Race with the Devil - Gun 1968

Gun, 12" LP, CBS, UK, 1968.

Contents

  1. The song
  2. Recording
  3. Lyrics
  4. Videos & live
  5. Lessons
  6. References

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1. The song

Adrian Curtis, or Adrian Israel Gurvitz (born 26 June 1949) was an English guitarist, songwriter and producer famous for his band Gun (also The Gun) and his October 1968 hit single Race with the Devil. Adrian was aged 18 at the time of its release. His younger brother Paul Anthony Gurvitz (b. 6 July 1944) was also in the band on bass. The song was an early heavy rock classic, with a famous driving guitar riff. As such, a number of bands later covered the song or included the main riff in their work, including:

Regarding the origin of the song, Gurvitz notes that he heard the Hey Grandma recording by Moby Grape, which had a fuzzy sound, and the riff came up. He then went into a studio to record, where he made up some lyrics on the spot. This was his first recording.

Adrian Gurvitz recalls jamming with Jimi Hendrix, the inspiration behind ‘Race with the Devil’, 17 March 2019, 24-7 News, YouTube, duration: 7.20 minutes.

During 1967 - 68 he frequented the Speakeasy in London, and encountered Jimi Hendrix there. He would go there every night after a gig, and find girlfriends there. "One night I was there and I met Jimi. We chatted away and he said, "Hey man, do you want to get up and jam?" I said yeah. It was my first time getting up and jamming with Hendrix. We played for about an hour. It was a real moment..... we ended up playing three, four times together. There was another club in South Kensington where [Paul] McCartney and [John] Lennon - everybody used drugs. I went there one night and Jimi was already there. He said, "Come on man, do you want to jam?." This time he picked up the bass and let me play guitar.

Band members included:

  • Adrian Gurvitz - Lead guitar and vocal.
  • Louie Farrell - Drums
  • Paul Gurvitz - Bass guitar

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Gun, Race with the Devil, France, 1970, YouTube, duration: 3,31 minutes.

2. Recording

The song was produced by John Godson with and orchestral arrangement by Keith Roberts. It ran for 3.40 minutes. The band were signed to CBS Records, UK, and their records released under the Epic label in the US. They released two LPs and a number of singles between 1967 and 1969.

The single was released in the UK in October 1968, and also France, Scandinavia, Germany, Netherlands, Japan and Australia during the same year. The B-side was Sunshine, duration: 4.27 minutes.

7" single, 45rpm, France, 1968.

7" single, 45rpm, Germany, 1968.

7" single, 45rpm, Scandinavia, 1968.

7" single, 45rpm, Japan, 1968.

7" single, 45rpm, Spain, 1969.

 

7" single, 45rpm, Netherlands, 1968.

This was followed by the song's inclusion on the first Gun LP, issued in 1968 with a cover (his first) by Roger Dean.

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3. Lyrics

The song writing credit was attributed upon release in 1968 to Adrian Curtis.

You better run, you better run
You better run from the devil's gun
The race is on, the race is on
And you better run from the devil's gun

Strange things happen if you stay
The devil will catch you in anyway
He'll seek you here, he'll seek you there
The devil will seek you everywhere

Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha....

When he finds you, you'll soon find out
The devil's fire just won't go out
It burns you up from head to toe
The devil's grip just won't let go

Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha....

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4. Videos & live

* Gun Live France 1968, YouTube, duration: 22.37 minutes. Tracks: 0.00 1. Drives You Mad, 2.28 2. Take Off, 12.56 3. I'm So Glad, 4. 18.40 Race With The Devil.

* The Gun, Race with the Devil, BBC Radio, 12 November 1968, Syd Farrell, YouTube, duration: 2.55 minutes.

* The Gun, Race with the Devil, YouTube, duration: 10.20 minutes. Live in Germany 1970. Includes a dedication to Jimi Hendrix who died around this time.

* Adrian Gurvitz, Race with the Devil, Water Rats, London, Gigs, 13 October 2024, YouTube, duration: 3.11 minutes.

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5. Lessons

....

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6. References

 Discogs, Gun, Discogs, accessed 1 September 2025.

PaulGurvitz.com - The Gun [archived webpage], Internet Archive, 29 September 2007.

Read, Graham, The Gun: Race with the Devil (1967), Elsewhere, 7 August 2023.

Wikipedia, Adrian Gurvitz, Wikipedia, 1 September 2025.

-----, Gun, Wikipedia, 1 September 2025.

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Last updated: 2 September 2025

Michael Organ, Australia

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