CRASH
No more candid picture shows
Just soap bubble opera’s shallow glows
They tell me it’s a story about my life
To just ignore what I don’t like
It’s so real I must live like that
Script in my pocket and a ticket in my hat

We gotta stop
We’re gonna crash
Life is money you can’t pay back
Life is money you can’t pay back

No more cracks in the temple walls
Next week’s episode will save us all
Your mirror becomes a TV tube
What was reflection now is a view
The face you see is not your own
It spends its time in someone else’s home

We gotta stop
We’re gonna crash
Life is money you can’t pay back
Life is money you can’t pay back

No more thoughts in a lazy way
They scream from the glass: “We’ll make your day!”
I believe it’s true because it’s on the screen
But you can only see what they have seen
We’re all plugged in to one beating heart
Life don’t begin until the programme starts

We gotta stop
We’re gonna crash
Life is money you can’t pay back
Life is money you can’t pay back

Words by Peter Greatorex.
Copyright ℗ 1990 Pig Pen Music.

Lyrics by Peter Greatorex.
Music by Peter Greatorex/George Davies/Jeff Willmot/Richard Holloway/Marc Greatorex/Graham Barbe.

Recorded, mixed and produced by George Davies at Silent Running Studios, Exeter, Autumn 1991.
Remastered at Wud Records Studios 2010.

Originally released 19th December 1991.
First re-release March 1992.
Second re-release June 2000.
Third re-release 16th December 2010.

Performers:
Peter Greatorex – vocals
George Davies – guitars, Boss DR220A drum machine, organ, EDP Wasp
Jeff Willmot – bass

Cover Art:
Crash by Peter Greatorex
https://www.wudrecords.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/0017_Crash1.jpg

Fun Facts:
* Crash was Alien Heat’s set opener.
* Sadly no recordings of the Alien Heat version still exist, as far as we know.
* The key for Crash is B minor.
* When George went to entertain the folks of Plymouth in the subways with his acoustic guitar, he used to play this sliced together with another Dark Company song called Ulysses.
* Ulysses later became an Ug Brothers song called Paperchase.
* Crash was the first song that Jeff played bass on for Dark Company.
* Jeff was very keen to impress and played some amazing things, including attempting the guitar riff in unison.
* George showed Jeff how to hold the G string of his bass on the 4th fret with his right hand so he could hammer on and pull off with his left.
* This technique fascinated Jeff and he played it over and over in the van whilst Pete gave him a lift home.
* All the guitar dirt is natural Marshall overdrive.
* There are no pedals at all, just guitar into amp and a mic on the cab.
* George had just had his antique Marshall revalved and spent around 45 minutes playing with feedback at high volume, until Pete appeared and asked him politely to stop as the neighbours were having palpitations.
* The guitar parts were recorded shortly after that.
* Pete’s vocal parts were double-tracked.
* George and Richard wrote the organ part in George’s Haldon Road bedsit one day in the early spring of 1990 when Richard came to visit with his keyboards.
* Whatever contributions Marc and Graham made to the writing of this song are now lost in the mists of time, although they receive a small credit here nevertheless.

Copyright ℗ 1990 Pig Pen Music.
Copyright © 2010 Wud Records.

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Over the years, Crash has drawn a lot of comment as its mix of styles is very appealing. Van Halen, ZZ Top, Talking Heads, The Who and AC/DC seem to be the most frequent comparisons. This was a favourite comment on Twitter one day: “Crash sounds like the Who, Talking Heads and Yes all jamming together.” – https://twitter.com/prosperousmu

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