I Die: You Die
| "I Die: You Die" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Gary Numan | ||||
| from the album Telekon | ||||
| B-side | UK: "Down in the Park (Piano Version)" other countries: "Sleep by Windows" |
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| Released | August 1980 | |||
| Format | 7" vinyl | |||
| Recorded | Matrix Studios, London, 1980 | |||
| Genre | New wave, synthpop | |||
| Length | 3:40 | |||
| Label | Beggars Banquet BEG 46 |
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| Writer(s) | Gary Numan | |||
| Producer(s) | Gary Numan | |||
| Gary Numan singles chronology | ||||
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"I Die: You Die" is a song by the British musician Gary Numan, released as a single in August 1980. Released shortly before his fourth album, Telekon, it continued the anthemic style Numan had begun earlier in the year with "We Are Glass". The composer himself described the two singles as "Much the same thing. Both very chorus-orientated with the guitars as the main rhythmic device and the keyboards tinkling over the top".[1]
Lyrically the song was aimed at what Numan saw as an increasingly vitriolic music press:[2]
- They crawl out
- Of their holes for me
- And I die you die
- Hear them laugh
- Watch them turn on me
- And I die you die
- See my scars
- They call me such things
- Tear me, tear me, tear me
The original vinyl single was issued in a variety of different colours. It entered the UK Singles Chart at number 8 and peaked at number 6 the following week[3] but was not included on Numan's Telekon album, released only two weeks later. It did, however, appear on overseas releases of the album, replacing the song "Sleep by Windows". An alternate mix of the A-side was used for the music video and on a limited edition, white-labelled, single release, later included as a bonus track on the 1998 CD re-issue of Telekon. The UK single B-side was a solo piano version of one of Numan's most popular songs, "Down in the Park". In the US, Australia and other countries where "I Die: You Die" supplanted "Sleep by Windows" on Telekon, the latter track was used as the B-side of the single.
Like "We Are Glass", "I Die: You Die" had been premiered live during the final legs of Numan's 1979-80 concert tour The Touring Principle, before being recorded. It has since featured regularly in Numan's performances and on his live albums. Stephin Merritt from The Magnetic Fields covered the song on the Random tribute album in 1997. It was remixed for the 1998 collection The Mix and appears on numerous compilation albums.
Track listing
- "I Die: You Die" (Gary Numan) - 3:40
- "Down in the Park (Piano Version)" (Numan) - 4:16
Production credits
- Producers:
- Gary Numan
- Musicians:
- Gary Numan: Vocals, Minimoog, Polymoog, Roland Jupiter-4, Roland CR-78, Guitar
- Paul Gardiner: Bass guitar
- Cedric Sharpley: Drums
- Rrussell Bell: Backing vocals
- Dennis Haines: Piano, Minimoog, Polymoog, Yamaha CP-30, Backing vocals
Chart performance
| Chart (1980) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart[3] | 6 |
| Irish Singles Chart[4] | 16 |
| American Singles Chart[5] | 109 |
References
- ↑ Stephen Webbon & Gary Numan (1985). "Complete Gary Numan UK Discography". Record Collector (December 1985, No. 76): p.15
- ↑ Telekon remastered at beggars.com
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- Paul Goodwin (2004). Electric Pioneer: An Armchair Guide to Gary Numan
