This is the seven-inch single sleeve for ‘European Man’ (EDM1), Landscape’s first ever vocal track, recorded on the cusp of the 1980s in December 1979 and released in March 1980. The song and its lyrics were a direct response to the burgeoning ‘Blitz’ scene and the way computers were changing work and culture, hinting at a need for UBI (Universal Basic Income).
(See the extract, below, from an interview with Richard and John in Punk & Post-Punk – Volume 14, Issue 1, 2025.)
‘European Man’ is undoubtedly one of the first pop records to be made using a computer-driven backing track – the drums and many of the synthesizer parts were programmed by Richard and John on a Micro-Composer computer, the Roland MC-8, which ‘played’ the then incomplete SDS V electronic drum kit that Richard invented alongside an array of Roland System 100M modular synths.
There are three versions of ‘European Man’ – this 7-inch; the Tea-Rooms album cut (1981); and an extended 12-inch version released in a plain black sleeve.
The record company encouraged us to choose a special catalogue number, EDM 1, and we added a tongue-in-cheek blurb on the back of the 7-inch sleeve: ‘Electronic Dance Music … EDM; computer programmed to perfection for your listening pleasure.’
For the 7-inch cover, designer / artist John Warwicker-Le Breton (later a member of Freur and co-founder of influential art-design collective Tomato) pictured Richard as a Futurist Vitruvian man, wearing a jumpsuit designed and made by designer Anne Docherty’s Smartino Superbo.
It was re-released in a different picture sleeve in autumn 1981, which was when we made a jokey video for the track with writer Richard Curtis.
In addition to the computer ‘strings’ (John) and percussion (Richard), there are plenty of played parts: Andy’s bass guitar, horns, an electric trombone solo (Peter) and mighty grand piano and other keys by Chris. Lead vocals by Richard (with Andy on the ‘European Man’ refrain) and backing vocals by everyone. The track was co-produced by the genial (if slighly bewildered) Colin Thurston (1947-2007) whose track record at the time included engineering for Tony Visconti, Bowie and Eno.
More about ‘European Man’ and the Blitz scene (from the academic journal Punk & Post-Punk, Intellect Books).
John L. Walters We realised that to make some impact – to survive – we had to re-think every aspect of what Landscape did as a band. Material, sound, look, studio practice, mixing, artwork, promotion. Richard’s insights into the Blitz scene (initially via Rusty) gave us a ringside view of the future. Most of the record companies had no idea what was going on.
Richard James Burgess Rusty was a longtime friend of mine – I had given him some drum lessons when I was playing with his parents’ band, and we stayed friends. He came out to see us live and he was using our music at the Blitz. I always say that that whole electronic music scene that emerged out of the Blitz was something that Rusty cobbled together from the various, mostly European (including the UK at that time), artists that were dabbling in synthetic sound production. Electronic music was happening in isolated pockets and in different cities and countries, but he pulled it all together, curated it and turned it into a movement – a phenomenon.
…
When I walked into the Blitz, I realized that a similar kind of energy was building up and I knew I had to be part of it. I was always fascinated by creative movements that break out in big cities like Paris in the forties and New York City in the late fifties and early sixties, London in the sixties, and suddenly I found myself sitting on top of one that we were a part of.
RL: Where did you see yourselves at that time?
JLW: Bill Kimber at RCA actually suggested we put Electronic Dance Music on the cover [of ‘European Man’] and give it the catalogue number EDM1. And Richard coined the term ‘New Romantics’ as a vivid way of explaining what was happening among all these highly creative post-punk (and punk-weary) people who were clubbing at Billy’s and Blitz. It was a ground-up movement; it took the music press quite a while to get it.
RJB: I always felt that it was important to be part of a movement. If you are doing something totally unique, you are an anomaly. You see in the visual arts. Most famous artists fall into a movement and sometimes start or belong to various movements throughout their careers. As much as we strove for extreme originality and fought against conformity, we knew we had to be seen to belong to some kind of movement or genre to survive as a viable entity.
Extract from ‘PUNK JAZZ? An interview with John L. Walters and Richard James Burgess of Landscape’ by Rupert Loydell, Punk & Post-Punk – Volume 14, Issue 1, 2025, published by Intellect Books.