"God's Kitchen" is a song by English synth-pop duo

Blancmange Blancmange (, from french: blanc-manger ) is a sweet dessert popular throughout Europe commonly made with milk or cream and sugar thickened with rice flour, gelatin, corn starch, or Irish moss (a source of carrageenan), and often flavoured wi ...

, released in March 1982 as a

double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

with "I've Seen the Word". It was the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release ...

from the duo's debut studio album ''

Happy Families Happy Families is a traditional British card game usually with a specially made set of picture cards, featuring illustrations of fictional families of four, most often based on occupation types. The object of the game is to collect complete fami ...

'' (1982). "God's Kitchen" and "I've Seen the Word" was written by

Neil Arthur Blancmange () are an English synth-pop band formed in Harrow, London, in 1979. The band were a duo for much of their career, composed of Neil Arthur (vocals) and Stephen Luscombe (keyboards). They came to prominence in the early 1980s, releasin ...

and

Stephen Luscombe Blancmange () are an English synth-pop band formed in Harrow, London, in 1979. The band were a duo for much of their career, composed of Neil Arthur (vocals) and Stephen Luscombe (keyboards). They came to prominence in the early 1980s, releasi ...

, and produced by

Mike Howlett Michael John Gilmour Howlett (born 27 April 1950) is a record producer and teacher based in the United Kingdom and Australia. Career In the late 1960s, Howlett was the bassist in Sydney pop band the Affair, which included vocalist Kerrie Bidd ...

. The single reached No. 65 in the UK and remained on the charts for two weeks. In a 2011 interview with ''Penny Black Music'', Arthur considered the song to be "fairly bleak". He recalled of the song to ''FutureMusic'', "If I'd have only ever had one record with Blancmange, like 'God's Kitchen' then that would have sufficed. I remember hearing that track for the first time on

Radio 1 Radio 1 or Radio One most commonly refers to: *BBC Radio 1, a music radio station from the BBC **BBC Radio 1Xtra, a digital radio station broadcasting black music *CBC Radio One, a talk radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation ...

's Peter Powell Show and we drove across three lanes of the motorway we were so excited."

Critical reception

Upon release, Dave Rimmer of ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' commented, "Well, this young synthesizer duo have looked for God in their kitchen. They've look for him in their room. They've look for him in their lampshade. They have hunted high and low for him. Pity they didn't take time out to find a good tune. Brill sleeve though." In a retrospective review of ''Happy Families'' (1982), Bill Cassel of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

considered "God's Kitchen" as one of the album's highlights. Paul Scott-Bates of ''

Louder Than War ''Louder Than War'' is a music and culture website and magazine focusing on mainly alternative arts news, reviews, and features. The site is an editorially independent publication that was started by journalist John Robb in 2010 and is now ru ...

'' noted the song's "raunchy, dismembered sound" compared with the more "ballad-like" and "melodious" "I've Seen the Word".

Track listing

7" single # "I've Seen the Word" – 3:01 # "God's Kitchen" – 2:53 12" single # "God's Kitchen" – 4:27 # "I've Seen the Word" – 3:01

Personnel

Blancmange *

– lead vocals *

– keyboards, synthesizers Additional personnel * David Rhodes – guitar *

– producer * Tim Young – mastering

Charts

References

External links

* {{authority control 1982 songs 1982 singles Blancmange (band) songs London Records singles Songs written by Neil Arthur Songs written by Stephen Luscombe Song recordings produced by Mike Howlett