"No-One Driving" is a 1980 song by UK artist

John Foxx John Foxx (born Dennis Leigh; 26 September 1948) is an English singer, musician, artist, photographer, graphic designer, writer, teacher and lecturer. He was the original lead singer of the new wave band Ultravox, before leaving to embark on a ...

, and was released as a single in March 1980. It was the second single release from the ''

Metamatic ''Metamatic'' is the debut solo album by John Foxx, released in 1980. It was his first solo project following his split with Ultravox the previous year. A departure from the mix of synthesizers and conventional rock instrumentation on that band ...

'' album, after "Underpass". The song is typical of Foxx's musical output of the time, featuring a

Ballardian James Graham Ballard (15 November 193019 April 2009) was an English novelist, short story writer, satirist, and essayist known for provocative works of fiction which explored the relations between human psychology, technology, sex, and mass med ...

dystopian A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...

scenario involving an automobile in the lyrics, with music produced using

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(

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, drum machines,

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) only. The single was released as a limited edition double 7" disc with three accompanying tracks, and as a single 7" both as two track and three track discs with the same catalogue number. The single version is slightly different from the album version in sound mix and lyrics; the line "..''someone's gone liquid in the sheets''.." on the original (album) version is replaced by "..''someone's gone missing in the sheets''..". The record entered 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 ...

at no. 32, remaining at the same position for a further week before dropping down. This was the final single release from ''

''. The single version is featured on the John Foxx compilation albums ''Modern Art - The Best of John Foxx'' (2001) and ''Glimmer - Best of John Foxx'' (2008). The latter also includes an "early version" of "No-One Driving". Live versions of the song are also included on the albums: ''Live From A Room (As Big As A City)'' (2006) and ''A New Kind of Man'' (2008). The song remains a John Foxx

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and one of his best known songs and is performed live to this day, as

John Foxx And The Maths John Foxx and the Maths is a musical project featuring electronic music pioneer John Foxx, Benge and more recently Hannah Peel. The group specialises in the use of analogue synthesizers and drum machines. It was initially a studio based proj ...

Single release track listings

7" single disc (two track version) # "No-One Driving" # "Glimmer" 7" single disc (three track version) # "No-One Driving" # "Glimmer" # "Mr. No" 7" double disc (gatefold sleeve) # "No-One Driving" # "Glimmer" # " This City" # "Mr. No" 7" German release (different sleeve artwork) # "No-One Driving" # "Metal Beat" 7" promo double disc cat. no. VS 338 A5 DJ (gatefold sleeve with sticker) # "No-One Driving" (2.53 edit) # "Glimmer" # " This City" # "Mr. No" " This City" features on the compilation albums "Assembly" and "

Metatronic ''Metatronic'' is a retrospective compilation of recorded audio and visual material by British musician and recording artist John Foxx. It was released in 2010 by Edsel Records to mark the 30th anniversary of Foxx's debut solo album ''Metamatic'' ...

", while "Glimmer" appears on the eponymous compilation album. All three

B-sides The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

were released together for the first time on the 2001 CD re-issue of the

album, and later on the 2007 re-issue.

Promo video

The promo video is slightly shorter than the single version at 2:53, with the second verse and chorus edited out. It features Foxx dressed in the typical grey suit jerkily dancing and miming to the song, accompanied in some scenes by two keyboard players. The video was included on the

DVD although does not feature on John Foxx's official YouTube page. Parts of the video were however used for the 2010 "Underpass" video edit by KARBORN, which is featured.

References

Sources and further reading

Metamatic
- the official John Foxx website (discography section)
No-One Driving at discogs.comMetamatic album at discogs.com
* {{authority control 1980 singles John Foxx songs Synth-pop songs Songs about cars Songs written by John Foxx 1980 songs Virgin Records singles