"Complex" is a song by British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 musician Gary Numan

Gary Numan

Gary Numan is an English singer, composer, and musician, most widely known for his chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars". His signature sound consisted of heavy synthesizer hooks fed through guitar effects pedals.Numan is considered a pioneer of commercial electronic music...

. A recording of it appeared on his 1979

1979 in music

See also:Record labels established in 1979* 1979 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1979.-January–February:*January 1...

 album The Pleasure Principle

The Pleasure Principle (Gary Numan album)

The Pleasure Principle is the third studio album, and debut album under his own name, by electronic music pioneer Gary Numan, released in 1979...

; it was also released as a single in the UK, where it was a number-six hit.

The recording's backing track uses conventional acoustic drums, acoustic piano, and electric bass guitar, however the distinctive lead parts are performed on violin

Violin

The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

, viola

Viola

The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...

 and heavily flanged

Flanging

Flanging is an audio effect produced by mixing two identical signals together, with one signal delayed by a small and gradually changing period, usually smaller than 20 milliseconds. This produces a swept comb filter effect: peaks and notches are produced in the resultant frequency spectrum,...

 and reverberated analogue monosynth

Monosynth

A monophonic synthesizer or monosynth is a synthesizer that produces only one note at a time, making it smaller and cheaper than a polysynth, a synthesizer which can play multiple notes at once; most later synthesizers are polysynths....

, an unusual combination in popular music.

Lyrically, the song alludes to a psychological complex

Complex (psychology)

A complex is a core pattern of emotions, memories, perceptions, and wishes in the personal unconscious organized around a common theme, such as power or status...

, expressing a paranoia that might have been directed at critics, fans, stalkers or false friends, depending on one's point of view:

Please keep them away

Don't let them touch me

Please don't let them lie

Don't let them see me

A BBC Radio 1 review panel speculated that this song was "the first electronic ballad

Ballad

A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...

", although this is untrue, as it post-dates recordings such as "Hiroshima Mon Amour" by Ultravox

Ultravox

Ultravox is a British New Wave rock band. They were one of the primary exponents of the British electronic pop music movement of the late 1970s/early 1980s. The band was particularly associated with the New Romantic and New Wave movements....

 and "Neon Lights" by Kraftwerk

Kraftwerk

Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...

 by a couple of years.

Numan rarely performed "Complex" in concert throughout the '80s and '90s, with versions appearing on the recently re-released and expanded 1980

1980 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1980.-January–March:*January 1**Cliff Richard is appointed an MBE by Elizabeth II.**The Zorros audition drummer Greg Pedley....

 recordings captured on Living Ornaments '80, as well as the Micromusic video from his final Wembley Arena

Wembley Arena

Wembley Arena is an indoor arena, at Wembley, in the London Borough of Brent. The building is opposite Wembley Stadium.-History:...

 concert in 1981

1981 in music

See also:* Timeline of musical eventsThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1981.-January–April:*January 10 – A revival of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Pirates of Penzance opens at Broadway's Uris Theatre, starring Linda Ronstadt and Rex Smith.*January 24 –...

and its CD counterpart Living Ornaments '81. He revived the song on stage in September 2003, as captured in the "Hope Bleeds" DVD and CD.