90s at 9 'Swallowed' Bush's 'Help!' But Not As Good

“Swallowed” was the lead single off Bush's 1996 album

Razorblade Suitcase.

It was their first release after their wildly successful debut album 

Sixteen Stone.

Bush lead singer, Gavin Rossdale, told

Entertainment Weekly

in 2017, “I didn't even know it was possible to get as successful as we got. 'Swallowed' was a sense of getting lost in that tidal wave. I mean, it's the greatest tidal wave you'll ever be in. But at the same time, there's something… when you're doing it constantly and you tour for three years and you're strung out and disconnected from everyone you know and your relationship is suffering because you're away, I just felt like this sense of being swallowed up and eaten up by the life and lost to it. I mean, it's such a high-class problem that now you talk about it and go, 'Really?'”

Rossdale told NME, “When you first climb that ladder if you're lucky enough, and I was lucky enough to have that insane success with it, it's a bit overwhelming in some ways. I didn't go to school where you learn how to prepare for any kind of success, I was English, I'd failed for many years, I was not used to being successful – and there's something about being swept up in that success that's daunting and really overwhelming… it wasn't a complaint, it was just an observation.”

“Swallowed” was the band's 4th crossover hit to Top 40. It reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard Alternative Songs chart and #2 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

Bush “Swallowed” 1996