Dance is the third solo studio album by English musician Gary Numan, released in 1981.[4] It was the first studio album Numan released after his "Farewell Concerts" staged at Wembley Arena (although Numan would return to performing live shows in 1982).
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Dance | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 4 September 1981 | |||
Recorded | June–July 1981 | |||
Studio | Rock City Studios, Shepperton | |||
Genre | Experimental music, new wave, ambient, jazz fusion, synth-pop | |||
Length | 57:01 | |||
Label | Beggars Banquet | |||
Producer | Gary Numan | |||
Gary Numan chronology | ||||
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Singles from Dance | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
Release Magazine | [2] |
Smash Hits | 9/10[3] |
Dance features the UK Top 10 single "She's Got Claws". The album itself reached #3 on the UK charts.
Dance was Numan's most experimental album to date with a minimalistic approach featuring sparse electronic sounds and prolific use of drum machines and percussion. With synth pop music in the mainstream by 1981, Numan made a conscious effort to explore new musical areas. Influenced by Brian Eno, Kraftwerk and Japan, Numan hired Japan's bass player Mick Karn to play on the album.[5]
Lyrically the songs were inspired by the imagery of authors William Burroughs and J. G. Ballard and features Numan's own personal experiences, particularly a relationship that had turned bitter.[5]
Reaction to the album was mixed, some critics applauding what they saw as a less commercial career move and others viewing the change of pace with cynicism. A positive review appeared in Smash Hits magazine which gave the album a 9 out of 10 rating, describing the music as "timeless". NME's Paul Morley argued that the album elevated Numan above many synthesizer contemporaries: "Dance does prove that when judged against his proper peers he can come out well... It's a thoughtful response to the new competition: Numan self-controlled and sophisticated. He can filter and exploit past noises as sensibly, even surprisingly, as anyone" but that the music lacked other things: "Dance is Numan's neatest, cleanest and most responsible homage to Brian Eno. The elements of Eno's meditative adjustments and slippy neology are used well, but Another Green World's breathtaking personality, intimacy, grace and irony is missing."[5]
A few years after Dance's release Numan conceded, "if I was supposed to be a pop star doing music for the masses, it probably wasn't the right thing to do", but he praised the standard of playing on it.[6] "She's Got Claws" was the album's sole single release, making number 6 in the UK charts, whilst the album itself peaked at number 3. It was Numan's first album to miss the number 1 spot since Tubeway Army's debut album in 1978, dropping out of the charts after 8 weeks.
Numan very rarely performs any music from the album in concert. However live recordings and visual footage of "She's Got Claws", "Cry the Clock Said" and "Moral" ("Metal") appear on Numan's video/DVD Micromusic and album Living Ornaments '81, taken when they were previewed prior to the release of Dance at his Wembley 'farewell' concerts in April 1981.[citation needed]
On his website on 30 March 2010, Numan mentioned that "Crash" was one of the songs rehearsed for his set at the Manchester and London "Back to the Phuture" shows.[citation needed]
All tracks are written by Gary Numan, except "Night Talk" and "Stormtrooper in Drag", co-written with Paul Gardiner.
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Slowcar to China" | 9:05 |
2. | "Night Talk" | 4:26 |
3. | "A Subway Called 'You'" | 4:38 |
4. | "Cry, the Clock Said" | 9:56 |
5. | "She's Got Claws" | 4:58 |
6. | "Crash" | 3:39 |
7. | "Boys Like Me" | 4:16 |
8. | "Stories" | 3:11 |
9. | "My Brother's Time" | 4:38 |
10. | "You Are, You Are" | 4:03 |
11. | "Moral" | 4:33 |
No. | Title | Originally from | Length |
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12. | "Stormtrooper in Drag" | collaborative standalone single with Paul Gardiner | 4:59 |
13. | "Face to Face" | B-side of collaborative single with Dramatis | 3:46 |
14. | "Dance" | album outtake | 2:45 |
15. | "Exhibition" | "She's Got Claws" 12" B-side | 4:24 |
16. | "I Sing Rain" | "She's Got Claws" 12" B-side | 2:29 |
On 19 January 2018, Beggars Arkive released Dance as a vinyl double-album, with the following track listing:
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Slowcar to China" | 9:05 |
2. | "Night Talk" | 4:26 |
3. | "A Subway Called 'You'" | 4:36 |
4. | "Cry, the Clock Said" | 9:54 |
5. | "She's Got Claws" | 4:59 |
6. | "Crash" | 3:35 |
7. | "Boys Like Me" | 4:14 |
8. | "Stories" | 3:09 |
9. | "My Brother's Time" | 4:35 |
10. | "You Are, You Are" | 4:00 |
11. | "Moral" (extended version, previously unreleased) | 5:41 |
12. | "Stormtrooper in Drag" | 4:57 |
13. | "Face to Face" | 3:45 |
14. | "Dance" | 2:46 |
15. | "Exhibition" | 4:26 |
16. | "I Sing Rain" | 2:29 |
Charts (1981) | Peak Position |
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United Kingdom (OCC)[7] | 3 |
United States[8] | 167 |
Australia | 85 |
Charts (2018) | Peak Position |
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United Kingdom (OCC)[7] | 134 |
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