock group Hawkwind. Swindells and Hawkwind released different versions of the song as a single on 27 June 1980. Hawkwind's version reached #59 in the UK singles chart, being a slightly different version to the one on the album Live Seventy Nine.

"Shot Down in the Night"
Single by Hawkwind
from the album Live Seventy Nine
B-side	"Urban Guerilla"
Released	27 June 1980
Recorded	November 1979
Genre	Space rock
Length	4:15
Label	Bronze Records - BRO98
Songwriter(s)	Steve Swindells
Producer(s)	Ashley Howe and Hawkwind
Hawkwind singles chronology
"'25 Years'" (1979) "Shot Down in the Night" (1980) "'Who's Gonna Win The War?'" (1980)

"Shot Down in the Night"
Single by Steve Swindells
from the album Fresh Blood
B-side	"It's Only One Night of Your Life"
Released	27 June 1980
Recorded	1979
Genre	Rock music
Length	5:12
Label	ATCO – K11532
Songwriter(s)	Steve Swindells
Producer(s)	Steve Swindells
Steve Swindells singles chronology
"'Energy Crisis'" (1974) "Shot Down in the Night" (1980) "'Turn It On, Turn It Off'" (1981)

The song was written by Steve Swindells while rehearsing with Hawkwind (then working under the name "Hawklords") at Rockfield Studios in 1979. He presented it to the band, and they agreed on its potential as a future single. However, Swindells was then offered a solo record deal by ATCO, and left Hawkwind to pursue a solo career. His studio version of Shot Down in the Night was released as a single on the same day as Hawkwind's live version.

Swindells claims that his version was "waaay harder, more dramatic and simply better than Hawkwind’s version. In both the battle of the butch and the artistic, the queer won."[1] Despite that claim, Simon King (drums) and Huw Lloyd-Langton (guitars) played on both recordings, giving the two versions a musical closeness, although Swindells' gruff vocals perhaps make his version heavier than Dave Brock's folky vocal on Hawkwind's version.

References

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