Singles Discography

Only When I Lose Myself

Charts

UK (17) US (61) Germany (2)

Notes

In 1997, we were lucky to have our band back. In 1998, we were lucky to have our band back on the road. This would be the single to help promote the occasion. "Only When I Lose Myself", then poised to be the next "Shake the Disease", over time has ended up being the next "It's Called a Heart" instead. It’s a song that has been overshadowed by the enduring popularity of its B-Side "Surrender". Granted, it's not that it's a bad song; it's quite good actually with a great assortment of mixes. But, it's no "Surrender". Not like this hasn't happened before, but perhaps it appears that the band released the wrong song of the three they recorded to promote their new compilation. While OWILM was a well produced, midtempo tune, and "Headstar" was a classic uptempo instrumental B-side, "Surrender" was the total package by any standard. Rich with a brooding bassline, subtle percussion tracks, and Mart's trademark guitar parts, it was a true gem of a recording that all but assured fans that the band would be alright. It was given the remix treatment as Lionel Catalan turned in an outstanding house mix. It would later reappear as an easter egg in the One Night In Paris DVD as well as being one of the "bare" tracks recorded acoustically during the "Playing the Angel" sessions.

As said before, there are a great assortment of mixes of all three tracks. Gorillaz contributor Dan the Automator provides a mix that brings both hip-hop and J-pop sensibilities to OWILM. The same hip-hop sensibilities were also present in the Subsonic Legacy mix which threatens with each bar to go right in to NWA's "Straight Outta Compton". If you need a link between DM and NWA, look no further than this mix. Luke Slater turns "Headstar" into something Hazchemix-esque. Even Reprise got into the remix action by comissioning Josh Abraham to put together some harder-edged radio-length mixes. Armed with a stronger beat and better emphasis on the single version, Josh Abraham produced a fine set of mixes that moved and grooved nicely. Unfortunately, these good mixes were promo-only and have yet to be released commercially.

An XLCD was drafted, featuring OWILM mixes from GusGus. The 4AD band was best known at the time for "Polyesterday" and "Believe". They came through with their long play and short play mixes. These mixes also did a good job of capturing the essence of the original recording. Also featured on this disc was the previously rejected mix of "Painkiller" by DJ Shadow. It found its way into clubs as a bootleg and gained quite a following. The following was strong enough for Mute to include it for this release. Another bootleg mix included was the Safar mix of "World In My Eyes". As 1991 saw a strong market for the band's single backcatalogue, the same could be said for the demand of the band's bootleg live and remix recordings in 1998. The inclusion created hope for remix fans that they could possibly be featured on a BONG if they could put together a mix and build a following for it. With the upcoming proliferation of the internet worldwide, this practice became more prevalent with fans distributing their homemade mixes among message boards and fan sites.

In this video episode of the band, Brian Griffin, who had been responsible for some of the band's very early cover artwork, was brought in to direct. While the band sits individually, waiting for their closeups, Brian provides a collage of people in varying states of insanity. In the middle of it all is a woman standing in the middle of a road observing a suspended car that is in the middle of flipping over while airborne. It's the highlight of a very odd video. But compared to what was to come later, it may as well have been Peter Gabriel's Sledgehammer video.

US Releases

	Reprise Double 12" Single 0-44562 Only When I Lose Myself (Dan The Automator Remix) Painkiller (Kill The Pain Mix) (DJ Shadow vs. Depeche Mode) Headstar (Luke Slater Remix) Surrender (Catalan FC Out Of Reach Mix) Only When I Lose Myself (Gus Gus Longplay Mix) Headstar (Original Version) Only When I Lose Myself (Subsonic Legacy Remix) Surrender (Original Version)
	Mute/Reprise 5" CD Single 2-44546 Only When I Lose Myself (Dan The Automator Remix) Headstar (Original Version) Surrender (Original Version) Only When I Lose Myself (Subsonic Legacy Remix) Headstar (Luke Slater Remix)
	Mute/Reprise 5" CD Single 2-44562 Only When I Lose Myself (Gus Gus Long Mix) Painkiller (Kill The Pain Mix) (DJ Shadow vs. Depeche Mode) Surrender (Catalan FC Out Of Reach Mix) Only When I Lose Myself (Gus Gus Shortplay Mix) World in My Eyes (SAFAR Mix)
	Reprise Advance Promo Double 12" Single PRO-A-9362 Only When I Lose Myself (Dan The Automator Remix) Painkiller (Kill The Pain Mix) (DJ Shadow vs. Depeche Mode) Headstar (Luke Slater Remix) Surrender (Catalan FC Out Of Reach Mix) Only When I Lose Myself (Gus Gus Longplay Mix) Headstar (Original Version) Only When I Lose Myself (Subsonic Legacy Remix) Surrender (Original Version) Notes: Double Promo 12" Single Set in custom stickered sleeve.
	Reprise Promo 5" CD-R Single No Cat# Only When I Lose Myself (Josh Abraham Remix Edit) Only When I Lose Myself (Josh Abraham Remix)
	Reprise Advance Promo CD No Cat# Only When I Lose Myself Headstar *Tempt Notes: *This was the working title for 'Surrender'
	Reprise Promo 5" CD Single PRO-CD-9362 Only When I Lose Myself (Radio Version) Only When I Lose Myself (Single Version)
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UK Releases

	Mute 12" Single 12 BONG 29 Only When I Lose Myself (Subsonic Legacy Remix) Only When I Lose Myself (Dan The Automator Remix) Headstar (Luke Slater Remix)
	Mute 5" CD Single CD BONG 29 Only When I Lose Myself Surrender Headstar
	Mute Limited Edition 12" Single L12 BONG 29 Only When I Lose Myself (Gus Gus Longplay Mix) Painkiller (Kill The Pain Mix) (DJ Shadow vs. Depeche Mode) Surrender (Catalan FC Out of Reach Mix)
	Mute Limited Edition 5" CD Single LCD BONG 29 Only When I Lose Myself (Subsonic Legacy Remix) Only When I Lose Myself (Dan The Automator Remix) Headstar (Luke Slater Remix)
	Mute Xtra Limited Edition 5" CD Single XLCD BONG 29 Only When I Lose Myself (Gus Gus Longplay Mix) Painkiller (Kill The Pain Mix) (DJ Shadow vs. Depeche Mode) Surrender (Catalan FC Out Of Reach Mix) Only When I Lose Myself (Gus Gus Shortplay Mix) World in My Eyes (SAFAR Mix)
	Mute Promo 5" CD Single RCD BONG 29 Only When I Lose Myself (Radio Version) Only When I Lose Myself (Single Version)
	Mute Promo 12" Single P12 BONG 29 Only When I Lose Myself (Dan The Automator Mix) Only When I Lose Myself (Subsonic Legacy Mix) Painkiller (Kill The Pain Mix) (DJ Shadow vs. Depeche Mode) Headstar Notes: Promo 12" in custom sleeve.
	Mute Promo 12" Single PL12 BONG 29 Headstar (Luke Slater Remix) Surrender (Catalan FC Out Of Reach Mix) Only When I Lose Myself (Gus Gus Mix) Notes: Promo 12" in custom sleeve.
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