‘Dance/I Suppose’ Demo Analysis & Comparison
‘Dance’ by Gary Numan is one of the first albums I ever reviewed, all the way back in 2018. I was sat on my (then) girlfriend’s sofa during Christmas that year, and for some reason decided to challenge myself with reviewing the album from memory. As I progressed with reviewing albums by my favourite New Wave artists, I soon arrived at Adam Ant and reviewed all his studio albums and some extra releases. These included demo tracks and compilations I found online, where I’d compare the released studio versions to earlier demos while attempting to pick out all the differences I could hear. Lyrical or instrumental, if there was anything different, I would write about it. Examples of this can be seen in my ‘Jubilee Demos’ or ‘Madam Stan’ reviews.
Being a Gary Numan fan has never really given me the chance to analyse early song demos to the same degree, even though demos from ‘Replicas’ and ‘The Pleasure Principle’ have been released a few times. Those are alternate versions of well-known material, whereas the Adam Ant bootlegs whet my appetite so much because they hail from his early pre-fame days, some of which felt either long lost or forgotten. Some tour companion CDs released by Numan have included demo tracks, such as ‘Purified’ or ‘Small Black Box’, with the former containing snippets of unused or early versions of songs from Numan’s 2000 album ‘Pure’ (it truthfully never dawned on me until writing this to analyse those, so there may be an article looking at those in future).
But what connects song demos and Numan’s album ‘Dance’? As I was scrolling through the internet earlier this year, I saw a very interesting artifact on my social feed: a demo tape containing an early version of the ‘Dance’ album. It was being auctioned off on eBay and, I believe, had a paper insert signed by Numan himself, signifying he knows the cassette exists. Something that really struck me was the tracks listed and their order:
Of the ten tracks, only six were officially released on the final album; one was released as a single b-side; and the last two were released on his next album ‘I, Assassin’ in 1982. One interesting point is how the album is called ‘Dance’ but the song ‘Dance’ itself never appears on the album; another is the inclusion of ‘We Take Mystery To Bed’ as the final track. When released as a single in 1982, ‘We Take Mystery’ included an alternate demo take on the 12” single, far slower and melancholic in sound. When I first heard it I thought it was a perfect contender to fit in with the ‘Dance’ album, perfectly matching songs like ‘Cry The Clock Said’ and ‘Slowcar To China’ — even down to their extended runtimes. With this tape surfacing among Numanoids online, I feel it practically confirmed my suspicions.
I must have discovered the tape and its sale myself in late January/early February this year, as I took to making a Spotify playlist to hear this early version of ‘Dance’ with the released tracks we had, and Spotify says I created it on Feb 2nd (you can hear the playlist yourself here). In October I then stumbled across a YouTube video uploaded in April called ‘Dance/I Suppose Full Version’ which I’d never seen or heard before. I instantly took to hearing it and loved it, appreciating an insight into an album from a pivotal moment in Numan’s career.
One big thing to note regarding the demo is the runtime of the track. The released version of ‘Dance’ (the song) clocks in at 2:50 minutes, whereas ‘Dance/I Suppose’ is 4:38 minutes in runtime. We should consider the fact ‘Dance’ and ‘I Suppose’ could be blended as one track, but the demo tape doesn’t list ‘Dance’ as being two different tracks as no mention of ‘I Suppose’ is present in the photograph — neither is the runtime for any of the listed songs.
Another point to consider is use of the word “dance” itself and the phrase “I suppose” throughout the released version of the album. The opening track ‘A Slowcar To China’ utilises both and “I suppose” crops up in ‘Moral’, the closing track of the released version. One thing I’ve noticed as an avid listener is how Numan songs will coincidentally be titled after lyrics used at an earlier point. ‘Deadliner’ is an example, released in 1994 and containing the line “I’m so scared I can’t breathe”, before Numan released a song called ‘I Can’t Breathe’ on his 2000 album ‘Pure’.
The released ‘Dance’ album itself defies convention. Its title suggests songs with an upbeat sound you’re able to dance along to, but listeners are instead presented with a minimalistic and sparse sonic soundscape. There is also lack of a title track which most traditional albums would, or are expected to, contain. The word “dance”, as previously mentioned, is present on several album tracks, but the track ‘Dance’ itself is absent. Wikipedia lists it as an album outtake, and Numanoids would have to wait until 2002 for a CD reissue to hear the song for the first time.
Studio VS Outtake: ‘Dance/I Suppose’
Dance (Official Outtake): fits in perfectly with the sparse atmosphere, as its one of the slowest and saddest tracks in Numan’s discography. Its beat is kept by snapping fingers while a melancholic keyboard plays over it, with a sombre vocal eventually coming in. The keyboard melody perfectly and satisfyingly matches the vocals being sang; another keyboard comes in partway through.
The lyrics seemingly concern Numan’s decision to “retire” as an artist. His farewell concerts at Wembley came in April 1981, with the ‘Dance’ album seeing a release in September that year; I mention this context as, at the concerts, new songs were debuted which would see release on the album. This shows songs from ‘Dance’ were at least written at the time of the farewell shows, with the lyrics being written around or after the shows to reflect Numan’s mindset and internal monologue. It could be considered an extension of the topics discussed and sang on ‘Telekon’ the year before, with songs like ‘Please Push No More’ and ‘Remember I Am Vapour’ discussing similar subject matters regarding fame and the overwhelming feelings Numan was experiencing.
In the opening verse of ‘Dance’ we hear Numan sing “I could walk out / I need to crash for my sake,” evidencing the idea of retiring has occurred; he could walk away from fame and performing but needs a break from it all for his own good. “You are something / That I could do without,” is an ambiguous line, referring to either the pressure from tabloids, pressure from fame, or both combined. We hear a rather depressing chorus next as he sings “I can always take the pills and leave,” detailing just how bad his emotions and mindset must have been to be considering such extreme form of action to escape. But Numan offers up his dedication to his fans and open vulnerability directly after, “I would die for you / And I would cry too.”
Verse two continues the same trend of speculating against the things getting him down and forcing him into a corner, with “This celebration makes me / Crawl away and hide” showing us again how dire the situation is. The notion of “crawling away” evokes imagery of being reduced to a baby or being in such visceral pain you can no longer walk, all of this to progress to a safe space to hide away and heal. The second chorus reiterates itself with the same lyrics as the first.
‘Dance/I Suppose’ (Demo): begins with a twinkling synth over a kickdrum beat, followed by effects and synths — some of which are recognisable from the released outtake. The vocals come in faster too, beginning rather mumbled before becoming a fuller, more pronounced voice. The quality of the recording has sadly made it hard to decipher much of the quieter vocals and those hidden behind the synths, but I’ve done my best to estimate what Numan is singing (a transcript of which will be included at the end).
The first verse has lyrics thematically connecting to other songs recorded during the ‘Dance’ sessions, such as “I don’t need you — rain”; this connects to Numan’s relationship with bad press, a frequent subject in his mid-80’s discography, and “rain” connecting to the b-side ‘I Sing Rain’. It also connects to the opening line “At four o’clock we scream it’s just for you / That just cries,” perfectly aligning with the emotional state of the released outtake while simultaneously creating a pathetic fallacy of it raining while crying. We then have an interlude of Numan asking “Won’t you dance with me?”
It then shifts to a darker place as insomnia and hostages are mentioned in the lines “We’ll take you slowly saying time for bed,” and “We’ll leave hostages saying God will smile.” The latter line again echoes themes from ‘Telekon’, which opens with the existential question of “So what if God’s dead?” The chilling line “You won’t laugh when we do” suggests a power play being present, and an element of Numan having the last laugh — again referring to the press who gave him a hard time. But he reassures his hostage by saying “we’re not angry now,” suggesting this vengeful turn of events has been enough for him.
A third verse begins with a synth melody similar to that in the officially released version of ‘Dance’. The lyrics begin to detail a trick at play, “It was always just a plan to fool you / I leave this business”, perhaps nodding toward the farewell concerts and coming — but short lived — retirement. References to the press and his success are reiterated with “I am called the boys who sing so vocal / But look who wins” before the line “The clock says so”. This fits in perfectly with the ‘Dance’ opening track ‘Cry The Clock Says’, which also continues the crying theme within its title.
An instrumental section kicks in at 3:15 and the song begins to feel more sonically charged, brighter and upbeat. It’s safe to assume this is where the ‘I Suppose’ part of the song begins before Numan repeatedly sings something I sadly can’t fully decipher. All I have is “I need more [??] to live like me”, but the incomplete line alone tells so much, as we hear Numan begging for somebody to live like him. Maybe if they did, a crazed fan or the gruelling press, would understand just how it feels to be in that situation and why the farewell concerts were necessary. The song concludes with the line “Like me, like I suppose” before the vocals begin to fade and a synth intro plays until it too fades out.
Final Thoughts:
As previously mentioned, I’m glad this hidden gem was stumbled upon and released into the Numan world. It not only grants us behind the purple screen of the ‘Dance’ album sessions, but an alternate take on — what I assume to have been — the title track. The demo version is far darker with an existential undertone, as Numan assumes the role of a cunning mastermind while mulling over his alternatives of what to do; to his “victims”, with himself and his career. Its less sad in comparison to the official version, but resents a more sinister feeling instead.
Lyrics scattered through the song perfectly line up and connect with the iconography and themes in relation to the rest of the ‘Dance’ album, with key components of the official version being heard embedded within it, such as crying and clocks. With the idea/theory of this being two songs connected as one, I feel the latter half of the song has so much potential and ground to stand on its own as a separate song. As the vocals start to fade, I can’t help but feel sad myself as I want to know what comes next. If ‘Call Out The Dogs’ can run for six minutes, surely this can too? But the closing synth adds a fresh feel to a song Numanoids have heard countless times and loved since it was finally officially released.
If you want to read more Gary Numan reviews from me, check these out:
Dance / Berserker / The Fury / Strange Charm / Metal Rhythm / Outland
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My Partially Deciphered Lyrics:
At four o’clock we scream it’s just for you, that just cries
Like I do, I don’t need you — rain
A sign in ?? this is occupied, and Freud sings
Like I do, I don’t need you now
-
Won’t you dance with me?
-
We’ll take you slowly saying time for bed, I can’t sleep
Like you do, we’re not angry now
We’ll leave a hostage saying “God will smile”
You won’t laugh when we do
We’re not angry now
-
It was always just a plan to fool you
I leave this business and delight to fly
And I am called the boys who sing so vocal
But look who wins, look at my ?? one too
Just look at me, rewrite your themes/things lonely
The clock says so
-
I need more ??? to live like me
Like me, like I suppose
