Bela Lugosi's Dead Lyrics

"Bela Lugosi's Dead" is a gothic rock song written by the band Bauhaus. The song was the band's first single, released in August 1979, and is often considered to be the first gothic rock record released. It did not enter the UK pop charts, but remained on sale for many years thereafter. The b-side features the song "Boys" and some versions also include an early demo recording of what would be their next single, "Dark Entries". It was released on CD in 1988 and was compiled on the 1998 album, Crackle - The Best of Bauhaus. The original sleeve art was taken from a still of the film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Description The song is over nine minutes in length and was recorded "live in the studio" in a single take. David J, the band's bassist, claims on his website to have written the lyrics. The singing does not start (in the studio version) until several minutes into the track. The dub-influenced guitar sound was achieved by using partial barre chords and leaving the top E and B strings open. The title references horror film star Béla Lugosi (1882-1956), who did much to establish the modern vampire image as the title character in the 1931 film Dracula. Recording session "Bela Lugosi's Dead" was recorded during a six-hour session at Beck Studios in Wellingborough on 26 January 1979. Four more songs were recorded ("Boys", "Harry", "Dark Entries" and the unreleased "Some Faces") but not used; only "Harry" surfaced in 1982 as a single B-side to "Kick In The Eye". The song "Boys" was re-recorded at Beck Studios in spring 1979. Use in film and television The song was featured in the 1983 Tony Scott cult vampire film The Hunger, with Bauhaus portraying a band in a nightclub, playing it during the opening credits and introduction. A 7" promotional record featuring an edited version of the song was released to theaters playing the movie. The song was used as the intro music for the late 1990s Saturday Night Live skit "Goth Talk", which had Chris Kattan and Molly Shannon as two goth students. This song was also in an episode in the fifth season of Smallville, the vampire/Halloween-themed "Thirst." It was also played throughout the movie The Curve, and featured in the French movie, Sombre. The song is played in the movie "Good Luck Chuck" as an introduction for when the Goth girl is on screen and it is on the soundtrack. The song was featured in an episode ("Midnight") of the science fiction/horror series Fringe which revolved around a vampire-esque creature. Comedian and musician Bill Bailey parodied the song on his DVD Part Troll as part of a medley in which he and his band, the Stan Ellis Experiment performed Cockney Rock style versions of popular songs - this particular segment of the medley included lyrical changes such as "E ad a girl's name" and "This means nuffing to me" Released August 1979 Recorded 26 January 1979 at Beck Studios in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire Genre Gothic rock Length 9:36 Label Small Wonder