"The Telephone Call" is a 1987 single by German techno group 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...

, on the 1986 album Electric Café

Electric Café

Electric Café is the ninth studio album by the electronic group Kraftwerk, originally released in 1986. In October 2009 it was re-released under its original working title, Techno Pop.-Background:...

. "The Telephone Call" was number one on the dance charts for two weeks, and was the second single that Kraftwerk took to number one in four months. In the UK, the song peaked at number eighty-nine. It is the only Kraftwerk song to feature Karl Bartos

Karl Bartos

Karl Bartos was, between 1975 and 1990, along with Wolfgang Flür, an electronic percussionist in the electronic-music group Kraftwerk. He was originally recruited to play on its US "Autobahn" tour...

 on vocals.

The versions of the song on the single were remixed by François Kevorkian

François Kevorkian

François Kevorkian, alias François K, is a French DJ of Armenian origin, remixer, producer and record label owner. Having started his career in renowned clubs such as the Paradise Garage and Studio 54, the New York City resident is widely considered as one of the forefathers of house...

.

In a 2009 remastered

Audio mastering

Mastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...

 edition of Electric Café, the single remains absent, replaced by the shorter and subtly-different 7-inch single mix. As a replacement for the latter part of the original album track (which contained telephone sounds and operator voices), the remix "House Phone" was inserted.

German 12" single

1. Der Telefon-Anruf (Remix) - 8:16
2. House Phone - 4:54
3. The Telephone Call (Remix) - 3:49

UK 12" single

1. The Telephone Call (Remix) - 8:16
2. House Phone - 4:55
3. Der Telefon-Anruf (Remix) - 3:55

Music video

The song's music video features each member of the band answering a telephone (Ralf Hutter's being a combination of a telephone and a synthesiser). None of the band members are seen singing the song in the video except for a silhouette of one of the members singing, however it is unclear which band member is singing. Karl Bartos is also seen at a typewriter typing "You're so close, but far away".
At several other points in the video, various other iconic images are seen including a dangling phone on a wire and an eye staring through a hole in a wall, the latter appearing for only one second in the video. The images give the video an unsettling feeling.

Charts

Chart (1987)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	89
US Billboard Hot Dance Single Sales	18
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Hot Dance Club Play The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...	1