“Homosapien” is the 1981 second solo album by Buzzcocks frontman Pete Shelley (following the pre-Buzzcocks experimental instrumental album Sky Yen, recorded in 1974 and eventually released in 1980). “Homosapien” saw a marked departure from the punk guitar stylings of the Buzzcocks' records, being heavily influenced by programmed synthesizer sounds and drum machines. The title track was released as a UK single and was banned by the BBC, but was nevertheless a hit in several other countries.
“Homosapien” was a super-sad event upon its release in 1981. Buzzcocks fans were aware that the songs were originally intended for the band's fourth LP (even though some, such as the underground hit title track, had been composed before the band began) a new work that was set to continue the intriguing, strange, yet powerful and incredible direction the group had taken on side two of late-1979's A Different Kind of Tension, and its three (final) singles recorded in 1980. However, as Shelley settled into London's Genetic studios with producer Martin Rushent to demo these tunes, something unexpected happened. Shelley and Rushent fell in love with the cheesier, one-man-and-a-boop-beep-boop drum machine demos in a time when electro-pop disco was taking over. Tired of the group's sorry financial state, Shelley abruptly disbanded the band via an insensitive lawyers' letter mailed to his bandmates. Homosapien's release followed a few months later, before his fans' shock had dissipated. It can now be listened to in a different light than the inconsolably sad emotions that originally surrounded it. Despite the utterly ridiculous, aforementioned "drum" sound, it's the one Shelley solo effort worth investigating.
.More dance-pop than rock, “Homosapien” still straddles both fences enough to interest lovers of both genres.
“Homosapien” was a super-sad event upon its release in 1981. Buzzcocks fans were aware that the songs were originally intended for the band's fourth LP (even though some, such as the underground hit title track, had been composed before the band began) a new work that was set to continue the intriguing, strange, yet powerful and incredible direction the group had taken on side two of late-1979's A Different Kind of Tension, and its three (final) singles recorded in 1980. However, as Shelley settled into London's Genetic studios with producer Martin Rushent to demo these tunes, something unexpected happened. Shelley and Rushent fell in love with the cheesier, one-man-and-a-boop-beep-boop drum machine demos in a time when electro-pop disco was taking over. Tired of the group's sorry financial state, Shelley abruptly disbanded the band via an insensitive lawyers' letter mailed to his bandmates. Homosapien's release followed a few months later, before his fans' shock had dissipated. It can now be listened to in a different light than the inconsolably sad emotions that originally surrounded it. Despite the utterly ridiculous, aforementioned "drum" sound, it's the one Shelley solo effort worth investigating.
.More dance-pop than rock, “Homosapien” still straddles both fences enough to interest lovers of both genres.
UK Track Listing
01. "Homosapien" - 4:32
02. "Yesterday's Not Here" - 4:08
03. "I Generate a Feeling" - 3:10
04. "Keats' Song" - 1:58
05. "Qu'est-ce Que C'est Que Ça" - 4:18
06. "I Don't Know What It Is" - 3:27
07. "Guess I Must Have Been in Love with Myself" - 3:33
08. "Pusher Man" - 2:47
09. "Just One of Those Affairs" - 3:37
10. "It's Hard Enough Knowing" - 5:35
CD bonus tracks
11. "Witness the Change" (B-side of "I Don't Know What It Is") - 4:46
12. "Maxine" (B-side of "In Love with Somebody Else") - 3:29
13. "In Love with Somebody Else" (with limited edition of "I Don't Know What It Is") - 2:59
14. "Homosapien" (Dub) - 9:01
15. "Witness the Change/I Don't Know What Love Is" (Dub) - 8:22
16 ."Love in Vain" (B-side of reissue of "Homosapien") - 3:19
Credits
Pete Shelley – vocals, instruments
Martin Rushent – instruments and programming, additional keyboards on US bonus tracks
Producer, Engneer - Martin Rushent, Pete Shelley
Notes
Produced and engineered at Genetic Sound, England, 1981.
Released: 1981 (US) 15 January 1982 (UK)
Recorded at: Genetic Sound, Berkshire, England
Genre: New Wave, Synth-pop
Length: 35:51
Label: Genetic Records/Island (UK & Europe) / Arista (US & Canada)
© 1981
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