That's Too Bad

Single infobox
Name = That's Too Bad


Artist = Gary Numan/Tubeway Army
Released = 10 February 1978
Format = 7" single
Recorded = Spaceward, Cambridge
16 October 1977
Genre = Punk rock
Length = 03:20
Label = Beggars Banquet
BEG 5
Producer = Gary Numan
Chart position =

• Did not chart
  Reviews =
  This single = "That's Too Bad" (1978)
  Next single = "Bombers"
  (1978) |

  "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. On the day of its release, Numan quit his job in a warehouse to become a professional musician. [Gary Numan (2001). [http://www.numan.co.uk/clouds/interview2001.html NuWorld interview] ]

  Although it failed to enter the UK singles charts, "That's Too Bad" nonetheless sold relatively well, taking into account the small numbers pressed (4,000) and the lowly status of both label and artist. Numan later said, "The song was written 99% to get a contract. It was a naive attempt to make punk commercial, which it didn't do!" [Stephen Webbon & Gary Numan (1985). "Complete Gary Numan UK Discography". "Record Collector (December 1985, No. 76)": p.14]

  The B-side of the single was "Oh! Didn't I Say". Both songs are in an aggressive punk rock style, very different from the synthesizer-based music which became Numan's trademark.

  At this stage of his career Numan (born Gary Webb) had not yet found his future stage name and called himself 'Valerian'; his band mates Paul Gardiner and Jess Lidyard also used assumed names. Webb's compositional credits on the original vinyl single were under the Valerian pseudonym as well. The back of the original vinyl single's sleeve contained two discrepancies: Valerian was spelt 'Valeriun'; and the band picture featured live drummer Bob Simmonds, not Jess Lidyard ('Rael') who actually played in the recording session. [Steve Malins (1998). "The Plan": [http://www.beggars.com/banquet/index.htm?../artists/catalogue/gary_numan/index.htm&0 CD liner notes] ]

  These tracks have subsequently been included on CD reissues of the album "The Plan" (1984).

  Track listing

  # "That's Too Bad" (Gary Numan) – 3:20
  # "Oh! Didn't I Say" (Numan) – 2:16

  Production credits

  * Producers:
  ** Gary Numan

  * Musicians:
  ** Valerian (Gary Numan): vocals, guitar
  ** Scarlett (Paul Gardiner): bass guitar
  ** Rael (Jess Lidyard): drums

  Versions

  Versions of "That's Too Bad" released to date include:
  *The original track, recorded 16 October 1977 at Spaceward Studios, near Cambridge. This version was not released to the public until 1983, and re-issued on yellow vinyl in 1985 on the "1978" EP of early Tubeway Army recordings.
  *The single version, a remix by Mick Glossop of the original recording, done at Manor Studio, Oxfordshire. This new mix brought forward the vocals that had been buried in the earlier version. It was released on 10 February 1978 as Tubeway Army's debut. Both the original and single mixes have since appeared on CD reissues of "The Plan".
  *A live version thought to have been recorded in January or February 1978. This was part of a bootleg called "Live at the Roxy" that was officially released and retitled "Living Ornaments '78" on the 1998 CD reissue of the debut album "Tubeway Army". It also contained a recording of "Oh! Didn't I Say" from the same gig.
  *A live version recorded on 6 November 1993 and released on the double album "Dream Corrosion" (1994).

  Notes

  References

  * Paul Goodwin (2004). "Electric Pioneer: An Armchair Guide to Gary Numan"