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"Physical" is a hidden track on 1992's Broken EP that was originally written and performed by Adam and the Ants on their 1980 album Kings Of The Wild Frontier.
When Broken was first released, this and another extra track, "Suck," were on a Mini CD that was packaged with the EP. But after allegations that some music stores were removing the mini CD and selling it separately, the two tracks were incorporated onto the EP as tracks 98 and 99, with tracks 7–97 consisting of three seconds of silence each.
At the beginning (approx. 27 sec.) of the song, Trent Reznor can be heard saying, "Eat your heart out, Steve." This is possibly directed towards Steve Gottlieb of TVT Records with whom Reznor had been feuding, as Gottlieb would not let him out of his contract. The entirety of Broken was created without the knowledge of TVT. The original track by Adam and the Ants had Adam saying, "Eat your heart out, Do It" at the beginning, which is directed at his record label at the time, Do It Records.
In the credits, "Barks and Roars" are attributed to Maise, Trent's dog at the time of recording. At 3:36, barking and "Ow! Fucker" is heard being played at half speed over the track, as Maise - then a puppy - was playing with Sean Beavan in the studio, and bit him. (One of the recording techniques employed on both "Suck" and "Physical" was to play the guitar riff at double the speed of the track, and play the resulting recording back at half speed, for a unique, extra thick sound.)
According to a previously unreleased interview Reznor did with Melody Maker magazine, "Physical" was supposed to be a "tongue-in-cheek" cover. It should be noted that the Adam and the Ants version is named "Physical (You're So)" and features an extra verse.
This is the original version found on the Broken EP. It begins with layers of ambience and feedback before erupting into a guitar- and drum-heavy first verse. The chorus introduces a new, chugging chord progression before returning to the power chords and riff of the second verse. A bridge after the second chorus leads to the climactic final chorus variation, which descends into more feedback and whispering.
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