"Warm Leatherette" is a song by Daniel Miller's project

the Normal The Normal is the recording artist name used by English music producer Daniel Miller, a film editor at the time, who is best known as the founder of the record label Mute Records. Background In 1977, Miller had split up with his girlfriend. A ...

, released in 1978.

The Normal original

Overview

The lyrics of "Warm Leatherette" reference

J. G. Ballard 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 medi ...

's controversial 1973 novel ''

Crash Crash or CRASH may refer to: Common meanings * Collision, an impact between two or more objects * Crash (computing), a condition where a program ceases to respond * Cardiac arrest, a medical condition in which the heart stops beating * Couch su ...

'', which had heavily influenced Daniel Miller. Together with his college friend he had worked on a film script based on the book, but after the project was abandoned Miller decided to "write a song encapsulating he scriptin 2 and a half minutes". The song was recorded in Miller's apartment using two

Revox ReVox (on-logo styling REVOX) is a brand name, registered by Studer on 27 March 1951 for Swiss audio equipment. History The first Studer-designed tape recorders were branded Dynavox. After the first production series of Dynavox recorders, a new m ...

B-77 tape machines. A series of

sawtooth wave The sawtooth wave (or saw wave) is a kind of non-sinusoidal waveform. It is so named based on its resemblance to the teeth of a plain-toothed saw with a zero rake angle. A single sawtooth, or an intermittently triggered sawtooth, is called a ...

s were recorded on a

Korg , founded as Keio Electronic Laboratories, is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instruments, audio processors and guitar pedals, recording equipment, and electronic tuners. Under the Vox brand name, they ...

700S synthesizer. Miller took the record to a few independent music shops, including Rough Trade in London, where it would be played to customers. "Warm Leatherette" was released as the B-side to "T.V.O.D.", the only single by Miller's musical project

, and the very first release on his

Mute Records Mute Records is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Einstürzende Neubauten, Fad Gadget, Goldfrapp, Grinderm ...

label. However, since it was "Warm Leatherette" that gained more public attention, it was featured as the lead song on subsequent single re-releases. Although Miller did not expect the single to be successful, it sold 30,000 copies. The single was an early example of

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

and

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

music, emerging on a wave of numerous electronic pop experiments of the late 1970s in the UK. It has since been described as having "revolutionised electronic music with its punk aesthetic, stark sound and dark subject matter" and has been covered by numerous artists. The song is featured in the 2020 American horror film '' Antebellum.''

Track listing

*7-inch single :A. "T.V.O.D." – 2:51 :B. "Warm Leatherette" – 3:20 *CD single :A. "Warm Leatherette" – 3:24 :B. "T.V.O.D." – 2:52

Grace Jones version

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for ...

recorded "Warm Leatherette" for her 1980 album of the same name. The song was released as a promotional 12-inch single. In 1981, it served as the opening song of her

A One Man Show ''A One Man Show'' is a long-form music video collection featuring Jamaican singer Grace Jones, released in 1982. The video mainly consists of music videos, with some concert footage filmed when Jones was touring with the eponymous tour. Backgrou ...

tour.

Track listing

*12-inch single :A1. "Warm Leatherette" – 4:25 :A2. " Love Is the Drug" – 7:15 :B1. "

The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game" is a 1966 song written by Smokey Robinson. It was a hit single in 1967 for the American girl group The Marvelettes for the Motown label, from their self-titled album released that same year. In 1980, Jamaican ...

" – 3:50 :B2. "Bullshit" – 5:20

Chart performance

References

{{Authority control 1978 debut singles 1980 singles Song recordings produced by Daniel Miller Grace Jones songs Industrial songs Vehicle wreck ballads 1978 songs Mute Records singles Island Records singles