Down in the Park
Encyclopedia
"Down in the Park" is a 1979 single
written and recorded by Gary Numan
with his band Tubeway Army
. The first cut from the album Replicas
, it was not a hit when released but has long been a critical and fan favourite and for many years was described by Numan as his best composition.
" and "Bombers" plus the self-titled debut album
, contained elements of punk
, hard rock
, heavy metal
and New Wave
but were exclusively guitar
driven with only occasional use of primitive synthesizer
effects. "Down in the Park", on the other hand, was Numan's first composition on keyboards
and his first release to feature the predominantly electronic
sound that became his trademark. Musically, it pared down still further the guitar power chord
and bass root note
style arrangements he had used previously, reducing the harmony
to bare unison
s of layered bass guitar
, Fender Rhodes electric piano, and Minimoog
synthesizer. The semitone
key changes (A to Bb) and chromatic melodic riffs between the song's verses are somewhat unusual in the context of traditional Western music theory but are not unusual in rock music.
concept that was the basis of the Replicas album. Heavily influenced by such writers as J.G. Ballard and Philip K. Dick
, it tells the story of a futuristic park in which Machmen (androids with human skin) and machines rape
and kill human beings to entertain spectators who, along with their numerically-named robotic "friends" ("Down in the Park, with a friend called Five"), view the carnage from a nearby club ("Zom Zoms").
. In contrast to much contemporary post-punk
music, and his own earlier releases, Numan's vocals were deliberately underplayed, leaving the slow and stately synthesizer work to evoke the song's melancholy atmosphere.
, the service in question meaning pest control
. The 12" single included the same tracks as the 7" along with "I Nearly Married A Human (2)", a different mix to the version on Replicas this time featuring drum machine
throughout and Numan's recitation of the song's title, the only words heard.
by a number of artists, notably Foo Fighters
on The X-Files
Songs in the Key of X
soundtrack album (1996), Marilyn Manson
on the "Lunchbox" and "Sweet Dreams
" singles, DJ Hell
(a 1998 techno version with lyrics translated in French entitled "Dans Le Parc"), Christian Death
(a live performance on The Iron Mask), Girls Under Glass, and Jimi Tenor on the Numan tribute album Random. Terre Thaemlitz recorded two instrumental versions of "Down in the Park" on the tribute album Replicas Rubato, one on piano and the other on synthesizer (the latter a hidden track). Other tribute acts to have recorded the song include Bytet and Reload, on the albums Ghost of a White Face Clown and Tubeway Navy respectively.
, and in the Micromusic video concert from Wembley Arena
(soundtrack released as Living Ornaments '81). A version for piano alone was the flip side of Numan's single "I Die: You Die
" in 1980 (and was also included as a bonus track on the 1998 CD re-issue of Telekon
). The original song was remixed twice for the 2003 collection Hybrid, and a demo version of the song was included on the soundtrack of the movie Times Square
(1980).
12" version:
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
written and recorded by 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...
with his band Tubeway Army
Tubeway Army
Tubeway Army were a London-based punk rock and new wave band led by lead singer Gary Numan. They were the first band of the post-punk era to have a synthesizer-based hit, with their single Are 'Friends' Electric? and its parent album Replicas both topping the UK Album Chart in mid-1979.-Line-up:The...
. The first cut from the album Replicas
Replicas (album)
Replicas is an album by Tubeway Army, released in 1979. It was the second and final Tubeway Army LP, following a self-titled debut the previous year...
, it was not a hit when released but has long been a critical and fan favourite and for many years was described by Numan as his best composition.
Style
Like the Replicas album as a whole, "Down in the Park" marked a major shift from Tubeway Army's previous output. The band's early releases, the 1978 singles "That's Too BadThat's Too Bad
"That's Too Bad" is the debut single by 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...
" and "Bombers" plus the self-titled debut album
Tubeway Army (album)
Tubeway Army is the debut album by Gary Numan and his band Tubeway Army, released in 1978. Its initial limited-edition run of 5000 sold out but did not chart...
, contained elements of punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
, heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
and New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
but were exclusively guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
driven with only occasional use of primitive synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
effects. "Down in the Park", on the other hand, was Numan's first composition on keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
and his first release to feature the predominantly electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
sound that became his trademark. Musically, it pared down still further the guitar power chord
Power chord
In music, a power chord is a chord consisting of only the root note of the chord and the fifth interval, usually played on electric guitar, and typically through an amplification process that imparts distortion...
and bass root note
Root (chord)
In music theory, the root of a chord is the note or pitch upon which a triadic chord is built. For example, the root of the major triad C-E-G is C....
style arrangements he had used previously, reducing the harmony
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
to bare unison
Unison
In music, the word unison can be applied in more than one way. In general terms, it may refer to two notes sounding the same pitch, often but not always at the same time; or to the same musical voice being sounded by several voices or instruments together, either at the same pitch or at a distance...
s of layered bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, Fender Rhodes electric piano, and Minimoog
Minimoog
The Minimoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer, invented by Bill Hemsath and Robert Moog. It was released in 1970 by R.A. Moog Inc. , and production was stopped in 1981. It was re-designed by Robert Moog in 2002 and released as Minimoog Voyager.The Minimoog was designed in response to the use of...
synthesizer. The semitone
Semitone
A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically....
key changes (A to Bb) and chromatic melodic riffs between the song's verses are somewhat unusual in the context of traditional Western music theory but are not unusual in rock music.
Lyrics
Lyrically the song crystallized the dystopian science fictionScience fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
concept that was the basis of the Replicas album. Heavily influenced by such writers as J.G. Ballard and Philip K. Dick
Philip K. Dick
Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
, it tells the story of a futuristic park in which Machmen (androids with human skin) and machines rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
and kill human beings to entertain spectators who, along with their numerically-named robotic "friends" ("Down in the Park, with a friend called Five"), view the carnage from a nearby club ("Zom Zoms").
Theme
The piece was typical of Numan's themes at the time, both embracing and fearing technologyTechnology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
. In contrast to much contemporary post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
music, and his own earlier releases, Numan's vocals were deliberately underplayed, leaving the slow and stately synthesizer work to evoke the song's melancholy atmosphere.
B-side
In what would become Numan's normal practice, the B-side was a non-album track, in this case "Do You Need the Service?"; the title referenced a line from the works of William S. BurroughsWilliam S. Burroughs
William Seward Burroughs II was an American novelist, poet, essayist and spoken word performer. A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th...
, the service in question meaning pest control
Pest control
Pest control refers to the regulation or management of a species defined as a pest, usually because it is perceived to be detrimental to a person's health, the ecology or the economy.-History:...
. The 12" single included the same tracks as the 7" along with "I Nearly Married A Human (2)", a different mix to the version on Replicas this time featuring drum machine
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
throughout and Numan's recitation of the song's title, the only words heard.
Cover versions
"Down in the Park" has been coveredCover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
by a number of artists, notably Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters is an American alternative rock band originally formed in 1994 by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of his previous band. The band got its name from the UFOs and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War...
on The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
Songs in the Key of X
Songs in the Key of X
Songs in the Key of X: Music from and Inspired by The X-Files is a 1996 compilation album released in association with the American science fiction television series The X-Files. The album contained a mixture of songs that were either featured in the series, or shared thematic elements with it....
soundtrack album (1996), Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson (band)
Marilyn Manson is an American metal band from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Formed in 1989 by Brian Warner and Scott Putesky, the group was originally named Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids with their uniquely theatrical performances gathering a local cult following in the early '90s. This attention...
on the "Lunchbox" and "Sweet Dreams
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
-Personnel:*Annie Lennox – vocals, keyboards, synthesisers, flute*David A. Stewart – guitar, keyboards, synthesisers, programming, backing vocals-Additional personnel:*Robert Crash - Guitar/ E-Drums/ Synth/ Robotic vocals...
" singles, DJ Hell
DJ Hell
This article is about Helmut Josef Geier. You may also be looking for Darryl Hell.Helmut Josef Geier, professionally known as DJ Hell is a German house-techno DJ...
(a 1998 techno version with lyrics translated in French entitled "Dans Le Parc"), Christian Death
Christian Death
Christian Death is an American deathrock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1979. The band was founded and fronted by Rozz Williams. Christian Death is most notable for their first album Only Theatre of Pain....
(a live performance on The Iron Mask), Girls Under Glass, and Jimi Tenor on the Numan tribute album Random. Terre Thaemlitz recorded two instrumental versions of "Down in the Park" on the tribute album Replicas Rubato, one on piano and the other on synthesizer (the latter a hidden track). Other tribute acts to have recorded the song include Bytet and Reload, on the albums Ghost of a White Face Clown and Tubeway Navy respectively.
Live performances
"Down in the Park" has been a mainstay of Numan's concerts since his 1979 tour, and appears on almost all of his live albums. An arrangement with solo piano introduction appeared on the Living Ornaments '80 LP, in the movie Urgh! A Music WarUrgh! A Music War
Urgh! A Music War is a British film released in 1982 featuring performances by punk rock, New Wave, and post-punk acts, filmed in 1980. Among the artists featured in the movie are Magazine, The Go-Go's, The Fleshtones, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, XTC, Devo, The Cramps, Oingo Boingo, Dead...
, and in the Micromusic video concert from 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:...
(soundtrack released as Living Ornaments '81). A version for piano alone was the flip side of Numan's single "I Die: You Die
I Die: You Die
"I Die: You Die" is a Gary Numan single from 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...
" in 1980 (and was also included as a bonus track on the 1998 CD re-issue of Telekon
Telekon
Released in 1980, Telekon is the fourth studio album, and second album under his own name, by the British musician Gary Numan. It debuted at the top of the UK charts in September 1980, making it his third and consecutive no.1 album....
). The original song was remixed twice for the 2003 collection Hybrid, and a demo version of the song was included on the soundtrack of the movie Times Square
Times Square (film)
Times Square is a 1980 film starring Trini Alvarado, Robin Johnson, and Tim Curry. The plot of the film essentially embodies a punk rock ethic - misunderstood youth forming a band and, through music, articulating their frustrations toward adult authority, personified in the film as parents, the...
(1980).
Track listing
7" version:- "Down in the Park" (Numan) - 4:22
- "Do You Need the Service?" (Numan) - 3:39
12" version:
- "Down in the Park" (Numan) - 4:22
- "Do You Need the Service?" (Numan) - 3:39
- "I Nearly Married a Human (2)" (Numan) - 6:38
Production credits
- Producers:
- Gary Numan
- Musicians:
- Gary NumanGary NumanGary 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...
: KeyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
(MinimoogMinimoogThe Minimoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer, invented by Bill Hemsath and Robert Moog. It was released in 1970 by R.A. Moog Inc. , and production was stopped in 1981. It was re-designed by Robert Moog in 2002 and released as Minimoog Voyager.The Minimoog was designed in response to the use of...
synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, Fender Rhodes electric pianoElectric pianoAn electric piano is an electric musical instrument.Electric pianos produce sounds mechanically and the sounds are turned into electrical signals by pickups. Unlike a synthesizer, the electric piano is not an electronic instrument, but electro-mechanical. The earliest electric pianos were invented...
), Vocals - Paul GardinerPaul GardinerPaul Gardiner was a British musician who played bass guitar with Gary Numan and Tubeway Army as well as material under his own name.-Biography:...
: Bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Jess LidyardJess LidyardJess Lidyard is the former drummer of Tubeway Army. He is bandleader Gary Numan's uncle, and played on the band's self-titled debut album and on the highly successful Replicas, which featured the hit "Are 'Friends' Electric?"...
: DrumsPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
- Gary Numan