Bela Lugosi's Dead
| "Bela Lugosi's Dead" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||
| Single by Bauhaus | ||||
| Released | 6 August 1979 | |||
| Recorded | 26 January 1979 at Beck Studios in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, England | |||
| Genre | Gothic rock, dub reggae | |||
| Length | 9:36 | |||
| Label | Small Wonder | |||
| Writer(s) |
|
|||
| Bauhaus singles chronology | ||||
|
||||
"Bela Lugosi's Dead" is a song by English post-punk band Bauhaus. The song was the band's first single, released on 6 August 1979 by record label Small Wonder,[1] and is often considered the first gothic rock record.[2]:25–28
Contents
Content
The single featured the B-side "Boys", and some versions also included a portion of an early demo recording of what would be their next single, "Dark Entries".
The original sleeve art was taken from a still of the film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.[3] The writers listed on the single are the band's drummer Kevin Haskins, vocalist Peter Murphy, guitarist Daniel Ash and bassist David J (as David Haskins).[4] David J, however, has claimed that he wrote them.[2]:45
The song is over nine minutes in length, and the vocals do not start (in the studio version) until several minutes into the track. The dub-influenced [5][6] guitar sound was achieved by using partial barre chords and leaving the top E and B strings open.
The title referenced horror film star Bela Lugosi (1882–1956), who did much to establish the modern vampire image as the title character in the 1931 film Dracula, and who had been dead for over two decades when the song was written and recorded.
The sleeve cover art was taken from the D. W. Griffith film The Sorrows of Satan (1926).
Recording
"Bela Lugosi's Dead" was recorded "live in the studio" in a single take during a six-hour session at Beck Studios in Wellingborough on 26 January 1979. Four additional songs were also recorded, varying in genre: the post-punk-styled "Boys", the ska/reggae crossover "Harry", the punk-influenced "Bite My Hip" (later re-envisioned as the 1982 single "Lagartija Nick") and the unreleased pop song "Some Faces". Of these recordings, only "Harry" surfaced, issued in 1982 as a B-side to the single "Kick in the Eye", while "Boys" was re-recorded at Beck Studios in 1979.
Release
"Bela Lugosi's Dead" was released in August 1979, but did not enter the UK charts.
It was released on CD in 1988, and was compiled on the 1998 Bauhaus compilation album Crackle.
The original 12" release was on white vinyl and limited to 5,000 copies. Various re-releases included the following:
- black vinyl with black-on-white sleeve (up to five versions exist, based on comparisons of runout matrices on each of the releases and sleeve format)
- blue vinyl with blue-on-white sleeve
- clear vinyl with brown-on-white sleeve
- green transparent vinyl with green-on-white sleeve
- pink vinyl with pink-on-white sleeve
- purple transparent vinyl with purple-on-white sleeve
- glow-in-the-dark picture disk with clear plastic sleeve
Legacy
"Bela Lugosi's Dead" is considered the harbinger of gothic rock music and has been immensely influential on contemporary goth culture.[3]
In the 1983 horror film The Hunger, Bauhaus performed the song during the opening credits and introduction. A 7″ promotional record featuring an edited version of the song was released to theaters playing the film.
The song was used as the intro music for the late 1990s Saturday Night Live skit "Goth Talk", which featured Chris Kattan and Molly Shannon as two goth students.
This song was featured in numerous films and TV shows including Smallville, The Curve, Good Luck Chuck, The Collector, Fringe,[7] Supernatural and American Horror Story: Hotel.[8]
Cover versions
"Bela Lugosi's Dead" has been covered by numerous artists:
- Until December covered the song as the B-side of their 1986 12" single "Heaven".
- Italian band Opera IX covered the song on their 2000 album The Black Opera: Symphoniæ Mysteriorum in Laudem Tenebrarum.
- Sepultura covered the song on their 2001 album Nation.
- Nouvelle Vague covered the song on their 2006 album Bande à part.
- On 31 October 2013 (Halloween), David J with Jill Tracy released "Bela Lugosi's Dead (Undead Is Forever)", a cinematic rework of "Bela Lugosi's Dead".
- A version by CHVRCHES was played during the ending credits of the 2014 movie Vampire Academy.
Track listing
- "Bela Lugosi's Dead"
- "Boys"
- "Dark Entries (Demo)"
Personnel
- Bauhaus
- Peter Murphy: vocals
- Daniel Ash: guitar
- David J: bass
- Kevin Haskins: drums
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "Bela Lugosi's Dead" at Discogs.
- ↑ http://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/14/bauhaus-invent-goth
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
| Studio albums | |
|---|---|
| EPs | |
| Live albums | |
| Compilation albums | |
| Singles |
|
| Related | |
