Primitive Man (album)

Primitive Man
Primitive Man
	1982 Australian release (Regular Records)
Studio album by Icehouse
Released	20 September 1982
Recorded	May 1982
Studio	Paradise Studios, Sydney; Westlake Audio, Eldorado and Musicland West Studios, Los Angeles
Genre	Synth-pop
Length	42:45
Label	Chrysalis
Producer	Iva Davies; Keith Forsey;
Icehouse chronology
Singles from Primitive Man
	"Great Southern Land"; Released: August 1982; "Hey Little Girl"; Released: November 1982; "Street Café"; Released: March 1983; "Uniform"; Released: 1983 (US/European release only);
Love in Motion
	1983 UK release (Chrysalis Records)

Primitive Man, the second studio album by Australian rock band Icehouse, was released on 20 September 1982. In January 1982, Icehouse founder Iva Davies started recording Primitive Man essentially as a solo project.^[3] It was co-produced with Keith Forsey,^[4] who later worked with Simple Minds and Billy Idol. Forsey supplied additional percussion; Davies supplied vocals, lead guitar, keyboards (Sequential Circuits Prophet-5), bass guitar and programmed the Linn drum machine.^[5] Released as an Icehouse album, Primitive Man reached number 3 on the National album charts^[6] and provided their international breakthrough single, "Hey Little Girl", which peaked at number 7 in Australia,^[6] number 2 in Switzerland,^[7] number 5 in Germany,^[8] the top 20 in UK,^[9] Sweden and Netherlands,^[3] and number 31 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.^[10] Another single "Great Southern Land" made the Australian top 5;^[6] it was later featured in the 1988 Yahoo Serious film Young Einstein,^[11] and remains their most popular song according to listeners of Triple M in 2007.^[12] To promote Primitive Man on tour, Davies re-assembled Icehouse with Michael Hoste (keyboards) and John Lloyd (drums), and new members: Bob Kretschmer (guitar, backing vocals), Guy Pratt (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Andy Qunta (keyboards, backing vocals).^[4]

Quick Facts Studio album by Icehouse, Released ...

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Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
Rolling Stone	^[2]

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After the United Kingdom top 20 chart success of "Hey Little Girl" the album was re-released as Love in Motion in 1983 and contained the same tracks in different order except "Break These Chains" being replaced by "Love in Motion"; the alternate cover work was a still from the Russell Mulcahy directed video for "Hey Little Girl" (see infobox below right).^[13]^[14] In 1996, Icehouse released a compilation album called Love in Motion on dIVA / Massive Records, which contains "Love in Motion" but does not have any material from the original Australian release of Primitive Man.

Primitive Man represented a slight departure from earlier material and a move from the more rock-based style of their first album to the synth-based, more atmospheric albums such as Sidewalk and Measure for Measure. This style is exemplified in "Hey Little Girl", a very relaxed, introspective song which reflects the overall tone of the album punctuated by the heavier "Glam" and the more dance-based "Mysterious Thing". The final track "Goodnight Mr. Matthews" was Iva Davies by his own account directly referencing John Lennon's songwriting and singing style for the first and only time.^[15]

The "Street Café" music video clip was filmed in Tunisia, in a four-day visit into which was packed a lifetime’s worth of difficult, unpleasant, and even hazardous living experiences for performers and film crew alike. Iva Davies flew out of Tunisia still covered with dust and camel dung, clad in the boots, breeches, and bandolier used in the filming, and vowing never to return to that part of the world again.^[16]

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No.	Title	Length
1.	"Great Southern Land"	5:19
2.	"Uniform"	4:14
3.	"Street Café"	4:13
4.	"Hey Little Girl"	4:25
5.	"Glam" (Instrumental)	3:27
6.	"Trojan Blue"	5:03
7.	"One by One"	4:02
8.	"Break These Chains"	3:43
9.	"Mysterious Thing"	4:26
10.	"Goodnight Mr. Matthews" (re-recording)	4:00

No.	Title	Length
11.	"Over the Line" (B-side to "Street Café" single)	2:46
12.	"Uniform" (German version, B-side to "Great Southern Land" single)	4:06
13.	"Glam" (12" version, B-side to "Hey Little Girl" 12" single)	6:34
14.	"Hey Little Girl" (12" version)	6:59

No.	Title	Length
11.	"Over the Line"	2:46
12.	"Glam" (12" version)	6:34
13.	"Uniform" (German version)	4:06
14.	"Street Café" (single mix)	4:34
15.	"Love in Motion" (USA recording)	3:37
16.	"Can't Help Myself" (live)	5:39
17.	"We Can Get Together"	3:55

No.	Title	Length
11.	"Over the Line"	2:46
12.	"Glam" (12" version)	6:34
13.	"Uniform" (German version)	4:06
14.	"Hey Little Girl" (12" version)	6:59
15.	"Street Café" (single mix)	4:34
16.	"Love in Motion" (USA recording)	3:37

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Uniform"	4:15
2.	"Street Cafe"	4:13
3.	"Hey, Little Girl"	4:25
4.	"Glam"	3:27
5.	"Great Southern Land"	5:19
6.	"Trojan Blue"	5:03
7.	"Love in Motion"	4:02
8.	"Mysterious Thing"	4:26
9.	"One by One"	4:03
10.	"Goodnight Mr. Matthews"	4:00

Primitive Man (album)

Track listing

1982 Australian release

1983 US / UK release

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

Wikiwand - on

Chart (1982/83)	Peak Position
Australian (Kent Music Report)^[19]	3
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[20]	1
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[21]	31
UK Albums (OCC)^[22]	64
US Billboard 200^[23]	129

Chart (1982)	Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)^[24]	18
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[25]	11
Chart (1983)	Position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[26]	24
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[27]	6

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)^[28]	Platinum	50,000^{^}
New Zealand (RMNZ)^[29]	Platinum	15,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.