"Burning Car" is a song by John Foxx, released as a single in 1980. It was his third solo single, following "Underpass" and "No-One Driving" earlier in the year. The track was not included on Foxx's debut solo album Metamatic, post-dating its January 1980 release, but has been included as a bonus track on the 2001 and 2007 CD reissues. It was Foxx's last 1980s record in a hard-edged electronica style (his next single, "Miles Away", featured acoustic drums and a somewhat warmer production).
"Burning Car" developed the futurist style of Metamatic and was pacier than most of the album's material. Its staccato introduction was reminiscent of the metallic guitar notes that kicked off the track "Some of Them" from Systems of Romance, Foxx's last album with former band Ultravox. The title came from a chapter in J. G. Ballard's SF novel Concrete Island and its automobile reference was shared by a number of tracks on Metamatic. The B-side, "20th Century", was used as the theme for the London Weekend Television arts and music show 20th Century Box.
The songs were recorded in the same "eight-track cupboard in Islington"[1] as Metamatic, and again engineered by Gareth Jones. No instrumental credits appeared on the original single, however Foxx's studio equipment at the time included ARP Odyssey and Minimoogsynthesizers, an Elka 'String Machine', a Roland CR-78drum machine, an ARP Analog Sequencer and various phasing and flanger units. The recording of "Burning Car" features a prominent use of the "metal beat" hi-hat sound from the CR-78; Foxx used the name MetalBeat for his own record label.
The single made #35 in the UK charts and was also released in picture disc form with a different image to the original cover. "Burning Car" appears on the John Foxx compilations Assembly (1992), Modern Art (2001) and Metatronic (2010), and both the A- and B-sides are included on the 2001 and 2007 reissue of Metamatic (the 1993 edition had featured only "20th Century"). Extended live versions of both songs appear on Foxx's album Subterranean Omnidelic Exotour (1998) with Louis Gordon (reissued in 2002 as the second of a 2-disc set, The Golden Section Tour + The Omnidelic Exotour). "Burning Car"'s style and subject matter have been echoed in Foxx's recent original albums with Louis Gordon: Shifting City, Pleasures of Electricity and Crash and Burn.
An "early version" of "Burning Car" is included on the 2010 Metatronic compilation.
The song remains a John Foxx standard and is regularly performed live, also by the new formation of John Foxx and the Maths featuring additional violin played by Hannah Peel as documented on the 2010 live performance Analogue Circuit CD/DVD (issued 2013).
The single was also issued as a 7" picture disc with the same catalogue number. The A side features a reflected image of Foxx against venetian blinds while the B side features a burning car, the same image as used for the reverse of the regular 7" picture sleeve.
Japanese EP
"Burning Car" is also the title and lead-track of a six track John Foxx vinyl EP issued in 1981 in Japan only.
The record is housed in a grey die-cut sleeve with over-sized 6" picture photo labels of John Foxx. "Miles Away" is John Foxx's successive single release with "A Long Time" as the B side. However this version of "Miles Away" is slightly different from the standard 7" single and can be found on the Edsel Records reissue of The Garden CD album (EDSD 2014) where it is known as the "Alternative Version".[2]
Karborn Dubterror remix
A: Burning Car (Dubterror remix)
B: 20th century (Dubterror remix)
September 2008, Metamatic Records, META 17, 12" vinyl limited edition. This remix of Burning Car also available on Glimmer (Best of John Foxx) compilation album.
20th Century
An edit of "20th Century", the B side to "Burning Car", was used as the theme tune to the Janet Street-Porter produced LWT series 20th Century Box (later Twentieth Century Box). The weekly programme hosted by reporter Danny Baker covered topical issues for young people. Musical trends were also covered, including an early episode on the group Spandau Ballet before they had a recording contract,[3] and Depeche Mode as part of the new "electro-disco" scene.[4] The show ran from June, 1980 to September, 1982.[5]
The track was revived by Foxx for live performances with Louis Gordon from 1998 onwards, as documented on the albums Subterranean Omnidelic Exotour (1997), Retro Future (2007) and A New Kind Of Man (2008). In later live performances the single lyric "twentieth century!" is modified to "twenty-first century!".
The studio version of "20th Century" was included on re-issues of the Metamatic album in 2001 and 2007.
John Foxx is an English singer, musician, artist, photographer, graphic designer, writer, teacher and lecturer. He was the original lead singer of the new wave band Ultravox, before leaving to embark on a solo career in 1980 with the album Metamatic.
Metamatic is the debut solo album by John Foxx, released in 1980. It was his first solo project following his split with Ultravox the previous year. A departure from the mix of synthesizers and conventional rock instrumentation on that band's work, Metamatic was purely electronic in sound. The name 'Metamatic' comes from a painting machine by kinetic artist Jean Tinguely, first exhibited at the Paris Biennial in 1959. The album peaked at #18 on the UK Albums Chart.
In Mysterious Ways is a 1985 album by John Foxx, the follow-up to his album The Golden Section, released two years previously. It features some of the highly romantic style similar to 1981's The Garden album. Largely missing from this recording are many of the styles Foxx was known for in favor of a more soulful, contemporary pop sound.
The Garden is a 1981 album by John Foxx, the follow-up to his debut solo album Metamatic, released the previous year. By comparison, it features more diverse instrumentation and romantic stylings.
"Miles Away" is a song by John Foxx, released as a single in October 1980. It was his fourth solo single, following "Burning Car" in July that year. The track was not included on any original album, falling roughly midway between the release of Foxx's debut LP Metamatic in January 1980 and his second album The Garden in September 1981.
The Pleasures of Electricity is an album by John Foxx and Louis Gordon, released in 2001. It was the duo's second studio album, and Foxx's third after his return to the music scene in 1997.
"Being Boiled" is the debut single by the British synthpop band the Human League. Composed by Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh, with lyrics by Philip Oakey, it has been released several times since 1978, finally becoming a UK top ten hit in 1982.
Robin Simon is a British guitarist who was a member of Ultravox, Magazine and Visage.
"Young Savage" is the second single by Ultravox!. It was released as a single by Island Records on 28 May 1977, during a time of experimentation to define a new sound for the band, in advance of their second album.
Retro was the only EP (7") by Ultravox, then Ultravox!, released on 10 February 1978. It was the last recording released by the band as Ultravox!. Also this was the last disc featuring original guitarist Stevie Shears, who left the band after its release.
Shifting City is an album by John Foxx and Louis Gordon, released in 1997. Released simultaneously with Foxx's ambient album Cathedral Oceans, Shifting City was Foxx's first album release since In Mysterious Ways (1985).
Metatronic is a retrospective compilation of recorded audio and visual material by British musician and recording artist John Foxx. It was released in 2010 by Edsel Records to mark the 30th anniversary of Foxx's debut solo album Metamatic and the start of his solo career. The idea for the compilation was first mentioned in the Ultravox fanzine Extreme Voice back in 1999.
John Foxx and the Maths is a musical project featuring electronic music pioneer John Foxx, Benge and more recently Hannah Peel. The group specialises in the use of analogue synthesizers and drum machines. It was initially a studio based project working from Benge's studio in Shoreditch, London but has also engaged in live work.
"No-One Driving" is a 1980 song by UK artist John Foxx, and was released as a single in March 1980. It was the second single release from the Metamatic album, after "Underpass". The song is typical of Foxx's musical output of the time, featuring a Ballardian dystopian scenario involving an automobile in the lyrics, with music produced using electronic instruments only.
This is a complete discography of the British recording artist John Foxx.
"Underpass" is a song by UK artist John Foxx, and was released as a single in January 1980. It was the artist's first solo single release after leaving the band Ultravox and the first single release from the Metamatic album, which was released shortly after.
Assembly is the title of an 18-track compilation album by British recording artist John Foxx, issued in 1992. It contains tracks from the artist's first four albums – Metamatic, The Garden, The Golden Section and In Mysterious Ways as well as tracks which had not been previously issued in an album format. The album was remastered for CD by Foxx himself, and although was the first time many of his solo tracks had appeared on CD there were no new tracks and none of the tracks remain exclusive to this release.
Modern Art - the Best of John Foxx is the title of an 18-track compilation album by British recording artist John Foxx, issued in 2001.
"Europe After The Rain" is the title of a John Foxx song, released as a single in August 1981, and included on The Garden album released later the same year.
"The Freeze" is a song by the English new wave band Spandau Ballet, released on 12 January 1981 as the follow-up to their debut single, the number 5 UK hit "To Cut a Long Story Short". As was the case with that release, the 7-inch single of "The Freeze" featured a dub mix on its B-side, and the 12-inch single had two additional mixes of the song geared toward dance clubs. The cover art used for both formats of the single also repeated its predecessor in having a simple black-and-white classical motif. This design, however, was also seen on the sets of the music video for the song. Reviews of "The Freeze" were mixed. It reached number 17 on the UK Singles Chart.
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