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"I Die: You Die" is a Gary Numan
Gary Numan

Gary Numan is an English singer, composer, and musician. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of commercial electronic music and has been described as the "King of synthpop." Numan is widely known for his chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars "....
 single
Single (music)

In the record industry, a single is a song usually used from a current or upcoming album to promote the album. Singles are distributed through a number of ways; originally, they were packaged as "single" records with one or two other songs and sold before the release of the album....
 from 1980. Released shortly before his fourth album, Telekon
Telekon

Telekon is the fourth studio album, and second album under his own name, by electronic music pioneer Gary Numan, released in 1980.The album debuted at the top of the United Kingdom charts in September 1980, making it his third consecutive no.1 album....
, it continued the anthemic style Numan had begun earlier in the year with "We Are Glass
We Are Glass

"We Are Glass" is a Gary Numan single released in 1980. Its up-tempo beat, scratchy guitars and Portamento synthesizer effects made it a prime example of the synthpop of the time....
". 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".

Lyrically the song was aimed at what Numan saw as an increasingly vitriolic music press:

They crawl out
Of their holes for me
And I die you die
Hear them laugh
Watch them turn on me
And I die you die
See my scars
They call me such things
Tear me, tear me, tear me


The original vinyl single was issued in a variety of different colours.






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"I Die: You Die" is a Gary Numan
Gary Numan

Gary Numan is an English singer, composer, and musician. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of commercial electronic music and has been described as the "King of synthpop." Numan is widely known for his chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars "....
 single
Single (music)

In the record industry, a single is a song usually used from a current or upcoming album to promote the album. Singles are distributed through a number of ways; originally, they were packaged as "single" records with one or two other songs and sold before the release of the album....
 from 1980. Released shortly before his fourth album, Telekon
Telekon

Telekon is the fourth studio album, and second album under his own name, by electronic music pioneer Gary Numan, released in 1980.The album debuted at the top of the United Kingdom charts in September 1980, making it his third consecutive no.1 album....
, it continued the anthemic style Numan had begun earlier in the year with "We Are Glass
We Are Glass

"We Are Glass" is a Gary Numan single released in 1980. Its up-tempo beat, scratchy guitars and Portamento synthesizer effects made it a prime example of the synthpop of the time....
". 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".

Lyrically the song was aimed at what Numan saw as an increasingly vitriolic music press:

They crawl out
Of their holes for me
And I die you die
Hear them laugh
Watch them turn on me
And I die you die
See my scars
They call me such things
Tear me, tear me, tear me


The original vinyl single was issued in a variety of different colours. It reached number 6 in the UK
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 charts in 1980 but was not included on the LP
Gramophone record

A gramophone record is an analog signal sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed modulated spiral groove usually starting near the periphery and ending near the centre of the disc....
 Telekon, released the next month; however it did appear on overseas issues of the album, replacing the song "Sleep by Windows". An alternate mix of the A-side was used for the music video and on a limited edition, white-labelled, single release, later included as a bonus track on the 1998 CD
Compact Disc

A Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store Data , originally developed for storing digital audio. The CD, available on the market since October 1982, remains the standard physical medium for sale of commercial Sound recording and reproduction to the present day....
 re-issue of Telekon. The UK single B-side was a solo piano
Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard instrument. Widely used in Western music for solo performance, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to musical composition and rehearsal....
 version of one of Numan's most popular songs, "Down in the Park
Down in the Park

"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 nominated by Numan as his best composition....
". In the US
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
 and other countries where "I Die: You Die" supplanted "Sleep by Windows" on Telekon, the latter track was used as the B-side of the single.

Like "We Are Glass", "I Die: You Die" had been premiered live during the final legs of The Touring Principle concerts before being committed to record. It has since featured regularly in Numan's performances and on his live albums. Stephin Merritt
Stephin Merritt

Stephin Merritt is an United States singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles , best known as the principal singer and songwriter in the band The Magnetic Fields....
 from The Magnetic Fields
The Magnetic Fields

The Magnetic Fields is a band led by singer-songwriter Stephin Merritt. Albums released by Merritt under the name "Magnetic Fields" often make extensive use of synthesizers underlying clever lyrics, often about love, that are by turns ironic, bitter, and humorous....
 covered the song on the Random tribute in 1997. It was remixed for the 1998 collection The Mix and appears on numerous compilation albums.

Track listing

  1. "I Die: You Die" (Gary Numan
    Gary Numan

    Gary Numan is an English singer, composer, and musician. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of commercial electronic music and has been described as the "King of synthpop." Numan is widely known for his chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars "....
    ) - 3:40
  2. "Down in the Park (Piano Version)" (Numan) - 4:16


Production credits

  • Producers
    Record producer

    In the music industry, a record producer has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, Audio mixing and audio mastering processes....
    :
    • Gary Numan


  • Musician
    Musician

    A musician is a person who plays or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:* An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument....
    s    :
    • Gary Numan: Vocals, Minimoog
      Minimoog

      The Minimoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer, invented by Bill Hemsath and Robert Moog. Released in 1971 by the original Moog Music, it was among the first widely available, portable and relatively affordable synthesizers....
      , Polymoog
      Polymoog

      The Polymoog is a polyphony analog synthesizer that was manufactured by Moog Music from 1975 to 1980. The Polymoog was based on divide-down oscillator technology similar to organs and string synthesizers of the time, and this led to a certain lack of flexibility compared to later polyphonic synthesizers such as the Yamaha CS-80 and the Seque...
      , Roland Jupiter-4
      Roland Jupiter-4

      The Roland Jupiter 4 was an analog synthesizer manufactured by the Roland Corporation of Japan between 1978 and 1981. It was notable as the company's first self-contained polyphony synthesizer, and for containing digital electronics control of analog circuits , allowing for such features as programmable memories and voice assignment modes....
      , Roland CR-78
      Roland CR-78

      The Roland Corporation CompuRhythm CR-78 is a drum machine launched in 1978. Although primitive by today's standards, the CR-78 represented an important advance in drum machine technology at the time....
      , Guitar
      Guitar

      The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six Strings , but Tenor guitar, Seven-string guitar, Eight-string guitar, Ten-string guitar, Eleven-string guitar, Twelve-string guitar, Thirteen-string guitar and doubleneck guitar string guitars also exist....
    • Paul Gardiner: Bass guitar
      Bass guitar

      The electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum.The bass guitar is similar in appearance and construction to an electric guitar, but with a larger body, a longer neck and Scale length, and usually four strings tuned to the same pitches as those of the double bass, whic...
    • Cedric Sharpley: Drum
      Drum

      The drum is a member of the percussion instrument group, technically classified as a membranophone.. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with parts of a player's body, or with some sort of implement such as a drumstick, to produce sound....
      s
    • Rrussell Bell: Backing vocals
      Backing vocalist

      A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. In some cases, a backing singer may sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry....
    • Dennis Haines: Piano
      Piano

      The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard instrument. Widely used in Western music for solo performance, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to musical composition and rehearsal....
      , Minimoog, Polymoog, Yamaha CP-30, Backing vocals