List of cultural references to A Clockwork Orange

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The novel A Clockwork Orange and the movie adaptation have had many influences on popular culture, such as popular music, television, movies and other entertainment mediums. Some of the influences are based on themes central to the story, such as the use of Nadsat words or phrases, whilst others have incorporated visual elements from the film.

1 Music
2 Television
3 Films
4 Sports
5 Video games
6 Locations
7 Other
8 See also

David Bowie's song "Suffragette City" (from the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars) includes the lyrics "Hey droogie don't crash here." In Ziggy Stardust: The Motion Picture, the pre- and post-concert music (which Bowie is seen whistling along to backstage) is from the Clockwork Orange soundtrack. The liner notes of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars featured a photograph of Bowie and his band dressed in A Clockwork Orange paraphernalia.
Kylie Minogue's Fever Tour, 2002, featured the thematic set "Droogie Nights", which was strongly influenced by Clockwork Orange. Minogue and her dancers were dressed like Alex and his group, and the choreography was inspired by criminal gangs. The set's official story mentions "Clockwork Orange", and based on the plot of the movie.
During Led Zeppelin's 1975 tour, drummer John Bonham frequently appeared onstage in the movie's droog costume: white overalls and black bowler hat.
Japanese rock band Dir en grey have a song on their album Vulgar called "Marmalade Chainsaw," which lead singer Kyo has said is a portrait of how it feels to be in front of a live crowd. The lyrics include "an Orange-d up death thirteen" and "a clockwork death thirteen."
Clockwork Orange is the name of a progressive rock band from Bangalore, India.
There was a surf rock band in the 1960s called The Clockwork Oranges.
In 1991, U2 released the single "The Fly." On the CD single, a "B" side track was entitled "Alex Descends into Hell for a Bottle of Milk/Korova 1."
In the Faith No More video for the song "Falling to Pieces", singer Mike Patton dresses up as Alex in several shots.
The Japanese pop group globe created a music video to their song "Genesis of Next" in which one of the group's singers is dressed exactly like Alex.
The song "Kubrick Eyes" by the Los Angeles band Hello Stranger references the Ludovico scene.
Panic! at the Disco frontman Brendon Urie dresses similarly to Alex in several music videos, and also Fall Out Boy's A Little Less Sixteen Candles, a Little More 'Touch Me'.
The band My Chemical Romance has done a photoshoot in which they dressed up as Alex and his gang did in the beginning of the movie.
Blur paid homage to the movie version of A Clockwork Orange in the video for their song The Universal, in which Damon Albarn is dressed as main character Alex DeLarge.
The Libertines' 2002 album Up the Bracket contains a song called "Horrorshow," referencing one of the Nadsat terms used in the book.
In 2002, Poland's alternative stars Myslovitz released an album entitled Korova Milky Bar, a reference to the place where Alex and his friends meet to consume their drug-enhanced moloko.
Bert McCracken of The Used wears an outfit very similar to Alex's in the video clip for "All That I've Got".
In 2005 Stereo Total from Germany turned the film's title music into their song "Orange mécanique".
The track "Orange" on Kasabian's debut album homages elements of A Clockwork Orange's soundtrack.

Late 1970s Liverpudlian new wave group Echo and the Bunnymen released their first records on the "Korova" label.
The seminal Edinburgh post-punk band The Scars recorded a song called "Horrorshow" as part of a double A-sided single that was released by the Fast label in 1979. It is almost a complete retelling of the Clockwork Orange novel, which was at the time a huge influence on lead singer Robert King, and of course takes its title from the novel's slang term for "good".
The Fall recorded a song entitled "To:Nkroachment: Yarbles" on their 1985 album This Nation's Saving Grace. Yarbles appears in the novel as Nadsat for testicles or bollocks.
The band New Order used "Ultraviolence" as the title of a track on its 1983 album Power, Corruption and Lies.
The band Sigue Sigue Sputnik used both the word "ultraviolence" and samples from the film on their single 'Love Missile F1-11' in 1986, also adopting the film's imagery for their stage costumes and video clips. The band uses a great deal of references to the film and book, including using the films music theme to open their concerts. Their 1990 album "The First Generation" also includes a song called "Ultraviolence". Many remixes of their songs, such as the 1986 remix of the song "Love Missile F1-11 (The DMX remix)" by Paul Dykene features other A Clockwork Orange references including "I want to Marry a Lighhouse Keeper" as part of the mix
The 1980s British electropop band Heaven 17 took their name from a band in the book.
British dance act Moloko's name was adopted from Nadsat, referring to a milk drink with admixed drugs.

Rap group D12 released a song in 2001 titled "American Psycho," on their album Devil's Night. In the track D12 member Eminem, on the opening verse, raps the lyric "Lock your doors, drop to the floors, get your shotguns drawn - here comes another Clockwork Orange."
Underground rapper Cage has a track on his album "Movies for the Blind" entitled "Agent Orange". The beginning notes are the ones used in the beginning of the movie. And he even says his name is Alex and uses the famous "right right" confirmation.
In a promotional photo for the 2006 Gnarls Barkley album St. Elsewhere, Dangermouse and Cee-lo are dressed up like Alex and Dim.
The video for "My Way" by R&B singer Usher is heavily influenced by the movie. In the video, Usher's outfit is similar to the main character in Clockwork Orange. He wears the bowler hat and has the trademark drawn eyelash on his left eye (Alex wore it over his right eye). He plays the protagonist to singer Tyrese Gibson, and playfully flirts with his girlfriend. He has a street gang who all wear bowler hats and dance in this neon-graffiti-street-gang world.

Megadeth Fans are known as Droogies by Lead Singer/Guitarist Dave Mustaine.
In the Guns N' Roses video for Welcome to the Jungle, Axl Rose is shown bound and watching several TV screens filled with sex and violence, the only dissimilarity with the Ludovico technique being his eyes are not held open.
The Louisiana based metal band Acid Bath uses quotes from A Clockwork Orange in the song, "Cassie Eats Cockroaches."
Gothic metal band Type O Negative has appeared in promotional photos dressed as Droogs.
Canadian metal band Kittie has also dressed up as Droogs for an article in rock magazine Revolver.
In Rob Zombie's song "Never Gonna Stop" there are several references to the film in the lyrics. "My Durango 95", refers to a car that the Droogs drive in a scene of the movie. "Step back and watch it flow" refers to the blood that pours from Alex's victims. In the video, Rob is seen dressed as Alex, with his band members as Droogs. The video also features an homage to the Korova Milkbar scene and the hogs of the road scene. The song's alternate title is "Red, Red Kroovy," a Nadsat expression for blood.
Shihad, a band from New Zealand, made their video for "Pacifier" (1999) as a tribute to the film. The band appears as a gang in costume at the milk bar, playing as the band, and driving in a Lotus. The song had widespread success as a single in New Zealand and Australia, and the video has had large rotation on television stations.
Every Time I Die's song "Pornogratherapy" is a song written with many references to the movie.

Several punk rock, post-punk, and Oi!/streetpunk bands have used lyrical and visual themes from the movie. The novel and movie remains hugely popular among street skinheads and punks.

The Ramones album Too Tough to Die features an instrumental called Durango 95, and the album cover shows the band backlit at the mouth of a tunnel, echoing the film scene where Alex and his droogs attack a homeless man.
On Green Day's album Dookie, there is a song called Pulling Teeth which contains the lyric "Is she ultra-violent?"
English punk band of the 1970s The Adicts usually appear on stage dressed in droog style.
Cock Sparrer has a song called "Droogs Don't Run."
Argentinian punk band Los Violadores recorded in 1985 the song "Uno, dos Ultraviolento" with several references to nadsat words.
1980s Scottish punk rock group The Exploited use audio excerpts from A Clockwork Orange in a number of their songs such as "Law for the Rich" and "Police TV."
In 1982, Californian punk band TSOL used the Clockwork Orange film logo font (Timepiece) for their album Beneath The Shadows.
The Birthday Party's 1982 song The Dim Locator is about a character called Dim. The line "Don't call me Dim!" is similar to that in the film "And don't call me Dim no more, either. Officer, call me."
In 1988, the German punk rock outfit Die Toten Hosen released a concept album Ein kleines bisschen Horrorshow (a reference to Alex's Nadsat phrase a bit of [the old] horrorshow [ultraviolence]), having been involved as musicians in a German stage production of A Clockwork Orange.'
In Siouxsie and the Banshees early career, lead singer Siouxsie Sioux would frequently wear similar droog eye makeup as Alex.
Lower Class Brats, whose singer even goes by the moniker Bones DeLarge, has maintained a theme of both the film and the book in the band's lyrics, merchandise, and even the members' tattoos.
The Skoidats' 1999 album, A Cure for What Ales You, contains a song called "The Night of the Droogs," with lines such as "The blood will flow like Clockwork Red." The chorus is "This is the Night, the Night of the Droogs."
Norwegian punk band Turbonegro's lead singer is sometimes seen with trademark eyelashes on both eyes, wearing a bowler hat during performances.
The Voodoo Glow Skulls song "Ghettoblaster" (from their album Adicción, Tradición, Revolución) opens with a clip of the scene in which Alex speaks to two girls in a music shop. Alex proclaims "Come with uncle and hear all proper! Hear angel trumpets and devil trombones! You are invited."
Other Clockwork punk bands include Major Accident, Macc Lads, Clockwork Crew, Hattrickers, The Violators and The Devotchkas.

Cygnus X does The Orange Theme based on the movie's theme.
[[Dj Tiësto Tijs Verwest]], the world's #1 Trance DJ has a track, aptly named "Clockwork Orange", which uses the Walter/Wendy Carlos-created theme song from the movie.

Bart tries to grab cupcakes in a scene that parodies A Clockwork Orange

Popular cartoon series The Simpsons references the movie version in several episodes, most notably placing Bart in an Alex-type role:

In the episode "Treehouse of Horror III", Bart is seen dressed as Alex DeLarge.
In the episode "Dog of Death", Smithers props Santa's Little Helper's eyes open and forces him to watch a sequence of destructive scenes set to Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Santa's Little Helper transforms from playful and friendly to vicious and violent.
In the episode "Duffless", Bart reaches for cupcakes placed by a vengeful Lisa, copying the extreme high and low angle shots used in the film when Alex reaches for the woman's breasts. Due to Lisa's conditioning, Bart then falls shivering on the floor, similar to how Alex begins retching.
In the episode "Homer the Smithers", while Mr. Burns recuperates in bed while wearing several casts, Smithers feeds him Spanish peanuts, which Mr. Burns chews loudly and smacks his mouth open when he wants another. This is similar to the hospital scene in which the minister feeds Alex his breakfast.
In the episode "A Streetcar Named Marge", Bart states "I have a pain in me gulliver" almost directly quoting Alex.
In the episode "Girls Just Want to Have Sums", Springfield Elementary is split into separate-sex schools. The boys' side is depicted as A Clockwork Orange-style crime-ridden dystopia, complete with distorted Wendy Carlos-style music.

The opening credits to the cartoon series Robot Chicken have a chicken with its eyes held open, watching a series of small clips. It is implied that the show is watched from the chicken's perspective.
An episode of Megas XLR is called "A Clockwork Megas".
Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law had an episode entitled "Blackwatch Plaid".
In an episode of The Critic, Jay Sherman is seen briefly in full Droog costume while at the hands of merciless fashionistas.
In Teen Titans, Malcolm McDowell voiced Mad Mod, a villain who used technological illusions and brainwashing techniques. His appearances have included several nods to A Clockwork Orange, including a scene in the episode bearing his name where Starfire was attempting to resist a brainwashing that was strongly similar to the Ludovico Technique, where her eyes were held open by the chair restraining her in front of a hypnotism screen.
Malcolm McDowell played a recurring cyborg-ape villain named Rhesus II on Captain Simian and the Space Monkeys. In one episode, the heroes are altering the cyborg's programming (some sort of a re-boot), and he briefly quotes the opening line of A Clockwork Orange (which was hilarious, but very out-of-character).
In the Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode "Super Trivia", Frylock puts Master Shake and Meatwad in straitjackets, straps them in chairs, clips their eyes open and forces them to watch a DVD containing all the world's knowledge for several days, reminiscent of the Ludovico Technique.
In the webcartoon Homestar Runner episode "A Jorb Well Done", a scene showed Coach Z strapped down being forced to watch a video on how to pronounce Job, a parody of the Ludovico Technique.
The Ludovico Technique is also parodied in the Drawn Together episode "Clum Babies", when Wooldoor Sockbat, after swearing off masturbation, is strapped in a chair and forced to watch pornography so that he can produce a Clum Baby, a glob of sperm with magical healing powers.
In Avatar: The Last Airbender the "Cultural Minister" of the Earth Kingdom capital of Ba-Sing-Se, Feng Long, uses brainwashing that resembles a primitive Ludovico Technique to brainwash the citizens into thinking that there is no war between the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation to create a "perfect utopia".
In the cartoon Rocko's Modern Life there was an episode concerning a gang of stray dogs running around terrorizing the citizens of O-Town. The leader of the pack wore a bowler derby and had a black circle under his eye, similar to that Alex. Also, one of his cohorts spoke in an accent similar to Dim.
In Home Movies, Brendon has a poster of one of his movies titled "My Clock is Orange" featuring Brendon dressed in a similar droog outfit. An episode also plays where Brendon wants to buy a Fish Eye Lens, referencing Kubrick's popular usage of the lens.
In the anime and manga series King of Bandit Jing, the character Pernod resembles Alex.
In an episode of Undergrads Spud takes over Tekerson Tech and forces Gimpy to watch the entire Star Trek: Deep Space 9 series while he is bound to a chair with his eyes propped open resembling the Ludovico Technique.
Zolf J. Kimblee from Fullmetal Alchemist has, in the manga version, worn clothing similar to Alex's white jumpsuit and bowler hat. Kimblee, like Alex, has murderous tendencies.

An episode of the science fiction TV series Farscape, in which characters are mind-controlled using a chip implanted on the optic nerve, is entitled A Clockwork Nebari.
The Goodies' episode "Invasion of the Moon Creatures", in which Bill Oddie and Tim Brooke-Taylor roam the streets dressed in rabbit suits styled after Alex's mode of dress (including the mascara on one eye) and beat people at random with giant carrots.
In an episode of Ned's School Survival Guide on Nickelodeon, Ned's eyes were taped open and he was being shown a video of people asking him for things while the word NO kept popping up, similar to the Ludovico technique.
An episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by Malcolm McDowell (during [season 6; 1980-1981]) had McDowell dressed as his Alex DeLarge character in a fake commercial from the American Milk Association.
In an episode of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet in 1983, Bomber, the character played by Pat Roach, refers to sexual activity as "a bit of the old in-out." Roach played a cameo role as a bouncer in the Korova bar in A Clockwork Orange.
In The Mighty Boosh, in the Electro episode, the band Vince joins is called Kraftwerk Orange.
In Smallville episode Visitor, Chloe Sullivan says, "What are you going to call it? A Clockwork Orange?" referring to an experiment Clark Kent and Pete Ross are conducting with oranges.
In the Fox television movie Doctor Who the Master places a device on the Doctor's head which forces him to keep his eyes open - to force the Doctor to watch as he tries to destroy the planet Earth on eve of the Millennium paralleling the Ludovico technique.
In Veronica Mars episode "President Evil", party host Mercer is dressed as Alex. This was a clue to his eventual revelation as the Hearst rapist.
In 'Big Brother's Big Mouth' Russel Brand introduced a clip by saying "Vidit my droogies"
In LOST episode "Not in Portland", one of the characters is subjected to the same sort of brainwashing/aversion therapy techniques in Cell #23, which is the same numbered room in which Alex gets his therapy.
In an episode of MythBusters, in which the Build Team tested whether pirates may have used eyepatches to enhance their night vision, Kari Byron had to "bleach" one eye with a bright light. She jokingly pointed out the similarities to the Ludovico technique.

The Hungarian film Nexxt a/k/a The Frau Plastic Chicken Show, is loosely based on the story, treating the novel and film as documentary and follow the "real" Alex around and make parallels to a more recent murderer.
In Good Bye Lenin! a fast-motion scene is featured accompanied by the William Tell Overture, similar to the sex scene in A Clockwork Orange. The main character is also named Alex.
David Fincher's film Fight Club features a number of striking stylistic and thematic similarities to A Clockwork Orange. However, Fincher has denied any influence.
The 1999 film Bowfinger mentions Stanley Kubrick and A Clockwork Orange in a list of movies after about 67 minutes.
The film A Road Less Traveled borrowed many scenarios from A Clockwork Orange.
In Danny Boyle's film Trainspotting, the writing on the wall of the Volcano Nightclub is the same as the Korova milk bar in A Clockwork Orange.
In The Coen Brothers film Fargo, Carl says he's in town for "just a little of the ol' in-and-out," a direct quote from Alex. In Raising Arizona, another movie by the Coens, Beethoven's Ode to Joy is heard in the film score - only this time as a bluegrass banjo tune, to fit with the general mood of the picture.
In Jim Carrey's movie The Cable Guy, the actor in leading role (played by Matthew Broderick) experiences a return to home from prison similar to the return to home from prison of Alex (the cable guy has taken his place as the family son).
In Batman and Robin, when Batgirl sneaks off to an underground motorcycle race, one of the various costumed gangs there is dressed like the Droogs. Additionally, the background song playing at that point is "Fun for Me," performed by the band Moloko.
In Queer Duck:The Movie, the lead character undergoes therapy similar to the Ludovico treatment to "cure" his homosexuality. He is forced to watch films with his eyes clamped open. However at the end he reveals that he would like a copy because it's a "less gay version of A Clockwork Orange."
There is a pornographic movie, entitled A Clockwork Orgy, starring Kaitlyn Ashley. In this version, Alex is a female (Alexandra), the Korova is just a regular, run-of-the-mill bar, and there is no prison chaplain.
In the film "Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny", Jack Black, trying to sleep on a park bench, is assaulted by a gang which are dressed as the Droogs. As the Droogs approach Jack, the first note from the main theme plays. One of the Droogs fails to speak with an English accent and is hit by a fellow gang member. They beat Jack Black up and then run off on their own, allowing Kyle Gass to approach Jack who is half unconscious and take credit for the gang's running off.
In the film South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, Eric Cartman is implanted with a chip which gives him an electric shock whenever he utters a swear word. The scene is similar to the one in Clockwork Orange where Alex's cure is shown to the audience.
In Tales from the Hood during the final tale "Hard Core Convert", a violent gang member named Crazy K is subjected to Ludovico and is forced to watch senseless gang violence.

Patrick Martin, a professional wrestler currently performing for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, uses the ring name Alex Shelley, which was partially inspired by the character Alex.
Professional wrestler Scott Levy, more commonly known as Raven, is noted as popularizing the Clockwork Orange House of Fun Match, a variation of a hardcore match used exclusively in TNA Wrestling.
The Princeton University ultimate teams are known as "Clockwork Orange." The team disc features a recreation of Alex's unique eye makeup. Additionally, the letters "CO" are visible in the pupil, and use the same font that is seen on the film posters.
Due to their orange uniform and highly efficient game style, the Netherlands national football team has been nicknamed "The Clockwork Orange". In South America, this was translated to "Naranja Mecanica".
Blind Skateboards has a deck with the Reaper in a parody of the cover for the film.
In Wrestling Society X, Ring Announcer Fabian Kaelin (Ryan Katz) often dresses up like Alex, with the derby hat, suspenders, old-fashioned clothes, and the eye make-up. Also, WSX has ran a storyline where Team Dragon Gate were brainwashed in a Ludivico Technique-type fashion.

In the computer/video game Timesplitters: Future Perfect, the Venice levels' accompanying music is a long piece of about eight minutes; this is because during the song the music sharply changes into a piece lifted directly from A Clockwork Orange.
In the Nintendo 64 game Conker's Bad Fur Day, and its Xbox remake, Conker: Live and Reloaded, the opening and closing sequences portray the main character Conker as Alex, with a slow fade outward and inward, while the Clockwork Orange theme plays and Conker holds a glass of milk in his hands, akin to that in the movie.
There is a mode in the Worms World Party video game known as 'Clockworm Orange'.
The video game Doom uses "Ultra-Violence" as the name of the fourth difficulty level.
In the browser game Kingdom of Loathing, there is an item called 'Clockwork Grapefruit'. Not only does the name reference the book, but ingame descriptions of this item reference Nadsat and Alex as well.
On the cover of the PlayStation game Silent Bomber, the main character, Jutah Fate, has Alex's prisoner number, 655321, printed on his uniform.
In the PlayStation game Real Bout Fatal Fury Special: Dominated Mind, the boss character, White, is dressed like a Droog.
In the PlayStation 2 game Spiderman 2, one of the many thugs yells "Time for bit o' the old ultra-violence!", a direct quote from the movie and the book.
In one of the final levels of the game SiN, the player enters villainess Elexis Sinclaire's bedroom, which contains rocking penis ornaments resembling that owned by (and used to kill) the "cat lady" in the film.

The Korova Milk Bar in New York City references the same, and even features décor similar to that of the movie, as well as milk and ice-cream themed drinks.
Korova is a bar/nightclub in Liverpool, England
Moloko is a vodka bar in Salisbury, in the English county of Wiltshire, specialising in Russian, Polish and Scandinavian vodkas.
The Glasgow Subway in Glasgow, Scotland is referred by locals as The Clockwork Orange. This is because the system consists of a single circular line and the trains are bright orange. It is mentioned in the Iain Banks book Espedair Street and refers to the "clockwork orange pub crawl."

Popular XM Satellite Radio and CBS Radio duo Opie and Anthony use several soundclips from the movie at various times during their daily morning radio show.
In Issue #3 of Johnny The Homicidal Maniac by Jhonen Vasquez, Johnny listens to 'Ode to Joy' while going on a killing spree.
The 1967 novel The Owl Service by Alan Garner, a supernatural story aimed at and featuring teenagers, has one character say to another "You're as daft as a clockwork orange". The line is at the end of Chapter 8.
A Mad magazine parody is entitled A Crockwork Lemon.
It is possible to buy a keychain charm depicting Stewie Griffin dressed as a Droog.
There is a designer clothing retailer in Northern Ireland called 'Clockwork Orange'. They use the same font as used in various posters for the movie. There are nine different stores throughout the province. Clockwork Orange Website
A calendar/address book, featuring the Japanese rock star Hideto Matsumoto(hide), had a number of movie parodies in it, including A Clockwork Orange. It looks almost identical to the film’s cover, only instead featuring Matsumoto with the words, “Hideto Matsumoto’s Clockwork Optical.”
In the Superman story Superman For All Seasons, Lex Luthor forces a female character to watch heroic deeds of Superman in the style of the Ludovico Technique in order for her to develop an obsession with him.