Machines : Lothar & the Hand People

First... I'd like to apologise for my prolonged absence from 101 Songs About Robots. I got focused on work and enjoyed doing as little as possible when not at work, then I found myself unemployed and a dark grey shroud of glumness enveloped me. I had so much planned for my robot songs blog in 2015 and now it's November, there's not much of it left! I promised you a Jonathan Coulton-athon which is yet to materialise, but whilst you're thinking 'who the flip is Jonathan Coulton?', here's a lovely little gem I heard on Stuart Maconie's Freak Zone last night.

Lothar & the Hand People were a psychedelic space rock group that hailed from Denver, Colorado and were active from 1965 until 1970. Machines is a robotic cover of a song originally released by the British beat-popsters Manfred Mann in 1966 and penned by one Mort Shuman. Yes, the very same Mort Shuman who also co-wrote Elvis' Viva Las Vegas, The Hollies' Here I Go Again, The Drifters' Sweets for my Sweet and the slightly creepy Little Children by Billy J Kramer.

This version of Machines featured on Lothar & the Hand People's 1968 début LP titled 'Presenting... Lothar & the Hand People' and was released as a 7" single in 1969. Of the three versions I've heard today, I think this one is my favourite.



Saying that, I really quite like the clockwork clankiness of Manfred Mann's 1966 original...



...and then in 1980, Shuman released his own version complete with robo-voice, a fat funky bass line and a good slice of 80s over-production that makes it sound like a hundred other songs from the era that we love and hate in equal measure. It does have a nice picture of Mort on the cover though.

Sleigh Ride : C3PO & R2D2

It's Christmas day and what better way to celebrate than inviting friends and family round, exchange gifts, share stories, drink until you're sleepy, eat until you fart and maybe shed a solitary tear as you recall just how much more fun Christmas day was when you were younger. Well don't despair you miserable sodbots because today you've got six robot songs to unwrap!

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away, some feckwit decided to let R2D2 and C3PO record a Christmas album. Did they even have Christmas a long time ago in a galaxy far far away??? I think not, but the idea of a Star Wars Christmas album may well be considered one of George Lucas's many clangers, along with Ewoks (sorry girls), The f*cking Phantom Menace and the rest of the fecking prequels can sith off too!!  In many ways this robot song is a clanger, but it also has a certain charm too... and it is better than The Phantom f*cking Menace.

Merry Merry Christmas : C3PO & R2D2

Putting the robotic bleeps and beats behind us, I'll end the 101 Songs About Robots Xmas Special with another gem from the Star Wars Christmas album.


Have a great Christmas everyone! And remember, when robots rule the world, Christmas will be a thing of the past, so enjoy it whilst you can. I'll be back in the new year with even more robot songs for your listening pleasure. A big thank you goes out to all those who've suggested robot songs, and please, keep your robot song suggestions coming!!

Ballarobot : David Zed

Born in the USA but seemingly spending much of his working life in Italy, David Traylor's day job is in film & television as an actor, comedian and voice-over artist... and of course a robot known as Mr Zed. But it's his musical output I'm interested in. This will be David Zed's third and final feature on 101 Songs About Robots... unless of course he releases another robot song. From 1983 is Ballarobot, which is a re-recorded version of his 1980 single Balla Robot.



Here's the original (which is from 1980 and not '81 as stated in the video's title)...

Synthetic Man : Rockets

Bonjour et bienvenue à une centaine et un chansons sur les robots!

Today's robot song is from the French space rockers, Rockets. Formed in 1974, the band remained active until 1986, but according to Wikipedia, they've been back together since the distant future (the year 2000). This track is taken from their 1980 LP titled 'Galaxy', and the performance is also taken from the same year. Thankfully for me, they've chosen to sing in English as opposed to their native Foreign, so without further ado... it's Rockets with Synthetic Man.

Metal Gods : Judas Priest

This'll be Judas Priest's second feature on 101 Songs About Robots... but this time it's proper 'Priest' with Rob 'bike shop' Halford on lead vocals. Taken from their iconic 1980 LP, 'British Steel' is Metal Gods: a dystopic nightmare scenario in which man's technological advances evolve into conscious beings, intent on enslaving and/or destroying mankind. You'd think the robots we create would show us a bit of gratitude... but a song about robots being humble and helpful and living harmoniously with their human creators isn't really the stuff of heavy metal. No... it's the music of death, destruction and terror, and that what we've got right here.

Metal Mickey : ITV Theme

Metal Mickey was a hugely successful British sitcom that originally aired between 1980 and 1983. However the show's success wasn't down to it being particularly funny or groundbreaking, in fact it was absolute cobblers!!!  No, the success of Metal Mickey was entirely down to there being bugger all on the other side. Produced and directed my ex-Monkee Micky Dolenz, the Metal Mickey TV show launched the career of no one... but none of that matters because here on 101 Songs About Robots, it's all about the music!

*the sound quality's a bit low on this video so you might want to turn it up a tad, or turn it down a lot ;)



I've no idea who the writing credits should go to, nor do I know who provided their vocal talents... I'd be surprised if anyone involved with the show even puts it on their CV!

R.O.B.O.T. : David Zed

This is David Zed's second feature on 101 Songs About Robots, and coincidentally his second single, released in 1980, it's R.O.B.O.T.

[note] None of the YouTube videos for R.O.B.O.T. have decent audio, so you might want to whack the volume up a tad.


Since Mr Zed was a bit of a one trick pony, his next two singles, Balla Robot (1980) and Ballarobot (1983) will be posted in due course... [click here] for David Zed's first single, I Am A Robot.

I Love You (Miss Robot) : Buggles

First off, I just want to pull up Wikipedia for it's repeated inaccuracy regarding the name of this band...
it's Buggles, not The Buggles, just Buggles.  If you don't believe me, here's the covers to their singles:

Now we've got that little bugbear cleared up, on with today's post. Buggles formed in 1977 and are probably best known for their 1979 début single Video Killed The Radio Star which, for those of you who didn't know, was the UK's 444th number one single (according to Wikipedia, who can't even get the band's name correct!). But enough about Video..., because that song ain't about robots, and according to Geoff Downes, neither is I Love You (Miss Robot). In a Smash Hits interview, Downes reportedly stated that the song is really about being on the road and making love to someone you don't really like, while all the time you're wanting to phone someone who's a long way off.  Maybe he was getting I Love You (Miss Robot) mixed up with one of the whimsical dirges he was saving for Asia, but we'll never know. Anyhoo, in spite of Downes denying the obvious robotic theme, here it is, from the 1980 LP 'The Age of Plastic', I Love You (Miss Robot) by Buggles... not The Buggles, just Buggles.





Stay tuned for even more songs about robots from top pop acts including The Kraftwerk, The Royksopp, The Goldie Lookin' Chain, The Modern Talking and the many more...

...and don't forget to cast your vote!

I Am A Robot : David Zed

Full time mime artist, part time pop star Davis Zed was something of a one trick pony. Possibly inspired by Carl Douglas' fruitful career performing kung-fu themed songs, David Zed's first single I am a Robot was released in 1980. This was closely followed by his second single, R.O.B.O.T. and his third, Balla Robot, both also released in 1980. One could argue that he over did it a tad, but it was 1980 and being the year the future began, robots were common place. David's fourth single came in 1983, titled Ballarobot is not to be confused with 1980's Balla Robot, which is two words, not one, and therefore is obviously a completely different song... OK, it is the same song... but this was clearly re-recorded after he'd read the instruction manuals for his synthesisers and vocoder (a task which seemingly took three years). I've no idea why I'm waffling on about Balla Robot because today we're going to listen to David Zed's first single, I am a Robot.



Thankfully yesterday's traumatic panic over my hard drive has resolved itself. Typical machine.. after hours of stress trying to suss out what was wrong, it just decided to start working again and won't even give me the credit for fixing it.

And just in case you're wondering...
David Zed's other robot songs will be posted here on 101 Songs About Robots before too long.

The Robots Dance : Classix Nouveaux

How come music from the 80s sounds much more futuristic than modern pop music? Well I guess the simple answer is that the 80s are the future (not 'were'). We may look back and baulk at some of the clothes and hairstyles... and don't forget those shoulder pads!  Fact is, we just weren't ready for the future of fashion in which gender trends collided in resplendent glory. Boys wearing lipstick and blusher should have been a marketing dream for the cosmetics companies, but sadly, the 80 were too far ahead of the times, and still are. What's all that got to do with robots? Not much... but this piece of throbbing gristle from Classix Nouveaux has everything to do with robots... wah ha hah hahahaah!



This live recording is by far the best sounding version of Classix Nouveaux's first single I can find.

Eighth Day : Hazel O'Connor

I loved this song when I was a kid, but didn't really pick up on its robotic connection until a couple of weeks ago. Taken from the film Breaking Glass and released in 1980 (the year the future began), the song Eighth Day presents another of those dystopic scenarios in which man makes machine then machine breaks man. However the film itself is not about robots. It's about a pop stars sudden rise to fame and her inability to cope with it. It'll seem quite dated these days I guess but worth a re-watch one day. Anyway, enough about the film and on with the song...