European Man
“On the back of the single we wrote, ‘Electronic Dance Music… EDM; computer programmed to perfection for your listening pleasure’.
“At the time we started to write about things that were relevant to us and not about love. This was about computers, or microprocessors, as we referred to them back then. At that time they were going to basically remove the need for daily labour, which is particularly timely now, when we’re in the middle of this conversation about AI in a very serious way. We were talking about a new ‘European Man’ and the idea that these microprocessors would effectively make it so we increased productivity to the degree that humans wouldn’t need to work again. Of course, it didn’t work out that way.”
Shake The West Awake
“Again, we didn’t want to write songs about love. At that time, it became obvious that the Japanese industrial complex was becoming extremely powerful, and it was going to take over. And that’s what the song is about. I remember, prior to that time in England, if you went out on the street and you looked at all the cars, you’d see a Morris, an Austin. You’d see a Jaguar, you know? You’d see many a Mercedes, Rolls Royce. A Bentley, maybe. There were no Toyotas, no Honda. If you walk
