BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1979
“Space Invaders” is a song by Australian songwriters Russell Dunlop and Bruce Brown, recording under the band name Player One (commonly stylised as Player [1]) in 1979. The song is based on the hugely successful 1978 video game Space Invaders. It was a novelty hit in Australia, peaking at #3 on the Kent Music Report charts, and ending up as the fourth best selling single in Australia for 1980.
The song was released internationally but failed to chart outside Australia. It was, however, influential in the history of dance music, being sampled by Jesse Saunders for the bassline of what is commonly held to be the first Chicago house music record, “On and On” (1984).
Dunlop and Brown also released an album as Player One, Game Over. Dunlop recalled: “We sat down and wrote a bunch of space songs, but instead of sticking to the concept of the hit, we wandered off into the ‘clever’ musical genre with fancy time signatures, radical chord progressions and so on. The reply came back for the States that this was intended for 13- to 14-year-olds: ‘You’ve lost us.'”
The single and album were released in the US under the band name Playback, which Brown and Dunlop had used for other projects, to avoid confusion with the US band Player. The US version of the album was titled Space Invaders.
SIDE A:
Space Invaders 5:52
SIDE B:
A Menacing Glow In The Sky 3:12
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: WEA – WEA 70004
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Maxi-Single
Country: Germany
Released: 1979
Genre: Electronic
Style: Disco
CREDITS:
Producer – Bad Productions
NOTES:
Recorded at Alberts Studios, Sydney, Australia using Roland Synthesizers
From the LP “GAME OVER”
Find The 12″ On DISCOGS
EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Speed Control: Pro-Ject Speed Box S
Phono Pre-amp: Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube: Tung-Sol 12AX7ECC803-S Gold Electron Tube
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner
SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removeal: ClickRepair (DeClick Level 3)
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
I never heard this song before, but I enjoyed it very much. It also fits so well into the Halloween spectrum of songs you’re presenting us during the month of October. I especially loved the flip-side. More serious and a bit spooky too. Loved the F/X throughout. Paul, I’ve got to hand it to you, your tastes run the gamut of all things unique and things that deserve a further listen. We all are so humble with what you do and we all appreciate it so much.
Jeff
My god, playing it as I type 🙂 I remember this so well but haven’t heard it for so long!
Seems to me this was inspired by Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love”… and then as I listen, can hear elements of Kylie Minogue’s “Can’t Get You Out Of My Head”
Fabulous sound Paul 🙂
Thank you for this posting Paul. It was big here in Australia. I still love it. I have the single version on an Australian 80’s compilation CD. The clip is a fun cheap sci-fi music video.
This track is legendary, it will get a lot of hits! I think this track, even with all it’s gimmickry, is an absolute classic. It was featured on the 1979 Aussie compilation Full Boar, which on the cover featured a pigs head wearing headphones! I also own the Player [1] album, Game Over, which despite this amazing track, manages to be a total blah and mish-mash of styles – none of them good. Avoid at all costs! 🙂 Thanks for another amzing rip, Paul. I haven’t grabbed it yet due to poor net service, but I know it’s gonna be… Read more »
Wow Paul where did you manage to find this. Haven’t heard this version before and I’ve been collecting 12 inch singles since 1978. As kids we changed the words in the chorus singing “Baked potatoes baked po-ta-toes”. Cheers from Oz.
Came across this 12″ at a record convention a few years ago I alwys loved it as I do with most things Aussie 🙂
Ha! I wrote that Wikipedia article 😀
I don’t know this song, so I’ll check it out. Cool graphic on the cover 😎
Thanks!
I think you’ll like it Woz. Have a nice weekend 🙂
Thanks for this one. This was played incessantly in my local disco; I have no idea is it scored on the dance charts, but I suspect it was popular in pockets of the USA.
Hi VanceMan it did not chart in the US but was huge in it’s native Australia peaking at #3.