Complex
Song
Gary Numan, Dome, BrightonPaloma Faith, Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth...moment comes with "Asylum", the horror-movie instrumental from the B-side of "Cars". The most moving comes with the stately grandeur of "Complex", a song which Numan didn't play live for years, maybe because it's too close to the bone:... In this article: Gary Numan, The Pleasure Principle, Replicas, Freak Like Me, Stuttering, Mental disorder, Complex, Cars, and Asperger's syndrome |
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Telegraph.co.uk - Arts | 2 days ago
Gary Numan at the Brighton Dome review
...and endlessly sampled songs of futurist isolation, while Cars, his biggest hit, was raced through with zippy energy. The melancholy Complex, meanwhile, was dedicated to Paul Gardiner, Numan's band-mate who died of a heroin overdose in 1984,...
In this article: Gary Numan, Marilyn Manson, The Pleasure Principle, Cars, Heroin, Steroid, Paul Gardiner, and Chris McCormack
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Wikipedia | November 05, 2009
Gary Numan
...with its highly distinctive sound , remains one of Numan's most highly-regarded efforts to date. A second single from the album "Complex " made it to #6 in the UK charts. Numan was pop music's first successful synthesizer star. He...
In this article: Gary Numan, Cars, UK, Tubeway Army, Nine Inch Nails, Trent Reznor, Jagged, Dance, Replicas, and Warriors
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Wikipedia | November 02, 2009
The Pleasure Principle (Gary Numan album)
...told by the last machine on Earth (later used as backing for Basement Jaxx's "Where's Your Head At?"; the electronic ballad "Complex ", a UK number 6 single; and "Cars ", a worldwide synthpop hit recently covered by Fear Factory and...
In this article: Gary Numan, The Pleasure Principle, Cars, Replicas, Telekon, On Broadway, Afrika Bambaataa, Ultravox, and Living Ornaments '79
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Drowned in Sound - News | October 30, 2009
DiS meets Gary Numan
...and seemingly ill-at-ease pop star had an unusually soulful voice; which was perhaps more apparent on the electro ballad, and single 'Complex'. And of course the album had the colossal single 'Cars', which would prove to be his second number...
In this article: Gary Numan, Metal, Replicas, Cars, Tubeway Army, Nine Inch Nails, Beggars Banquet, Moog, and Sugababes
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Wikipedia | August 13, 2009
Complex (song)
...recordings such as "Hiroshima Mon Amour" by Ultravox and "Neon Lights" by Kraftwerk by a couple of years. Numan rarely performed "Complex" in concert throughout the '80s and '90s, with versions appearing on the recently re-released...
In this article: Gary Numan, Hope Bleeds, DVD, BBC Radio 1, Hiroshima Mon Amour, Neon Lights, Living Ornaments '80, Living Ornaments '81, and Ultravox
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Wikipedia | May 03, 2009
Living Ornaments '81
The song "Conversation", included at the end of disc one, is a bonus track. It was played at the first two Wembley shows but replaced by "Complex" for the 28 April show. The version included on the Living Ornaments '81 set is from the 26 April...
In this article: Living Ornaments '81, Gary Numan, and Wembley Arena
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Wikipedia | November 02, 2008
Bombers (Gary Numan song)
...September 1979 at the Hammersmith Odeon , London (during 'The Touring Principle' concerts) and released on the B-side of the single "Complex " later that year. This arrangement differed from the earlier recordings, featuring a Roland CR-78 drum...
In this article: Gary Numan, Bombers, That's Too Bad, Paul Gardiner, David Bowie, Tubeway Army, The Pleasure Principle, The Plan, Dream Corrosion, and Engineers
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Description from Wikipedia:
"Complex" is a song by British musician Gary Numan. A recording of it appeared on his 1979 album The Pleasure Principle, and was also released as a single in the UK, where it was a top 10 hit.
The recording's backing track uses conventional acoustic drums, acoustic piano, and electric bass guitar, however the distinctive lead parts are performed on violin, viola and heavily flanged and reverberated analogue monosynth, an unusual combination in popular music.
Lyrically, the song alludes to a psychological complex, expressing a paranoia that might have been directed at critics, fans, stalkers or false friends, depending on one's point of view:
:Please keep them away
:Don't let them touch me
:Please don't let them lie
:Don't let them see me
A BBC Radio 1 review panel speculated that this song was "the first electronic ballad", although this is untrue, as it post-dates recordings such as "Hiroshima Mon Amour" by Ultravox and "Neon Lights" by Kraftwerk by a couple of years.
Numan rarely performed "Complex" in concert throughout the '80s and '90s, with versions appearing on the recently re-released and expanded 1980 recordings captured on Living Ornaments '80, as well as the Micromusic video from his final Wembley Arena concert in 1981 and its CD counterpart Living Ornaments '81. He revived the song on stage in September 2003, as captured in the "Hope Bleeds" DVD and CD.
- Name:
- Complex
- Genre:
- New Wave, Synth pop
- Release Date:
- January 01, 1979
- Preceded By:
- "Cars"
- Produced by:
- Gary Numan
- Recorded By:
- Gary Numan
- Length:
- 3:13
- Record Label:
- Beggars Banquet
- Recording Dates:
- Marcus Music AB, London, 1979
- Audio Format:
- 7" single
- From Album:
- The Pleasure Principle
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