The Golden Age of Wireless

Untitled

The Golden Age of Wireless is a 1982 album by Synthpop pioneer Thomas Dolby. The album is notable for containing the pop hit "She Blinded Me with Science" in its later resequencings (see below). Following the album's overall theme of radio are the songs "Airwaves", "Commercial Breakup", and "Radio Silence," along with songs about the modern world ("Windpower", "Flying North", "Europa and the Pirate Twins"). At the time of the original US release, the moody and cinematic tone--a major departure for most synthesizer-driven records--prompted Musician magazine's reviewer to declare it "The best damned synth-pop record ever, period."

Release History

The album is notable in that it was released a total of five times. All five releases appeared on vinyl and cassette (though the cassette release for the fifth version is unconfirmed), but only the third and fifth resequencings appeared on CD, with each changing the order of the songs, replacing the album mixes with extended or single mixes and even adding and removing entire songs. In the case of "Radio Silence," a completely different recording with prominent guitars was the version used on the early US incarnations.

The first US version, issued by Capitol-EMI's Harvest imprint, excised the instrumental "The Wreck of the Fairchild" (loosely based on the 1972 Uruguayan plane crash) and added the two sides of Dolby's first single, "Leipzig" and "Urges." Additionally, Capitol swapped the original synthpop version of "Radio Silence" for a much more rock-oriented version that had previously only been available as a single b-side in the UK. Capitol also opted for the single edit of "Airwaves" and abandoned the original UK "comic book" cover in favour of a shot of Dolby on a stage during the production of Bertholt Brecht's "Galileo."

When Dolby released the single "She Blinded Me with Science" backed by "One of Our Submarines" in late 1982—complete with a music video for the a-side—Capitol saw a golden opportunity. They removed "Urges" and "Leipzig," added the extended version of "Science" (also known as the "U.S. Mix") and "Submarines," and changed the album's cover art back to its original "comic book" design. Capitol also swapped the full-length version of "Windpower" for the single version (with an edited intro and outro). The strategy worked, as The Golden Age of Wireless sold better and "She Blinded Me with Science" became a major hit, with constant radio and MTV airplay.

In 1983, the UK followed suit and reissued the album with a similar track listing to the second US version. They opted for the short single version of "Science" but retained the full-length versions of "Airwaves" and "Windpower" and the original synthesizer-driven version of "Radio Silence," just as all three had appeared on the first UK edition. This is the edition that is widely available on CD to this day, on both sides of the Atlantic.

The successive resequencings occurred largely because different territories preferred different mixes of songs to others; for example, the extended mix of "Science" was the version that became a hit in America and thus the American cut of the album was swiftly resequenced to accommodate the tastes of that particular territory.

A remastered "Collector's Edition" of The Golden Age of Wireless was released on 13 July 2009, complete with bonus tracks, personal sleeve notes and a DVD of the Live Wireless music video.

Audio previews

Five tracks from the album can be previewed in their entirety on the The Golden Age of Wireless Last.fm page.

Track listing

1982 First UK Release: Venice in Peril VIP 1001

All tracks are written by Thomas Dolby, except where noted

Side A

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Flying North"	3:50
2.	"Commercial Breakup" (Thomas Dolby, Tim Kerr)	4:15
3.	"Weightless"	3:45
4.	"Europa and the Pirate Twins"	3:18
5.	"Windpower"	4:20

Side B

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Wreck of The Fairchild"	3:30
2.	"Airwaves"	5:12
3.	"Radio Silence"	3:43
4.	"Cloudburst at Shingle Street"	5:45

* The original UK track listing is the only place one can hear the progression of "The Wreck of the Fairchild" into "Airwaves." "Fairchild" concludes with the sound of various electronics, including a wave computer, which segues into the intro of "Airwaves" with no break. One can still hear the remnants of this transition at the beginning of the full-length version of "Airwaves."

1982 First US Release: Harvest ST-12203

Side A

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Europa and the Pirate Twins"	3:18
2.	"Flying North"	3:50
3.	"Weightless"	3:45
4.	"Leipzig"	3:52
5.	"Windpower"	4:20

Side B

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Commercial Breakup" (Thomas Dolby, Tim Kerr)	4:15
2.	"Urges"	3:39
3.	"Airwaves (Single Edit)"	3:35
4.	"Radio Silence (Guitar Version)"	4:32
5.	"Cloudburst at Shingle Street"	5:45

1982 First US Release: Harvest ST-12203

Side A

No.	Title	Length
1.	"She Blinded Me with Science (Extended Version)" (Thomas Dolby, Tim Kerr)	5:09
2.	"Radio Silence (Guitar Version)"	4:32
3.	"Airwaves (Single Edit)"	3:35
4.	"Flying North"	3:50
5.	"Weightless"	3:45

Side B

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Europa and the Pirate Twins" (Dolby, Kerr)	3:18
2.	"Windpower (Single Edit)"	3:56
3.	"Commercial Breakup" (Dolby, Kerr)	4:15
4.	"One of Our Submarine"	5:11
5.	"Cloudburst at Shingle Street"	5:45

* A third US version restores the original electronic version of "Radio Silence".

1983 Second UK Release: Venice In Peril/EMI VIP 107 607-1

Side A

1. "She Blinded Me with Science" (Thomas Dolby/Tim Kerr) - 3:42
2. "Radio Silence" - 3:43
3. "Airwaves" - 5:12
4. "Flying North" - 3:50
5. "Weightless" - 3:45

Side B

1. "Europa and the Pirate Twins" - 3:18
2. "Windpower" - 4:20
3. "Commercial Breakup" (Thomas Dolby/Tim Kerr) - 4:15
4. "One of Our Submarines" - 5:11
5. "Cloudburst at Shingle Street" - 5:45

1983 UK CD release: EMI CDP 7 46009 2

1. "She Blinded Me with Science" (Thomas Dolby/Tim Kerr) - 3:42
2. "Radio Silence" - 3:43
3. "Airwaves" - 5:12
4. "Flying North" - 3:50
5. "Weightless" - 3:45
6. "Europa and the Pirate Twins" - 3:18
7. "Windpower" - 4:20
8. "Commercial Breakup" (Thomas Dolby/Tim Kerr) - 4:15
9. "One of Our Submarines" - 5:11
10. "Cloudburst at Shingle Street" - 5:45

1983 US CD release: Capitol CDP 7 46009 2

1. "She Blinded Me with Science (Extended Version)" (Thomas Dolby/Tim Kerr) - 5:09
2. "Radio Silence" - 3:43
3. "Airwaves (Single Edit)" - 3:35
4. "Flying North" - 3:50
5. "Weightless" - 3:45
6. "Europa and the Pirate Twins" - 3:18
7. "Windpower (Single Edit)" - 3:56
8. "Commercial Breakup" (Thomas Dolby/Tim Kerr) - 4:15
9. "One of Our Submarines" - 5:11
10. "Cloudburst at Shingle Street" - 5:45

* The original 1983 compact disc exists in two distinct forms, although both carry the same serial number of CDP 7 46009 2. One form is therefore believed to be an accidental mispressing.

2009 Remastered Collector's Edition CD: EMI 50999 2 67915 2 4

1. "Flying North" - 3:50
2. "Commercial Breakup" (Thomas Dolby/Tim Kerr) - 4:18
3. "Weightless" - 3:49
4. "Europa and the Pirate Twins" - 3:19
5. "Windpower" - 4:20
6. "The Wreck of the Fairchild" - 3:29
7. "Airwaves" - 5:19
8. "Radio Silence" - 3:51
9. "Cloudburst at Shingle Street" - 5:46
10. "One of Our Submarines" - 5:11 ⁽¹⁾
11. "She Blinded Me With Science" (Dolby/Kerr) - 3:42 ⁽¹⁾
12. "Radio Silence" (Guitar Version) - 4:52 ⁽¹⁾
13. "Urges" - 3:39 ⁽¹⁾
14. "Leipzig" - 3:53 ⁽¹⁾
15. "Urban Tribal" - 3:45 ⁽¹⁾
16. "Therapy/Growth" (Demo) - 4:05 ⁽¹⁾
17. "Airwaves" (Demo) - 5:20 ⁽¹⁾
18. "Sale of the Century (Demo)" [original version of "The Wreck of the Fairchild" with lyrics] - 2:52 ⁽¹⁾
19. "Pedestrian Walkway" (Demo) - 1:27 ⁽¹⁾

⁽¹⁾ Bonus tracks

1. "Flying North (Demo)" - 4:45 ⁽²⁾
2. "Commercial Breakup (Live)" (Dolby/Kerr) - 4:29 ⁽²⁾
3. "Urges (Live)" - 4:22 ⁽²⁾
4. "Pedestrian Walkway (Fallout Club Version)" - 3:11 ⁽²⁾

⁽²⁾ Bonus audio downloads available at www.thomasdolby.com

2009 Remastered DVD: Live Wireless

1. "Europa and the Pirate Twins" - 3:38
2. "Windpower" - 4:04
3. "One of Our Submarines" - 5:12
4. "Radio Silence" - 4:31
5. "New Toy" (featuring Lene Lovich) - 4:08
6. "Urban Tribal" - 3:43
7. "Flying North" - 5:32
8. "The Jungle Line" (Joni Mitchell) - 6:56
9. "Puppet Theatre" - 4:13
10. "Samson and Delilah" (featuring Kevin Armstrong) (Kevin Armstrong) - 4:20
11. "She Blinded Me With Science" (Dolby/Kerr) - 3:46
12. "Airwaves" - 6:07

* Recorded at the Riverside Theatre Studios, London. Originally released on home video on November 9th, 1983 by Picture Music International (TVE 901572).

Personnel

• Thomas Dolby - vocals, drum programs, wave computer, backing vocals, synthesizer, piano, monk voice, kalimba
• James Allen - backing vocals
• Kevin Armstrong - guitar, backing vocals
• Dave Birch - guitar, monk voice
• Bosco - percussion
• Les Chappel - backing vocals
• Judy Evans - backing vocals
• Lesley Fairbairn - backing vocals
• Mark Heyward-Chaplin - bass guitar
• Justin Hildreth - drums
• Simon House - violin
• Tim Kerr - violin
• Mutt Lange - backing vocals
• Simon Lloyd - leadline brass, flute
• Lene Lovich - backing vocals
• John Marsh - shipping forecast
• Daniel Miller - synthesizer
• Guido Orlando - Chilean translations, distress, grace
• Andy Partridge - harmonica, percussion
• Dr. Magnus Pyke - voiceover
• Matthew Seligman - Moog bass
• Miriam Stockley - backing vocals
• Bruce Woolley - backing vocals, monk voice
• Akiko Yano - Backing vocals

External links

Audio previews from The Golden Age of Wireless

• 2. "Radio Silence"
• 3. "Airwaves"
• 5. "Weightless"
• 8. "Commercial Breakup"
• 10. "Cloudburst at Shingle Street"