Heartbeat (Big Black single)
Encyclopedia
"Heartbeat" is a song written by Colin Newman
and originally recorded and released in 1978 by the English
rock
band Wire
on their second album Chairs Missing
. Guest Kate Lukas
played flute on the track.
The song was not uncommon as either an opener or a closer of Wire's live sets at the time. Producer Mike Thorne has called it the band's "first overt love song".
in 1987 by Chicago
post-hardcore
band Big Black
. Apart from the Wire cover, the other two tracks on the record are originals. This 7" record was sold together with the Headache
EP
or used for promotional give-aways. The three tracks were eventually reissued on The Rich Man's Eight Track Tape
compilation.
Colin Newman
Colin Newman is an English musician, record producer and record label owner.-Biography:Newman is a member of the rock band Wire. When the band temporarily split in 1980, Newman pursued a solo career. His first solo LP, A-Z, was released in 1980 on the Beggar's Banquet label...
and originally recorded and released in 1978 by the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Wire
Wire (band)
Wire are an English rock band, formed in London in October 1976 by Colin Newman , Graham Lewis , Bruce Gilbert , and Robert Gotobed...
on their second album Chairs Missing
Chairs Missing
Chairs Missing is the second album by the British rock band Wire. It was released in 1978.Although it shares a punk-derived "outsider" voice with the band's debut, Pink Flag, it features more developed song structure and a broader palette of emotional and intellectual subject matter...
. Guest Kate Lukas
Kathryn Lukas
Kathryn Lukas is a contemporary flute performer and teacher. She is currently Professor of Music at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University...
played flute on the track.
The song was not uncommon as either an opener or a closer of Wire's live sets at the time. Producer Mike Thorne has called it the band's "first overt love song".
Big Black version
"Heartbeat" was covered and released as a singleSingle (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
in 1987 by Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
post-hardcore
Post-hardcore
Post-hardcore is a genre of music that developed from hardcore punk, itself an offshoot of the broader punk rock movement. Like post-punk, post-hardcore is a term for a broad constellation of groups...
band Big Black
Big Black
Big Black was an American punk rock band from Evanston, Illinois, active from 1981 to 1987. Founded by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, the band's initial lineup also included guitarist Santiago Durango and bassist Jeff Pezzati, both of Naked Raygun...
. Apart from the Wire cover, the other two tracks on the record are originals. This 7" record was sold together with the Headache
Headache (EP)
Headache is a 1987 EP by Chicago post-hardcore band Big Black. The record generated some controversy due to a cover photograph of a shotgun suicide victim whose head was split in half; it only appeared on a very limited edition of the record and was later replaced with a drawing by Savage Pencil...
EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
or used for promotional give-aways. The three tracks were eventually reissued on The Rich Man's Eight Track Tape
The Rich Man's Eight Track Tape
- Track listing :#"Jordan, Minnesota" - 3:20#"Passing Complexion" - 3:04#"Big Money" - 2:29#"Kerosene" - 6:05#"Bad Houses" - 3:09#"Fists of Love" - 4:21#"Stinking Drunk" - 3:27...
compilation.
Other cover versions
- "Heartbeat" was covered in 2005 by Ointment, a duo from RigaRigaRiga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
, LatviaLatviaLatvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, having already taken their name from the lyrics to another Wire song, "I Am The Fly".