Primitive Man (album)

Primitive Man
1982 Australian release (Regular Records)
Studio album by
Icehouse
Released20 September 1982 (1982-09-20)
RecordedMay 1982
StudioParadise Studios, Sydney; Westlake Audio, Eldorado and Musicland West Studios, Los Angeles
GenreSynth-pop
Length42:45
LabelChrysalis
Producer
Icehouse chronology
Icehouse
(1980) 		Primitive Man
(1982) 		Fresco EP
(1983)
Singles from Primitive Man
  1. "Great Southern Land"
    Released: August 1982
  2. "Hey Little Girl"
    Released: November 1982
  3. "Street Café"
    Released: March 1983
  4. "Uniform"
    Released: 1983 (US/European release only)
Love in Motion
1983 UK release (Chrysalis Records)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Rolling Stone[2]

Primitive Man, the second studio album by Australian rock band Icehouse, was released on 20 September 1982. In January 1982, Icehouse founder Iva Davies started recording Primitive Man essentially as a solo project.[3] It was co-produced with Keith Forsey,[4] who later worked with Simple Minds and Billy Idol. Forsey supplied additional percussion; Davies supplied vocals, lead guitar, keyboards (Sequential Circuits Prophet-5), bass guitar and programmed the Linn drum machine.[5] Released as an Icehouse album, Primitive Man reached number 3 on the National album charts[6] and provided their international breakthrough single, "Hey Little Girl", which peaked at number 7 in Australia,[6] number 2 in Switzerland,[7] number 5 in Germany,[8] the top 20 in UK,[9] Sweden and Netherlands,[3] and number 31 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.[10] Another single "Great Southern Land" made the Australian top 5;[6] it was later featured in the 1988 Yahoo Serious film Young Einstein,[11] and remains their most popular song according to listeners of Triple M in 2007.[12] 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 (keyboards, backing vocals).[4]

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 directed video for "Hey Little Girl" (see infobox below right).[13][14] 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 Iva Davies by his own account directly referencing John Lennon's songwriting and singing style for the first and only time.[15]

The "Street Café" music video clip was filmed in Tunisia, 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.[16]

  1. ^ Primitive Man at AllMusic
  2. ^ [1] Archived 7 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ a b McFarlane, Ian (1999). Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop (doc). Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86448-768-2. Retrieved 11 June 2008.
  4. ^ a b Holmgren, Magnus. "The Flowers / Icehouse". Australian Rock Database. Passagen.se (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 29 September 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  5. ^ "Masterfile". Discogs. Retrieved 24 June 2008.
  6. ^ a b c Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  7. ^ "Search results for:Icehouse". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 20 June 2008.
  8. ^ "Search results for:Icehouse". musicline.de. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 22 June 2008.
  9. ^ "Icehouse on UK charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 June 2008.
  10. ^ "Billboard singles charts". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 June 2008.
  11. ^ "Young Einstein soundtrack listing". Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Retrieved 12 June 2008.
  12. ^ "Triple M's Essential 2007 Countdown". Triple M. Archived from the original on 22 November 2008. Retrieved 12 June 2008.
  13. ^ Grech, Jason (23 July 2004). "An interview with Iva Davies". Countdown Memories. Archived from the original on 8 November 2007. Retrieved 16 June 2008.
  14. ^ Alex S. Garcia, ed. (2008). "Icehouse artist videography". mvdbase.com. Retrieved 19 June 2008.
  15. ^ "Re: Iva's response – FROM INSIDE THE MIND OF MR MATTHEWS". Archived from the original on 29 January 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
  16. ^ "THE ICEHOUSE STORY - Icehouse On Video". www.spellbound-icehouse.org. Archived from the original on 1 October 2006.