Bela Lugosi's Dead: The Single That Started It
Our first single is the one most people know us by. Here's the short story of it.
When did it come out?
In August 1979, on Small Wonder Records. We recorded it on 26 January 1979 at Beck Studios in Wellingborough, in a six-hour session.
Why is it famous for its length?
It runs 9:36, and it was recorded in one take. It stayed on the UK indie chart for two years.
What is it about?
The lyrics describe the funeral of the Dracula star, and the chorus repeats the word "undead". That refrain is where the closing headline on our home page comes from.
Where does the bat sleeve come from?
The sleeve uses a still from D. W. Griffith's 1926 silent film The Sorrows of Satan, a figure with huge bat wings spread across a room.
In the shop: Bela Lugosi's Dead Sleeve shows that still with a black lowercase wordmark along the bottom, Bat keeps just the black bat with its wings spread, and Bela Lugosi's Dead Shadow pairs a stark photo with the title in looping script.
Is it the first goth record?
Many people call it that. We preferred "dark glam". The song also opens the 1983 film The Hunger, with us playing it.