"Bombers" is the second single by the English new wave band

Tubeway Army Tubeway Army were a London-based new wave music, new wave band led by lead singer Gary Numan. Formed at the height of punk rock in 1977, the band gradually changed to an electronic music, electronic sound. They were the first band of the elect ...

, released on 21 July 1978, on

Beggars Banquet ''Beggars Banquet'' is the seventh studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 6 December 1968 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom and London Records in the United States. It was the first Rolling Stones album pro ...

. "Bombers" is considered by some to be one of the most popular songs by Tubeway Army. The song enjoyed brief popularity in the '80s and is featured in several books cataloguing iconic songs of the period.

Versions and releases

The original demo version, recorded 7–9 March 1978 at Spaceward Studios, near

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. This recording was not released to the public until October 1984, on an album of previously unissued tracks from the same sessions called ''

The Plan The Plan may refer to: Music * The Plan (band), Swedish rock group *Der Plan, a German electronic music group * ''The Plan'' (Hillsong album), a 1998 Hillsong Music album * ''The Plan'' (Tubeway Army album), an album of early demos and singles b ...

''. These sessions featured Gary Numan,

Paul Gardiner Paul Andrew Gardiner (1 May 1958 – 18 February 1984) was an English musician who played bass guitar with Gary Numan and Tubeway Army, as well as creating material under his own name. Biography Paul Andrew Gardiner was born on 1 May 1958 in ...

, and Numan's uncle Jess Lidyard on

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

s. The single version recorded on 15 April 1978 and released in July the same year. This session was produced by Kenny Denton, and featured a short-lived band line-up of Numan, Gardiner, Barry Benn, and Sean Burke. It has since appeared on CD reissues of ''The Plan''. The single features a slightly revised lyric: on the demo, the third verse starts with "All the junkies pulling needles from their arms." Beggars Banquet feared that the word "junkies" would prevent the song receiving airplay and so, for the single, Numan changed the line to "All the nurses pulling needles from their arms."Steve Malins (1998). ''The Plan''
CD liner notes
It was later re-released as a gatefold with the first Tubeway Army single "

That's Too Bad "That's Too Bad" is the debut single by the English new wave band 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 ...

".Tubeway Army ''That's Too Bad/Bombers'', Beggars Banquet 1979

Track listing

# "Bombers" (Valerian) – 3:52 # "Blue Eyes" (Valerian) – 1:43 # "O.D. Receiver" (Valerian) – 2:37

Production credits

Producers Producer(s), The Producer(s), or co-producer(s) may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *Producer, a stakeholder of economic production * Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes t ...

: ** Kenny Denton *

Musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

s: **

Gary Numan Gary Anthony James Webb (born 8 March 1958), known professionally as Gary Numan, is an English singer, songwriter and musician. He entered the music industry as frontman of the New wave music, new wave band Tubeway Army. After releasing two st ...

Vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

Guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

Bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

** Barry Benn:

Drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

s ** Sean Burke: Guitar

References

{{authority control 1978 songs Tubeway Army songs Songs written by Gary Numan Beggars Banquet Records singles 1978 singles