Tubeway Army - Down in the Park

Released in March 1979 as the first single from Replicas, ‘Down in the Park’ heralded Tubeway Army’s shift to a starker and more synth-driven sound. Both music and image seem to be highly influenced by Thin White Duke and Berlin-era David Bowie and electronic pioneers Kraftwerk. However, the music contained on this disc is far more sinister and distopian than anything released by either Bowie or Kraftwerk, and whereas pop acts of the early 80s that adopted the synth-pop style can now sound gimmicky and cheesy this melding of new technology and electronic sounds with post-punk guitar riffs has stood the test of time well.

The cover has a fantastic photograph that was later used as the cover of the Replicas LP. Gary Numan, with white hair and skin, stands like a mannequin, dressed in black, in an undecorated room with a bare light bulb hanging down, perfectly capturing the urban alienation that was a central theme of his work for years to come. A panel of the window captures his reflection and juxtaposes it against the moon, giving him an other-worldliness and suggesting the alien invasion themes that pervade Replicas. A bit too literal an interpretation of the song title is the inclusion of a huge neon ‘The Park’ sign, seen through the window. Not everything can be perfect, I suppose.

‘Down in the Park’ exudes a calm, frosty malice and is by turns creepy, menacing and brooding; stark, slick and cool, but also exhibits a wistful and melancholic nostalgia; the sound of looking back with regret and sorrow (most notably heard on the line “I was in a car crash or was it the war? Well I’ve never been quite the same").

Tubeway Army perform 'Down in the Park' on The Old Grey Whistle Test

The back cover is a close up shot of Numan’s eye, with a black bar for a pupil, hinting at themes and characters from the works of Philip K. Dick and further confirming the otherness of Numan’s new image and sound.

B-side ‘Do You Need the Service?’ is far more guitar-centred, but with repeated jabbing synths and an infectious rock drum pattern. Originally a non-album track, it has of course since been included on CD reissues on the album. More urgent and frantic than the A-side; if ‘Down in the Park’ is the menace, then ‘Do You Need the Service?’ is the paranoia.

‘Down in the Park’ failed to chart upon release, but follow-up single ‘Are ‘Friends’ Electric?’ scored a UK no.1 a mere two months later. Whatever you may think of Numan’s later increasingly industrial work, this single is an excellent and influential slice of early British synth-pop.