Gary Numan - Dance

Dance is the fifth studio album by British synth-pop musician Gary Numan, originally released in September 1981 via Beggars Banquet Records.

Gary Webb, better known professionally as Gary Numan is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. He first entered the music industry as the lead singer of the new wave band Tubeway Army. Most widely known for his chart-topping hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars", Numan achieved his peak of mainstream popularity in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but maintains a loyal cult following.

Numan, whose signature sound consists of heavy synthesizer hooks fed through guitar effects pedals, is considered a pioneer of commercial electronic music.

Dance marked a considerable shift in musical direction for Numan. This album was much more sombre, musically experimental, personal and jazzier than his previous albums. The album title is somewhat ironic as the album was the least danceable album he had made up to that point. The title track for the album “Dance” was not included on the original album release, however is included in this expanded vinyl 2LP reissue set.

The first side of the album consisted of four long, sparse, slow-tempo minimalist songs, with an early ambient style, reminiscent of works by Brian Eno. The second side contains short, more conventionally structured songs, of which “She’s Got Claws” was released as a single from the album. “She’s Got Claws” reached #6 on the UK Singles charts.

Numan had several guest musicians join him to record the album, including Roger Taylor (Queen), Roger Mason (Models), and Rob Dean and Mick Karn (Japan).

Lyrically, the songs deal largely with tragic sexual relationships, with opening song "Slowcar To China" is a nine-minute opus about a prostitute. "Night Talk" is about a man dealing with a lover who is a drug addict and "Cry The Clock Said" is a nearly ten-minute ballad about a breakup. The salsa-flavoured "She's Got Claws" is about a predatory woman, written as an embittered response to an ex-girlfriend who sold the story of their relationship to the tabloids. The melancholic "Stories" describes an accidental café reunion between a woman and her son by a failed relationship.

The album reached #3 on the UK and #85 on the Australian Albums charts.

Check out the tracks:  “She’s Got Claws”; “Night Talk”; “Cry The Clock Said”; “Crash”; and “Dance”.

This double album 2LP record set is an expanded edition 2018 reissue on purple vinyl housed in a gatefold sleeve with printed inner sleeves, pressed in the UK.