"This Wreckage" is a song written and performed by
Gary Numan. It was featured as the opening track on his
1980 LP ''
Telekon
''Telekon'' is the second solo studio album by English musician Gary Numan. It debuted at the top of the UK Albums Chart in September 1980, making it his third consecutive (and to date, final) No. 1 album. It was also the third and final studio ...
'' and was the third and final
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
to be released from that album (although the only one to feature on every configuration of ''Telekon'' worldwide).
Described by Numan as a "self-portrait" song, "This Wreckage" foreshadowed his temporary retirement from
touring with lyrics that evoke images of reclusion and hiding ("''Turn out these eyes / Wipe off my face / Erase me''"). It also contains echoes of
atheism ("''And what if God's dead / We must have done something wrong / This dark facade ends / We're independent from someone''"), a belief that Numan would later explore and espouse vocally.
Musically, the song has been described as an illogical choice of a single because of its slow tempo and choppy drumbeat mixed underneath the heavy
rhythm guitar. Numan originally intended to release "Remind Me to Smile," which is uptempo. Compared with many of Numan's other early hits, ''This Wreckage'' stalled 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 ...
s, peaking at #20 in December 1980. The single's
B-side was the moody
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
-based
instrumental
An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...
"Photograph."
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Gary Numan songs
1980 songs
Songs written by Gary Numan
Beggars Banquet Records singles