Music for Chameleons (song)

Last updated
"Music For Chameleons"
Music for Chameleons (song).jpg
Single by Gary Numan
from the album I, Assassin
Released1982
Studio Rock City Studios, Shepperton
Genre New wave
Length3:40
Label Beggars Banquet
Songwriter(s) Gary Numan
Producer(s) Gary Numan
Gary Numan singles chronology
"Love Needs No Disguise"
(1981)
"Music For Chameleons"
(1982)
"We Take Mystery (To Bed)"
(1982)

"Music for Chameleons" is a 1982 single by Gary Numan from his album, I, Assassin . The song peaked at number 19 on the UK Singles Chart. [1] The song was composed during Numan's round-the-world trip in a light aircraft, which he undertook together with another pilot. [2] The song is highly unusual in using fretless bass as the main melody instrument.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Track listing

Taken from UK releases.

  1. Music for Chameleons - 3:40
  2. Noise Noise - 3:44
  1. Music for Chameleons (Extended Version)
  2. Noise Noise
  3. Bridge? What Bridge

There are at least three released mixes; the 7-inch edit (3:35) (also available on The Best of Gary Numan 1978–1983), the 12-inch "Extended Version" (6:57) (available on Exposure) and the album mix running at 6:06.

Personnel

Taken from 7" UK release.

Music for Chameleons
Noise Noise

Charts

Chart (1982)Peak
position
UK Singles Chart 19

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Numan</span> English musician (born 1958)

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. While 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cars (song)</span> 1979 single by Gary Numan

"Cars" is the debut solo single by English musician Gary Numan. It was released on 21 August 1979 and is from his debut studio album The Pleasure Principle. The song reached the top of the charts in several countries, and today is considered a new wave staple.

<i>Dance</i> (Gary Numan album) 1981 studio album by Gary Numan

Dance is the third solo studio album by English new wave musician Gary Numan, released on 4 September 1981 by Beggars Banquet Records. It was the first studio album Numan released after his "Farewell Concerts" staged at Wembley Arena.

<i>The Pleasure Principle</i> (album) 1979 studio album by Gary Numan

The Pleasure Principle is the debut solo studio album by English new wave musician Gary Numan, released on 7 September 1979 by Beggars Banquet Records. The album came about six months after Replicas (1979), his second and final studio album with the band Tubeway Army. The Pleasure Principle peaked at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart.

<i>Telekon</i> 1980 studio album by Gary Numan

Telekon is the second solo studio album by English musician Gary Numan. It debuted at the top of the UK Albums Chart in September 1980, making it his third consecutive No. 1 album. It was also the third and final studio release of what Numan retrospectively termed the "machine" section of his career, following Replicas and The Pleasure Principle.

<i>In Visible Silence</i> 1986 studio album by Art of Noise

In Visible Silence is the second studio album by the English avant-garde synth-pop group Art of Noise in April 1986, and the first created by members Anne Dudley, J. J. Jeczalik and Gary Langan in the wake of their departure from ZTT Records that had been the home of the group's genesis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Die: You Die</span> 1980 single by Gary Numan

"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".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">She's Got Claws</span> 1981 single by Gary Numan

"She’s Got Claws" is a 1981 song by Gary Numan. It was the first and only single released from his 1981 album Dance. The song signalled a different musical style for Numan, featuring jazz-influenced saxophone and fretless bass, as well as a new image comprising trilby hat and pinstriped suit, inspired by Humphrey Bogart and Howard Hughes.

Theresa Lorraine Bazar is a Canadian-born singer, best known as a member of the pop duo Dollar.

<i>I, Assassin</i> 1982 studio album by Gary Numan

I, Assassin is the fourth solo studio album by 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.

<i>Berserker</i> (Gary Numan album) 1984 studio album by Gary Numan

Berserker is the sixth solo studio album by 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.

<i>Warriors</i> (Gary Numan album) 1983 studio album by Gary Numan

Warriors is the fifth solo studio album by 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.

<i>The Fury</i> (album) 1985 album by Gary Numan

The Fury is the seventh solo studio album by 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.

<i>Strange Charm</i> 1986 studio album by Gary Numan

Strange Charm is the eighth solo studio album by English musician Gary Numan, originally released in November 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.

<i>Outland</i> (Gary Numan album) 1991 studio album by Gary Numan

Outland is the tenth solo studio album by English musician Gary Numan, released in March 1991. It was Numan's second and last studio album to be released by I.R.S. Records. It reached Number 39 on the UK charts. The songs "Heart" and "My World Storm" were released as singles; "Heart" charted at Number 43, while "My World Storm" eventually became a US-only promo single after a planned UK release was shelved due to the inner turmoil at the label around the release of the album. The latter however reached Number 46 on the US dance chart. The reaction to it was mixed with Q Magazine calling it 'repetitive and full of affectation'.

<i>Automatic</i> (Sharpe & Numan album) 1989 studio album by Sharpe & Numan

Automatic is a 1989 album released by Sharpe & Numan.

<i>Hybrid</i> (Gary Numan album) 2003 remix album by Gary Numan

Hybrid is a remix/cover album, consisting of songs by Gary Numan remixed by other artists, covers of Numan's early songs from his first three albums, plus three new tracks created specifically for the album. Hybrid was recorded in autumn of 2002 and released in March 2003 with a collaboration from various industrial rock/heavy rock musicians such as Rico, Sulpher and Alan Moulder. The album includes tracks originally found on the albums Tubeway Army, Replicas, The Pleasure Principle, Telekon, Sacrifice, Exile and Pure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Numan discography</span> Catalogue of published recordings by Gary Numan

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.

<i>Dead Son Rising</i> 2011 studio album by Gary Numan

Dead Son Rising is the sixteenth solo studio album by English musician Gary Numan, released on 15 September 2011 by Mortal Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Can't Stop (Gary Numan song)</span> 1986 single 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.

References

  1. GARY NUMAN | Artist | Official Charts
  2. "Images" - Gary Numan: A Recorded Autobiography