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Good Technologyby Stuart Ross
We've got photographs of men on the moon,
We've got trains that run underground,
We've got animals with transistors in, (guitar solo) Sometimes I wonder what it is all about?
![]() Good Technology quotes... Via one delicious melody and an ominously building beat, Red Guitars itemise the sundry achievements of modern science, from underarm personal hygiene to the hardware of instant Armageddon. In so doing, the song constructs an unforgettable vision of a world that's grown too clever by one-and-a-half at least. Paul Du Noyer, NME, 27/08/83 Good Technology is one of those tracks that grabs you by the ears on first listen, the sort of thing that even before it's halfway through you know you love. Tense pulsing background with sharp spikes of guitar, it's clearly not long after early Talking Heads and New Romantics. It swells and spreads, expansive and awkward, but the thing that sets it apart and makes it worthy of remembering 20 years on is the arresting lyric. Dust On The Stylus blog I'd played the song in a couple of other bands with Jerry and I knew it was good but I went away for 6 months and when I got back Jerry had met Hal and formed The Czechs. When I heard what they were doing I really knew I had to wheedle my way into the band. JR I think the guitar solo was just about the first take we did and I thought it was crap, but everyone else was going "no, keep it, keep it!" so we did. I guess it sounds OK in retrospect. Hal I remember going round to Stuart's place and he played it to me on his acoustic for the first time. It sounded unique then and I think it still does. How many times did we try to record it? At least four. A song in search of its tempo. I love it when Lou's bass starts to walk at the end. Eve of Destruction! This bloke called Tim who was an ex-telephone engineer figured out the number for the direct line into John Peel's studio at the BBC. I bottled out but various people phoned big John and plugged Good Tech. I must say he took it in a very relaxed and Peel-like manner. They changed the number shortly afterwards. Jeremy Great memories as it was our first single and the one people tend to remember. I always wanted the snare to be "massive" but John, Hal and Jerry realised it had become a monster and went back and re-mixed it! Matt We lost a few good lines in search of the 3-minute pop song. I missed "we got chemicals make you believe in God, we got politics that are very odd". Lou ![]() |
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Good Technology
was recorded at Fairview Studios, Willerby between the 18th and 28th of April 1983 and re-mixed on the 8th of May. The recording was engineered by Roy Neave and produced by Roy Neave and the Red Guitars.
It was issued as a 7" single on the 24th of June 1983 with Heartbeat Go! (Love Dub) on the b-side. This was the first release on Self Drive Records and had the catalogue number SD006. The same track was re-released in 7" and 12" formats in April 1984. The 7" (SD009) backed with Paris France, the 12" (SD008T) having an extended mix of Paris France and Fact on the b-side. This was the third attempt to capture the song on tape. The Czechs recorded it at Ken Giles' studio in Bridlington, as did a one-off ensemble including Stuart Ross at a studio on Mayfield Street in Hull in November 1981. The song was voted number eleven in John Peel's Festive Fifty, Christmas 1983. |