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Berserker | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 9 November 1984 [1] | |||
Recorded | 1984 | |||
Studio | Rock City Studios (Shepperton) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 45:36 | |||
Label | Numa | |||
Producer | Gary Numan | |||
Gary Numan chronology | ||||
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Singles from Berserker | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
Smash Hits | 3/10 [4] |
Berserker is the sixth solo studio album by the English new wave musician Gary Numan, released on 9 November 1984, it was his first album to be released under Numan's own record label, Numa Records.
Gary Numan's recording contract with his previous record label Beggars Banquet had ended with the release of 1983's studio album, Warriors . Disillusioned with record companies, Numan decided to create his own record label, Numa Records, to give himself full control over his recordings, production and marketing. Numan was now free to take his music into a harder direction without interference.
Berserker presented a harder synth, hi-NRG-inspired rock sound than Numan's previous studio albums, with an abundant use of sampling and the distinctive sound of the PPG Wave synthesiser. It developed on the electro-funk sound of Warriors, marking a change from the prominent fretless bass on his previous three studio albums but retaining the female backing vocals and occasional saxophone.
Lyrically, the album has a haunting, dystopian theme:
The Berserker album doesn't have a central character or a story as such. I was writing about being something, or part of something, fictional. Something that was dreadful, powerful, unstoppable. Something almost alien from what you're used to which is coming your way. I was trying to create a feeling of only half-guessed-at menace. The songs had bits which were specific to me but they were mostly weird fictional stuff about being cold, playing games with people, using people in very unpleasant ways, without ever saying what they were, exactly. [5]
The poignant track "A Child with the Ghost" was Numan's tribute to his friend and former bassist Paul Gardiner, who died in February 1984 from a heroin overdose. The track was also covered by the duo Tik and Tok on their studio album Intolerance (which featured Numan) the same year. The industrial undertones of the Berserker album would be more fully explored on Numan's next studio album, The Fury (1985).
Numan appeared on the cover (and throughout the subsequent tour) as a white-skinned, white-clad "Iceman" with blue makeup and hair. The album was named after a series of science-fiction novels by Fred Saberhagen, which Numan had read at school. [6]
The title track was released as a single in October 1984, but only made it to No. 32 on the UK Singles Chart; his lowest-charting single at that time, alongside "Sister Surprise" from the preceding studio album Warriors. The album was released one month later, but only managed No. 45 on the UK Albums Chart, making it Numan's first studio album to miss the UK top 30. In chart terms, Berserker was outperformed by The Plan , an archival compilation album of early Numan material released by his former record label Beggars Banquet in September 1984 that reached No. 29. "My Dying Machine" was released as the second and final single off Berserker in December of the same year and peaked at No. 66.
The album was originally released in two different-length versions in the UK. The CD and cassette releases featured longer versions of all tracks, while the LP features shorter mixes. [7]
Upon its release, the album received poor reviews in the British music press. Writing for Smash Hits , Vici Macdonald found that it "starts well enough", but "After 9 almost identical tracks, it's a relief when the album ends." [4] In a retrospective review, Ned Raggett of Allmusic noted the contrast between Numan's "one-of-a-kind voice -- often capturing a sense of melancholic passion better than ever" and the "all-too-obvious arrangements from the mid-'80s", describing Numan as "seeming like a guest on his own record". [8]
Numan's 19-date UK Berserker Tour of November–December 1984 featured a stylized "high-tech Roman temple" stage set to complement Numan's white leather jacket/white make-up/blue-hair look. The tour spawned a double-album, White Noise (1985), recorded live at the Hammersmith Odeon in December 1984. The same concert was captured (albeit in edited form) on the video The Berserker Tour; both the album and the video were released in 1985. In early 2008, the video of the entire concert was released for the first time, on the DVD Cold Warning. The DVD contains, as an extra feature, a 2007 interview in which Numan discusses his recollections of the Berserker album and tour. Numan mentions that Berserker was influenced by Trevor Horn's production work with Frankie Goes to Hollywood, and claims that distribution problems and a lack of media airplay contributed to its disappointing sales. [9]
All songs written by Gary Numan.
All timings are approximate and will vary slightly with different equipment.
Credits are adapted from the Berserker liner notes. [13]
Musicians
Gary Anthony James Webb, known professionally as Gary Numan, is an English musician. He entered the music industry as frontman of the new wave band Tubeway Army. After releasing two studio albums with the band, he released his debut solo studio album The Pleasure Principle in 1979, topping the UK Albums Chart. His commercial popularity peaked in the late 1970s and early 1980s with hits including "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars". Numan maintains a cult following. He has sold over 10 million records.
Sacrifice is the twelfth solo studio album by English musician Gary Numan, released in October 1994 by Numa Records. Its release is often cited as marking the start of a critical and artistic rejuvenation for Numan. The album was released in the US in 1997 with a different title, Dawn, based on the comic book character Dawn. It also carried cover art by Joseph Michael Linsner.
Tik and Tok are the robotic mime and music duo of Tim Dry and Sean Crawford. They began performing together with Shock, a rock/mime/burlesque/music troupe in the early 1980s with Barbie Wilde, Robert Pereno, L.A. Richards and Carole Caplin.
Paul Andrew Gardiner was a British musician who played bass guitar with Gary Numan and Tubeway Army, as well as creating material under his own name.
I, Assassin is the fourth solo studio album by the English new wave musician Gary Numan, released on 10 September 1982 by Beggars Banquet. It peaked at No. 8 on the UK Album Chart. Three singles were released from the album: "Music for Chameleons", "We Take Mystery " and "White Boys and Heroes", all of which reached the UK Top 20.
Warriors is the fifth solo studio album by the English new wave musician Gary Numan, released on 16 September 1983 by Beggars Banquet Records. It would be his last studio release on that label.
The Fury is the seventh solo studio album by the English musician Gary Numan, originally released in September 1985, it was Numan's second release on his self-owned Numa Records label. It saw him continuing to explore the sample-heavy industrial sound that he had developed for his previous album Berserker in 1984.
White Noise is a double live album by British musician Gary Numan and originally released in 1985. The album was reissued as a double CD in 1998 before a remastered version was released in 2003.
The Plan is an archival compilation album of early demo recordings by British new wave band Tubeway Army, released in 1984.
Strange Charm is the eighth solo studio album by the English musician Gary Numan, originally released in October 1986, it was Numan's third release on his self-owned Numa Records label. The album was not released in the United States until 1999 when it was issued in a digitally remastered form with five bonus tracks by Cleopatra Records. In the same year it was also reissued with bonus tracks in the United Kingdom by Eagle Records.
Machine + Soul is the eleventh solo studio album by the English musician Gary Numan, released in 1992. It was a low point, released primarily to help pay off debt, and was the last of his efforts to make his music more radio-friendly. His subsequent work went in the much darker and more industrial direction that would revive his career.
Automatic is a 1989 album released by Sharpe & Numan.
Metal Rhythm is the ninth solo studio album by the English musician Gary Numan, released in September 1988 by I.R.S. Records.
Dream Corrosion is a 1994 live album by the British electronic musician Gary Numan. It was recorded at the London Hammersmith Apollo on 6 November 1993, and was originally released under the Numa Records label.
The following is a comprehensive discography of Gary Numan, a British singer and musician. Numan released his first record in 1978 as part of the outfit Tubeway Army. Initially unsuccessful, the band scored a huge hit in 1979 with the single "Are Friends Electric" and their second album Replicas, both of which reached number one in the UK. Numan then decided to release further recordings under his own name, beginning with the single "Cars" later in 1979. Both this and the subsequent album The Pleasure Principle also reached number one in the UK, and Numan became a leading force in the British electronic music scene. He scored a third number one album in 1980 with Telekon, and more hit singles and albums until the mid 1980s when his popularity waned. Despite this, he has continued to record and tour on a regular basis up to the present day. His 2017 studio album, Savage , entered the UK Albums Chart at no. 2, which was Numan's highest chart peak since 1980. His most recent album, 2021's Intruder, also entered the UK charts at no. 2.
Ghost is a live album released by British musician Gary Numan in 1988. It was recorded live at the Hammersmith Odeon in London on 25 and 26 September 1987 during Numan's Exhibition Tour. The original release was only available as a fan club, mail order double LP. It went on general release in the United Kingdom as a double CD in May 1992 before being released in the United States in 1999.
Sharpe & Numan was a British synth-pop duo formed by Shakatak's Bill Sharpe and Gary Numan (vocals).
"Change Your Mind" is a song recorded by synth-pop duo Sharpe & Numan. Written by Shakatak members Bill Sharpe and Roger Odell and featuring lead vocals by Gary Numan.
"I Can't Stop" is a song by English musician Gary Numan, which was released in 1986 as the second single from his eighth studio album Strange Charm. It was written by Numan, and produced by Numan and the Waveteam. "I Can't Stop" reached No. 27 in the UK and remained on the charts for four weeks.
"This Is Love" is a song by English musician Gary Numan, released in 1986 as the lead single from his eighth studio album Strange Charm. It was written by Numan, and produced by Numan and the Waveteam. "This Is Love" reached No. 28 in the UK and remained in the charts for three weeks.
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