''Primitive Man'', the second studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

by Australian rock band Icehouse, was released on September 20th, 1982. In January 1982, Icehouse founder

Iva Davies Ivor Arthur Davies, AM (born 22 May 1955), known professionally as Iva Davies, is an Australian singer, songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. Davies' music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in t ...

started recording ''Primitive Man'' essentially as a solo project. It was co-produced with

Keith Forsey Keith Forsey (born 2 January 1948) is an English pop musician and record producer. Early life Forsey began his career as a percussionist in the mid-late 1960s as the drummer for The SpectrumCaptain Scarlet and the Mysterons - The Vault - Chris ...

, who later worked with Simple Minds and

Billy Idol William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is a British-American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer o ...

. Forsey supplied additional

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

; Davies supplied vocals,

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

( Sequential Circuits Prophet-5),

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

and programmed the Linn drum machine. Released as an Icehouse album, ''Primitive Man'' reached number 3 on the National album charts and provided their international breakthrough single, " Hey Little Girl", which peaked at number 7 in Australia, number 2 in Switzerland, number 5 in Germany, the top 20 in UK, Sweden and Netherlands, and number 31 on the US ''Billboard'' Mainstream Rock chart. Another single "

Great Southern Land "Great Southern Land" is a song by Australian rock band Icehouse. It was released on 9 August 1982 as the lead single from their second studio album '' Primitive Man''. It peaked at No. 5 on the Australian Singles Chart, it was later featured ...

" made the Australian top 5; it was later featured in the 1988

Yahoo Serious Yahoo Serious (born Greg Gomez Pead; 27 July 1953) is an Australian film actor, director, and score composer. His films include the comedy films ''Young Einstein'' (1988), '' Reckless Kelly'' (1993), and '' Mr. Accident'' (2000). Serious writes ...

film ''

Young Einstein ''Young Einstein'' is a 1988 Australian comedy film written, produced, directed by and starring Yahoo Serious. It is a fantasized account of the life of Albert Einstein which alters all people, places and circumstances of his life, including r ...

'', and remains their most popular song according to listeners of

Triple M Triple M is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 40 radio stations broadcasting a mainstream rock music format and 5 digital radio stations. The network dates back to ...

in 2007. To promote ''Primitive Man'' on tour, Davies re-assembled Icehouse with Michael Hoste (keyboards) and John Lloyd (drums), and new members: Bob Kretschmer (guitar, backing vocals), Guy Pratt (bass guitar, backing vocals) and

Andy Qunta Anderson Amos Temba "Andy" Qunta (born 9 January 1951) is an English singer, songwriter, composer and musician. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Qunta is best known as the keyboardist of the Australian rock band Icehouse from between 19 ...

(keyboards, backing vocals). After the United Kingdom top 20 chart success of " Hey Little Girl" the album was re-released as ''Love in Motion'' in 1983 and contained the same tracks in different order except "Break These Chains" being replaced by "Love in Motion"; the alternate cover work was a still from the

Russell Mulcahy Russell Mulcahy ( ; born 23 June 1953) is an Australian film director. Mulcahy's work is recognisable by the use of fast cuts, tracking shots and use of glowing lights, neo-noir lighting, windblown drapery, and fans. He directed music videos ...

directed video for "Hey Little Girl" (see infobox below right). In 1996, Icehouse released a compilation album called '' Love in Motion'' on dIVA / Massive Records, which contains "Love in Motion" but does not have any material from the original Australian release of ''Primitive Man''. ''Primitive Man'' represented a slight departure from earlier material and a move from the more rock-based style of their first album to the synth-based, more atmospheric albums such as '' Sidewalk'' and '' Measure for Measure''. This style is exemplified in "Hey Little Girl", a very relaxed, introspective song which reflects the overall tone of the album punctuated by the heavier "Glam" and the more dance-based "Mysterious Thing". The final track "Goodnight Mr. Matthews" was

by his own account directly referencing

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

's songwriting and singing style for the first and only time. The "Street Café" music video clip was filmed in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, in a four-day visit into which was packed a lifetime’s worth of difficult, unpleasant, and even hazardous living experiences for performers and film crew alike. Iva Davies flew out of Tunisia still covered with dust and camel dung, clad in the boots, breeches, and bandolier used in the filming, and vowing never to return to that part of the world again.

Track listing

All songs written by Iva Davies.

1982 Australian release

1983 US / UK release

Personnel

Credited to: Icehouse members *

– vocals,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

, Sequential Circuits Prophet-5,

, Linn drum machine,

Fairlight CMI The Fairlight CMI (short for Computer Musical Instrument) is a digital synthesizer, sampler, and digital audio workstation introduced in 1979 by Fairlight. — with links to some Fairlight history and photos It was based on a commercial lic ...

*Michael Hoste – keyboards (bonus tracks) *Bob Kretschmer – guitar (bonus tracks) *John Lloyd – drums (bonus tracks) * Guy Pratt – bass guitar (bonus tracks) Additional musicians *

– additional

Abraham Laboriel Abraham Laboriel López Sr. (born July 17, 1947) is a Mexican-American bassist who has played on over 4,000 recordings and soundtracks. ''Guitar Player'' magazine called him "the most widely used session bassist of our time". Laboriel is the f ...

– bass guitar (bonus tracks) *James SK Wān – bamboo flute Recording details *Mixing –

Cameron Allan Cameron Beck Allan (July 9, 1955 – June 25, 2013) was an Australian-born American-based composer, record producer, filmmaker and former label owner. In September 1978 he co-founded the record label Regular Records with fellow filmmaker Martin ...

Bob Clearmountain Bob Clearmountain (born January 15, 1953) is an American recording engineer, mixer and record producer. He has worked with many major acts, including Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Toto (band), Toto, Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams, with whom he ...

, Iva Davies, Keith Forsey *Engineer – Dave Jerden, Brian Reeves, David Price, Rick Butz *Produced – Iva Davies,

*Digital remastering (2002) – Iva Davies, Ryan Scott Art work *Front Cover – Bill Tom *Sleeve & Back Cover Photography – Craig Dietz *Cover Concept – Janet Levinson, Iva Davies *Cover design (''Love in Motion'') – David Storey

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Primitive Man (Album) 1982 albums Icehouse (band) albums Albums produced by Keith Forsey Chrysalis Records albums