Bela Lugosi's Dead
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Bela Lugosi's Dead is an influential gothic rock song written by the band Bauhaus. The song was the band's first single, released in August 1979. It did not enter the UK pop charts, but remained on sale for many years thereafter. The B-side features the song "Boys" and some versions also include an early recording of what would be their next single, "Dark Entries."
The song is over nine minutes in length and recorded "live in the studio" in a single take. Live recordings are often several minutes longer. David J, the band's bassist, claims on his website to have written the lyrics. By far their most famous work, its minimalist, free-form nature evoked a mixture of The Doors, early Pink Floyd and experimental Krautrock bands such as Can and Neu!.
The title references horror film star Bela Lugosi (1882-1956), who did much to establish the modern vampire image as the title character in the 1931 film Dracula. Lugosi was, in fact, buried in his Dracula cape--an event depicted in the film Ed Wood (though reportedly inaccurately).
The song was featured in the 1983 Tony Scott cult vampire film The Hunger, where it played during the opening credits and introduction. The song also featured as the intro music to the Saturday Night Live skit "Goth Talk", which had Chris Kattan and Molly Shannon as geeky goth students. This song was also in an episode in the fifth season of Smallville, the Halloween-themed "Thirst."
Lyrical Content
The song's lyrics describe Bela Lugosi's funeral in terms that suggest an actual vampire's death:
- The bats have left the bell tower
- The victims have been bled
- Red velvet lines the black box
- Bela Lugosi's dead
The song seems to deliberately blur the line between Lugosi and his most famous creation:
- Alone in a darkened room
- The Count
The song ends with Bauhaus repeating "Bela's undead"--evoking both the supernatural creature Lugosi played and the immortality of the filmic archetype that he created.
Covers
Following are bands who have done covers of Bela Lugosi's Dead: