Bela Lugosi's Dead (1979) - Bauhaus
Related: gothic rock - Bela Lugosi - music journalist - Bauhaus
Description
Bauhaus's debut single Bela Lugosi's Dead in late 1979 is considered to be the gothic anthem that sparked several people to follow in their gothic footsteps. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_rock#First_generation_.28c._1979.26ndash.3Bc._1985.29 [May 2005]
Bauhaus's debut single, "Bela Lugosi's Dead", was released in August 1979. Over nine minutes long and recorded "live in the studio" in a single take, it did not enter the UK pop charts, but remained on sale for many years thereafter. 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 song was used to score the first ten minutes of the 1983 Tony Scott vampire film "The Hunger". --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bauhaus_%28band%29 [May 2005]
Bauhaus: Bela Lugosi's Dead
It's been described as the goth-rock equivalent of "Stairway to Heaven" — in fact, it's even longer than that particular song — but what still remains especially astonishing about the title track is in fact how un-"goth" it is, at least in the clichéd notion familiar in later times. If anything, dub reggae is at the heart of the song, with Haskins' steady pulse and clatter interspersed with heavy-duty bass from David J. But what ultimately carries the day is the combination of Ash's swirling, crisp and snarling guitar work, a mini-masterpiece of art-rock in itself, and Murphy's deep black croon, singing what he described later as lyrics meant to be as much horror-movie parody as anything else, but which still conveyed a romantic majesty thanks to the performance. Until its appearance on the Crackle compilation in 1998, the EP was the only place to get the original studio version, making it one of the steadiest-selling singles in musical history as a result. Not to be ignored is the sharp B-side "Boys," a glammy recounting of dressing in drag which, with its astringent arrangement and massive bass/drum slams, stakes out a great balance between Wire and Gang of Four. — Ned Raggett for allmusic.com
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