"Music for Chameleons" is a 1982 single 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 ...

from his album, ''

I, Assassin ''I, Assassin'' is the fourth solo studio album by English new wave musician Gary Numan, released on 10 September 1982 by Beggars Banquet. It peaked at No. 8 on the UK Album Chart. Three singles were released from the album: "Music for Chamele ...

''. The song peaked at number 19 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The song was composed during Numan's round-the-world trip in a light aircraft, which he undertook together with another pilot."Images" - Gary Numan: A Recorded Autobiography Numan states in his autobiography that he kept singing it to himself so much that it got on the nerves of his co-pilot. The song is highly unusual in using fretless bass as the main melody instrument.

Track listing

Taken from UK releases. * 7" single (Beg.70) # Music for Chameleons - 3:40 # Noise Noise - 3:44 * 12" single (Beg.70(T)) # Music for Chameleons (Extended Version) # Noise Noise # Bridge? What Bridge There are at least three released mixes; the 7-inch edit (3:35) (also available on The Best of Gary Numan 1978–1983), the 12-inch "Extended Version" (6:57) (available on Exposure) and the album mix running at 6:06.

Personnel

Taken from 7" UK release. ;Music for Chameleons *

- vocals, keyboards *

Pino Palladino Giuseppe Henry "Pino" Palladino (born 17 October 1957) is a Welsh musician, songwriter, and record producer. A prolific session bassist, he has played bass for acts such as The Who, the John Mayer Trio, Nine Inch Nails, Gary Numan, Jeff Beck ...

- bass *

Chris Slade Chris Slade (born Christopher Slade Rees; 30 October 1946) is a Welsh musician, best known for playing for the Australian rock band AC/DC. He drummed for the band from 1989 to 1994, performing on their 1990 album '' The Razors Edge'' along with ...

- drums ;Noise Noise *

- vocals, instruments *

Thereza Bazar Theresa Lorraine Bazar (born 23 May 1955) is a Canadian-born singer, best known as one half of the pop duo Dollar. Career Bazar met with success in her late teens as a member of 1970s group Guys 'n' Dolls, who scored a 1975 hit with "There's ...

- vocals *

David Van Day David Van Day (born David Paul Day, 28 November 1956) is an English singer, songwriter and politician who was formerly a member of the pop music, pop vocal duet (music), duo Dollar (group), Dollar. He was also a member of the 1970s vocal group Gu ...

- helpful hints

Charts

In popular culture

The song features in the episode I Know What Alan Did Last Summer of season two of the comedy series

I'm Alan Partridge ''I'm Alan Partridge'' is a British sitcom written by Steve Coogan, Peter Baynham and Armando Iannucci. Coogan stars as Alan Partridge, a tactless and inept radio DJ and television presenter who has been left by his wife and dropped from the BB ...

Alan Partridge Alan Gordon Partridge is a comedy character portrayed by the English actor Steve Coogan. A parody of British television personalities, Partridge is a tactless and inept broadcaster with an inflated sense of celebrity. Since his debut in 1991, h ...

mimes along to the song on air-bass-guitar. A snippet from the scene also serves as the backdrop to the title menu of the season two DVD.

References

1982 songs Gary Numan songs Beggars Banquet Records singles 1982 singles Songs written by Gary Numan {{1980s-rock-song-stub