"She’s Got Claws" is a 1981 song by

Gary Numan Gary Anthony James Webb (born 8 March 1958), known professionally as Gary Numan, is an English musician. He entered the music industry as frontman of the new wave band Tubeway Army. After releasing two albums with the band, he released his d ...

. It was the first and only single released from his 1981 album ''

Dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

''. The song signalled a different musical style for Numan, featuring jazz-influenced saxophone and fretless bass, as well as a new image comprising trilby hat and pinstriped suit, inspired by

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film In ...

and Howard Hughes.

Background

An obscure single in July 1981 called "

Stormtrooper in Drag "Stormtrooper in Drag" is the debut single by Paul Gardiner, who was the bass player in Gary Numan's backing band (and in Numan's first band, Tubeway Army). Numan is featured on the single as a co-composer, producer, musician and vocalist. Produ ...

", released under the name of his friend and

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

-player Paul Gardiner but co-written and sung by Numan, provided a foretaste of the latter’s new sound, far removed from the science fiction influenced

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

that had made him a star. Aside from being a departure from previous material, "She's Got Claws" was unusual among Numan’s jazz-style output in utilising the sax as lead instrument rather than simply for a discreet solo; it was played by Mick Karn from

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, who also contributed bass on the track. Numan was a great fan of Japan's 1980 album '' Gentlemen Take Polaroids'', and this influenced him to adopt this new musical style. Like much of its parent album, the song was inspired by the betrayal of a former lover. According to Numan, "There was a 'little incident' in February that involved one particular person who thought she could make an awful lot of money out of saying what it was like to be with me for six months. You don't expect that. I was all set for, y'know, the ring – the lot! Then it turns round and hits you like an atom bomb." The music video, filmed at Southam Zoo literalised the idea of a predatory woman by showing the singer on the run from a panther in scenes that prefigured the remake of '' Cat People'', released the following year. The single's B-side was an abstract track called "I Sing Rain", whose vocal largely consisted of the word "rain" repeated over and over as well as various wordless cries. An additional B-side released on the 12" single, "Exhibition", utilised the ubiquitous Roland CR-78 drum machine preset also found on Numan's recordings of " On Broadway", " Bombers (live)", "Remember I was Vapour", "Telekon", and "Stories". "She's Got Claws" was the only single release from the ''Dance'' album, reaching number 6 in the UK Singles Chart.Everyhit.com
/ref> Prior to its release it was played live on Numan's Teletour, and recorded at his 1981 Wembley concert for the video ''Micromusic'' (the soundtrack of which was released later as ''Living Ornaments '81''). It was covered by Posh on the Numan tribute album ''Random'' in 1997. A remixed version appeared on the collection ''The Mix'' in 1998.

Track listing

7" version: # "She's Got Claws" (

) - 4:55 # "I Sing Rain" (Numan) - 2:30 12" version: # "She’s Got Claws" (Numan) - 4:55 # "I Sing Rain" (Numan) - 2:30 # "Exhibition" (Numan) - 4:27

Production credits

* Producers: ** Gary Numan *

Musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

s: **

: Vocals, SCI Prophet-5, Roland Jupiter-4,

ARP Odyssey The ARP Odyssey is an analog synthesizer introduced by ARP Instruments in 1972. History ARP developed the Odyssey as a direct competitor to the Moog Minimoog and an answer to the demand for more affordable, portable, and less complicated "perf ...

, Roland CR-78, Piano ** Cedric Sharpley:

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

** Chris Payne: Viola ** Mick Karn: Bass guitar, Saxophone ** John Webb: Handclaps

Notes

{{Gary Numan

References

* Paul Goodwin (2004). ''Electric Pioneer: An Armchair Guide To Gary Numan'' Gary Numan songs 1981 songs Music videos directed by Julien Temple Songs written by Gary Numan Beggars Banquet Records singles