"Homosapien" is a song by English musician
Pete Shelley
Pete Shelley (born Peter Campbell McNeish; 17 April 1955 – 6 December 2018) was an English singer, songwriter and guitarist. He formed early punk band Buzzcocks with Howard Devoto in 1976, and became the lead singer and guitarist in 1977 wh ...
. It was the first single from his
album of the same title, released in 1981, and his first single as a solo performer after rising to fame with
Buzzcocks.
Shelley wrote the song in 1974, before forming the Buzzcocks in 1976.
Originally intended as a demo track for a Buzzcocks' song, "Homosapien" was recorded in one day with producer
Martin Rushent
Martin Charles Rushent (11 July 1948 – 4 June 2011) was an English record producer, best known for his work with The Human League, The Stranglers and Buzzcocks.
Early life
Rushent was born on 11 July 1948 in Enfield, Middlesex. His father ...
, who would later go on to produce
The Human League
The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their third album ''Dare' ...
.
The track adopted a synth pop sound in contrast to the Buzzcocks' harsh guitar riffs.
The single was a big hit in Australia and Canada, reaching the Top 10 in both countries, as well as being a modest hit in New Zealand. Although it failed to cross over to singles charts in Europe or the United States, it was a popular dance track in clubs across both territories and reached number 14 on the ''
Billboard''
Club Play Singles
Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as th ...
chart.
The song reportedly was banned by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
for its "explicit reference to gay sex" with the lyrics "homo superior / in my interior".
Shelley denied this was the intention. However according to then
, "Its then risqué lyrics were noted at the time. Didn't stop me playing it on my radio show."
, sees "Homosapien" as a "curious pride anthem" that never uses the word "gay" in its lyrics, much like other tracks by queer artists from the time, for example
".
Hilderbrand interprets the verse "and I just hope and pray / that the day / of our love is at hand... / And the world is so wrong / that I hope that we'll be strong..." as a message of solidarity against homophobia.
Further, Hilderbrand reads "I don't wanna classify you like an animal in the zoo / But it seems good to me to know that you're Homosapien, too" as a statement on "refusing and then reconfirming identity categories", proclaiming a hope for gay rights but rejecting an "essentialist" label such as homosexual or gay.
and was a gay club hit at the time it came out.
Hilderbrand has described "Homosapien" as the "most homo-positive hit of" 1981.