Debut single by Howard Devoto’s post-Buzzcocks quintet built on a menacing ascending guitar riff that would work well as a US cop show TV theme. The single version strikes harder than the version on their Real Life LP.
In his Heart of Rock and Soul, Dave Marsh points to Bruce Springsteen’s opening riff for “Roulette” (recorded in 1979 and released as a 1988 B-side) as a “Shot By Both Sides” mimic, but it’s really just vaguely similar.
Magazine – “Shot By Both Sides” (single version) (1978)