That's Too Bad

Last updated

"That's Too Bad"
ThatsTooBad4.jpg
Single by Tubeway Army
B-side "Oh! Didn't I Say"
Released10 February 1978
Recorded16 October 1977
Studio Spaceward, Cambridge
Genre Punk rock [1]
Length3:20
Label Beggars Banquet
BEG 5
Songwriter(s) Gary Webb (Gary Numan)
Tubeway Army singles chronology
"That's Too Bad"
(1978)
"Bombers"
(1978)

"That's Too Bad" is the debut single by the English new wave band Tubeway Army, the band which provided the initial musical vehicle for Gary Numan. It was released in February 1978 by independent London record label Beggars Banquet. On the day of its release, Numan quit his job in a warehouse to become a professional musician. [2]

Contents

Although it failed to enter the UK Singles Charts, "That's Too Bad" nonetheless sold relatively well, taking into account the small numbers pressed (4,000) and the lowly status of both label and artist. Numan later said, "The song was written 99% to get a contract. It was a naive attempt to make punk commercial, which it didn't do!" [3]

The B-side of the single was "Oh! Didn't I Say". Both songs are in an aggressive punk rock style, very different from the synthesizer-based music which became Numan's trademark.

At this stage of his career, Numan (born Gary Webb) had not yet found his future stage name and called himself 'Valerian'; his bandmates Paul Gardiner ('Scarlett') and Jess Lidyard ('Rael') also used assumed names. Webb's compositional credits on the original vinyl single were under the Valerian pseudonym as well. The back of the original vinyl single's sleeve contained two discrepancies: Valerian was spelt 'Valeriun'; and the band picture featured live drummer Bob Simmonds, not Jess Lidyard who actually played in the recording session. [4]

"That's Too Bad" was also later released as a gatefold with the single "Bombers" in August 1979. It was released in its original form in 1983 and reached No.97 in the UK Charts. [5]

These tracks have subsequently been included on CD reissues of the album The Plan (1984).

Track listing

  1. "That's Too Bad" (Valerian) – 3:20
  2. "Oh! Didn't I Say" (Valerian) – 2:16

Credits and personnel

Versions

Versions of "That's Too Bad" released to date include:

References

  1. Evans, Richard (6 August 2024). "1978". Listening to the Music the Machines Make: Inventing Electronic Pop 1978-1983. Omnibus Press. pp. 81–82. ISBN   978-1-915841-45-2.
  2. Gary Numan (2001). NuWorld interview Archived 29 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Stephen Webbon & Gary Numan (1985). "Complete Gary Numan UK Discography". Record Collector (December 1985, No. 76): p.14
  4. Steve Malins (1998). The Plan: CD liner notes Archived 15 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  5. UK Official Singles Chart – Gary Numan and the Tubeway Army

Further reading