Bela Lugosi's Dead

Updated on Dec 03, 2024

Edit

Comment

B-side "Boys" Genre Gothic rockdub Label Small Wonder		Released 6 August 1979 Length 9:36
Recorded 26 January 1979 at Beck Studios in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, England

"Bela Lugosi's Dead" is a song by English post-punk band Bauhaus. This song was the band's first single, released on 6 August 1979 by record label Small Wonder.

It is often considered the first gothic rock record.

Writing and recording

"Bela Lugosi's Dead" was recorded "live in the studio" in a single take during a six-hour session at Beck Studios in Wellingborough on 26 January 1979. Four additional songs were also recorded, varying in genre: the post-punk-styled "Boys", the ska/reggae crossover "Harry", the punk-influenced "Bite My Hip" (later re-envisioned as the 1982 single "Lagartija Nick") and the unreleased pop song "Some Faces". Of these recordings, only two were released. "Harry" surfaced in 1982 as a B-side to the single "Kick in the Eye", while "Boys" served as a B-side to "Bela Lugosi's Dead", and later was re-recorded at Beck Studios in 1979. Alternate versions of "Bela Lugosi's Dead" also included a portion of the early demo recording of their next single, "Dark Entries".

All four band members are given songwriting credit on the single: vocalist Peter Murphy, guitarist Daniel Ash, drummer Kevin Haskins and bassist David J (as David Haskins). David J has claimed that he wrote the lyrics.

Content

The sleeve cover art was taken from the D. W. Griffith film The Sorrows of Satan (1926).

The song is over nine minutes in length, and the vocals do 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 referenced horror film star Bela Lugosi (1882–1956), who did much to establish the modern vampire image as the title character in the 1931 film Dracula, and who had been dead for over two decades when the song was written and recorded.

Release

"Bela Lugosi's Dead" was released in August 1979, but did not enter the UK charts.

It was released on CD in 1988, and was compiled on the 1998 Bauhaus compilation album Crackle.

The original 12" release was on white vinyl and limited to 5,000 copies. Various re-releases included the following:

Black vinyl with black-on-white sleeve (up to five versions exist, based on comparisons of runout matrices on each of the releases and sleeve format)

Blue vinyl with blue-on-white sleeve

Clear vinyl with brown-on-white sleeve

Green transparent vinyl with green-on-white sleeve

Pink vinyl with pink-on-white sleeve

Purple transparent vinyl with purple-on-white sleeve

Glow-in-the-dark picture disk with clear plastic sleeve

Legacy

"Bela Lugosi's Dead" is considered the harbinger of gothic rock music and has been immensely influential on contemporary goth culture.

In the 1983 horror film The Hunger, Bauhaus performed the song during the opening credits and introduction. A 7″ promotional record featuring an edited version of the song was released to theaters playing the film. The song was featured in numerous other films and TV shows including Smallville, The Curve, Good Luck Chuck, The Collector, Fringe, Supernatural and American Horror Story: Hotel. The song was used as the intro music for the late 1990s Saturday Night Live skit "Goth Talk", which featured Chris Kattan and Molly Shannon as two goth students.

Cover versions

Until December covered the song as the B-side of their 1986 12" single "Heaven".

Italian band Opera IX covered the song on their 2000 album The Black Opera: Symphoniæ Mysteriorum in Laudem Tenebrarum.

Sepultura covered the song on their 2001 album Nation.

Nouvelle Vague covered the song on their 2006 album Bande à part.

On 31 October 2013 (Halloween), David J with Jill Tracy released "Bela Lugosi's Dead (Undead Is Forever)", a cinematic rework of "Bela Lugosi's Dead".

A version by CHVRCHES was played during the ending credits of the 2014 movie Vampire Academy.