Released October 1986

NU 20

7 inch vinyl 45 r.p.m.

NUM 20

12 inch vinyl 45 r.p.m.

Numan Music, 1986

CLICK THE HIGHLIGHTED SONGS TO HEAR A SAMPLE

A

(I've Got) Stereo Headphones [Extended Mix] (5:42)

B

Give Me Your Love (5:24)

all tracks written by Lee Munro and Phil Free

Arranged and Produced by Phil Free

Lee Munro, Vocals

Engineered by Andy ("Oh no, not again") Reilly

Cover Design by Phil Free, and Nickel

Thanks for the night shifts to Ttony Rockitt, Paul Kevill and Karen Taylor

Recorded at Rock City Studios, Shepperton, Middlesex, England

Marketed and Distributed by Precision Records & Tapes Ltd.

LAST UPDATED 10 November 2008

Gary Numan had little if anything to do with this final non-

Numan offering on the Numa label (available in edited form on

a 7 inch single). Lee Munro (a.k.a. Mike Machonochie), was a

colleague of Tony Webb (Gary Numan's father) that, at one

time, represented Numanair as a competitive Formula race car

driver. Munro collaborated with DJ and producer Phil Free

(a.k.a. Phil Clancey)--ex-member of the Australian one-hit-

wonder Ritizi, and famed guitarist for the anarcho-pacifist

punk band, Crass, originating in Epping, Essex in 1977--to make

this difficult-to-classify pop single containing the longest lyrics

of any Numa single. The main track, "(I've Got) Stereo

Headphones," is a cynical, sometimes comical song about a

generation of disenfranchised young people wearing stereo

headphones in public, abrogating their responsibility to

interact with the world. At times, Munro's lyrics are amusing

and his criticisms aptly stated. Phil Free's contributions

producer, arranger and musician are beyond reproach (though

some might quarrel that the tracks are slightly overproduced),

and, as a veteran of the business, his playing skills and

arrangements are spot on. However, as the pioneering punk

pacificist of Crass, Free's influence on the lyrics of this two-

song single is wholly unmistakable.

As subversively fun as the lyrics are, they are also one of the

factors that holding back the song from being fully effective

for a 1986 audience. The song seems at least three years out

of date for the phenomenon of stereo headphones and Sony Walkmans that began in 1982. Add

to this Lee Munro's vocal style, which is more in line with the Punk-New Wave crossover bands

like The Ramones and The Romantics trying to effect that back-talking adolescent

attitude, and the song seems difficult to market to its intended generation who

was already a step or two ahead of its lyrical message and musical style. It seems

inevitable, then, that the proper niche for "Stereo Headphones" lay within the

novelty song market.

"Give Me Your Love" on the B-side retains the same pop music sound that was

already several years out of date by 1986, though its lyrics are much more earnest

at times in voicing the human quandary about existential quests for reason and

solace: "If I could find the time and a better route to heaven / I wouldn't feel the

need to follow any plans." Though the sleeve does not directly credit Karen

Taylor, she is thanked somewhat ambiguously for her contribution of pop backing

vocals, which are characteristically in good form and (thanks to Andy Reilly's

engineering) given a complex self-harmonizing splendor. For an eye-opening

demonstration of Taylor's talent and range of vocal abilities, compare "Give Me

Your Love" with John Webb's "The Experiment," which was recorded at

approximately the same time as this single. Unfortunately, in an effort to effect

that same bratty attitude discussed earlier, Munro sings about profound concerns

with such glibness that the depth of the lyrics is all

but lost, until they culminate in a fatal clichèd

reference to "floating on my way to the asylum." What clearer toe

tag of a Dr. Dimento ditty does one need?

Compounding the problem is its insistence on a chorus of clichès

about randy urges that hardly seem worthy of the pursuit of true

spiritual fulfillment: "Give me your love. / You got the fire. / Give

me your lovin' / and then quench my desire." Although this single

tries to lay a template of pop sound onto the well-meaning Marxism

of the former punk era, it just does not cut muster. Perhaps, if it

had been released at the start of the Numa label, rather than at the

end, it might have done better. It certainly would have been

sympatico with the pop sound and vocal style of Larry Loeber on the

NUM 2 release of "Shivers Up My Spine." As it stands, though, both

songs on Lee Munro's single play like a salacious attempt to appear

"down with the young folks," representing a somewhat disappointing,

albeit zany, closure to the Numa label's revue of signed acts. On the

other hand, I'm holding the songs to the standards of the label rather

than the standards of the songwriting. Had it been released on

another independent label and been produced differently, perhaps

all of these carpings would be a moot point.

Much heartfelt gratitude goes to Jacqueline and Rod Pember for helping this hopeless Yank to

transcribe the spoken word of standard British English and provide some of the lyrics on this

page. As George Bernard Shaw once said, "England and America: two countries separated by a

common language." Blimey!

Many thanks, too, to Rudy at Macanoid (formerly 10464.net) for kindly permitting me to use

images from his amazing Numan Scrapbook Project, which I highly encourage readers to visit.

Anyone else who would like to contribute additional information or photos of Mike Maconochie or

Phil Free can reach me at Karl.Sherlock@gcccd.edu. I will gladly acknowledge your input on this

page.

LYRICS

(I'VE GOT) STEREO HEADPHONES

I've got stereo headphones.

I can dig that sound.

I am on the inside.

I am lost and found.

I like whatever you like.

I don't care.

I got no direction.

I'll go anywhere.

I am well protected.

I won't just stay that way.

I don't look around me.

I got nothin' to say.

Hey, hey, hey, hey,

I got nothin' to say.

I've got stereo headphones.

I got nothin' to say.

[Crash! Boom! Sha-doobie-do.]

Let me tell you anyway.

Chorus:

I've got stereo headphones.

I got stereo sound.

I get no direction.

I get lost and found.

I've got stereo headphones.

I've got stereo sound.

I've got stereo headphones.

I get lost and found.

[Ah-oop! Ah-oop! Ah-oop! Ah-oop!]

I've got stereo, stereo

headphones.

I read fashion magazines.

I don't stay behind.

I got definite style.

I got an empty mind.

I take things for granted.

I take all I can.

I don't plan my future.

I am modern man.

I've got stereo headphones.

I can dig that sound.

I am on the inside.

I am lost and found.

[Round-round, turn around!]

I am lost and found.

I got stereo headphones.

I got nothin' to say.

[So what you gonna do, boy?]

Well let me tell you anyway.

Chorus:

I've got stereo headphones.

I got stereo sound.

I get no direction.

I get lost and found.

I've got stereo headphones.

I've got stereo sound.

I've got stereo headphones.

I get lost and found.

I've got stereo, stereo

headphones.

[Hello. I'm your friendly neighborhood stereo freak. Ladies, come inside and listen. Ooooh. And

here we go again.]

I got stereo headphones.

I got nothin' to say.

[Where is this going?]

Well let me tell you anyway.

Chorus:

I've got stereo headphones.

I got stereo sound.

I get no direction.

I get lost and found.

I've got stereo headphones.

I've got stereo sound.

I've got stereo headphones.

I get lost and found.

[Ah-oop! Ah-oop! Ah-oop! Ah-oop!]

I've got stereo, stereo

headphones.

I've got stereo headphones.

I got nothin' to say.

[Crash! Boom! Sha-doobie-do.]

Let me tell you anyway.

Chorus:

I've got stereo headphones.

I got stereo sound.

I get no direction.

I get lost and found.

I've got stereo headphones.

I've got stereo sound.

I've got stereo headphones.

I get lost and found.

[Stereo! Stereo! Stereo! Stereo!]

I've got stereo, stereo

headphones!

GIVE ME YOUR LOVE

If I could find the time

for watching 0 - 0 - 7 [Oh No! It's Selwyn?]

I'm sure I could find a way

to be a different man.

If I could find the time

and a better route to heaven

I wouldn't feel the need

to follow any plans.

But I'm still looking for

another set of alibis.

All out. Wiped out

shortcuts to paradise.

Chorus:

Give me your love.

You got the fire.

Give me your lovin'

and then quench

my desire.

Give me your love.

You got the fire.

Give me your lovin'.

If I could have a choice

I would not need a reason

for everything I do

for everything I am.

If I could have a choice

I wouldn't need to prove

that all I want to be

is a happier man.

And I'm still looking for

another set of alibis.

All out. Wiped out

shortcuts to paradise.

Chorus:

Give me your love.

You got the fire.

Give me your lovin'

and then quench

my desire.

Give me your love.

You got the fire.

Give me your lovin'.

And when I'm floating

on my way to the asylum,

you'll know I'm breathing;

yes, I'm still here.

But if you watch me

you can see me leaving

a sane world, a sane world.

Chorus:

Give me your love.

You got the fire.

Give me your lovin'

and then quench

my desire.

Give me your love.

You got the fire.

Give me your lovin'.

[repeat]

[What do you want?]

I want your love.

[What do you need?]

I need your fire.

[What will you give to a sweet, sweet lover?]

I want your love to quench my desire.

[What do you want?]

I want your love.

[What do you need?]

I need your fire.

[What will you give to a sweet, sweet lover?]

I need a sweet, sweet lover.

Chorus:

Give me your love.

You got the fire.

Give me your lovin'

and then quench

my desire.

Give me your love.

You got the fire.

Give me your lovin'.

[repeat]

Hah! Oh yeah!