Bela Lugosi's Dead

Infobox Single |
Name = Bela Lugosi's Dead


Artist = Bauhaus
from Album =
Released = August 1979
Recorded = January 26, 1979 at Beck Studios in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire
Genre = Gothic rock, Dub
Label = Small Wonder
Chart position =
This single = "Bela Lugosi's Dead" (1979)
Next single = "Dark Entries" (1980)

"Bela Lugosi's Dead" is a gothic rock song written by the band Bauhaus. The song was the band's first single, released in August 1979, which is often considered to be the first gothic rock record released. [cite web |url=http://www.scathe.demon.co.uk/1979.htm |title=1979 |accessdate=2008-08-03|last=Scathe |first=Pete|publisher=www.scathe.demon.co.uk|] It did not enter the UK pop charts, but remained on sale for many years thereafter. The b-side features the song "Boys" and some versions also include an early demo recording of what would be their next single, "Dark Entries." Due to licensing restrictions, the original version of the title track was not made available on any other format until the 1998 album, "Crackle - The Best of Bauhaus".

Track listing

# "Bela Lugosi's Dead"
# "Boys"
# "Dark Entries" (demo)

Description

The song is over nine minutes in length and was recorded "live in the studio" in a single take. David J, the band's bassist, claims on his website to have written the lyrics. By far their most famous work, its minimalist, free-form nature evoked a mixture of The Doors, early Pink Floyd and experimental Krautrock bands such as Can and Neu! The singing does not start (in the studio version) until several minutes into the track. The distinctive guitar sound was achieved by using partial barre chords and allowing the top E and B strings open, adding to the drone-like quality of the song.

The title references horror film star Béla Lugosi (1882-1956), who did much to establish the modern vampire image as the title character in the 1931 film "Dracula". Lugosi was, in fact, buried in his Dracula cape - an event depicted in the film "Ed Wood" [many aspects of Lugosi's later years seem to have been reported inaccurately in the film, according to [http://www.riprense.com/Bela.htm Rip Rense] ] ).

The song was featured in the 1983 Tony Scott cult vampire film "The Hunger", where it played during the opening credits and introduction. A 7" promotional record featuring an edited version of the song was released to theaters playing the movie. The song was used as the intro music for the late 1990s "Saturday Night Live" skit "Goth Talk", which had Chris Kattan and Molly Shannon as two goth students. This song was also in an episode in the fifth season of "Smallville", the vampire/Halloween-themed "Thirst." It was also played throughout the movie " The Curve", and featured in the French movie, "Sombre".

Recording Session

"Bela Lugosi's Dead" was recorded during a six-hour session at Beck Studios in Wellingborough on 26 January 1979. Four more songs were recorded ("Boys", "Harry", "Dark Entries" and the unreleased "Some Faces") but not used; only "Harry" surfaced in 1982 as a single B-side to "Kick In The Eye".

The song "Boys" was re-recorded at Beck Studios in spring 1979.

Personnel

* Peter Murphy — vocals, guitar
* Daniel Ash — guitar
* David J — bass
* Kevin Haskins — drums

Cover versions

"Bela Lugosi's Dead" has been covered by many artists including Electric Hellfire Club, Sepultura, Until December, Buzzcocks, Godhead, Dream Disciples, Opera IX, Poison Idea, XIII Stoleti, XPQ21, Nouvelle Vague on their 2006 album "Bande à Part", and Acumen Nation.

Truth Decay recorded a parody/homage called "The Ballad of Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss is Dead)" which referenced many Dr. Seuss characters, particularly the Cat in the Hat.

An excerpt of the song is parodied in Bill Bailey's Cockney Medley, a feature of his Cosmic Jam stand-up routine and also on a studio album of some of his works.

In 2002, Greg Galcik recorded a parody song "Abe Vigoda's Dead", in reference to Abe Vigoda being erroneously declared dead in 1982.

In June 2006, while touring together, Peter Murphy, Trent Reznor and members of TV on the Radio performed the song for a radio and internet broadcast.

The Dirtbombs' cover of the soul song "Kung Fu" features an instrumental line that is virtually indistinguishable from that of "Bela Lugosi's Dead".

Storm Large and the Balls' album Hanging with the Balls features a song titled "Deathstomp", which incorporates the chorus and outro of the song.

Printing Info

The original 12" release was on white vinyl and limited to 5000 copies. Various re-releases included the following:

* black vinyl with black-on-white sleeve
* clear vinyl with brown-on-white sleeve
* transparent red vinyl with red-on-white sleeve
* transparent green vinyl with green-on-white sleeve
* transparent blue vinyl with blue-on-white sleeve
* glow-in-the-dark picture disk with clear plastic sleeve

External links

* [http://stalker.hautetfort.com/archive/2007/04/11/berserker-2.html "Bela Lugosi's Dead" by Peter Murphy, Trent Reznor and TV on the Radio]

Notes