Numb (Portishead song)

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"Numb"
File:NumbPortishead.jpg
Single by Portishead
from the album Dummy
Released13 June 1994 (1994-06-13)
GenreTrip hop
Length3:58
LabelGo! Discs[1]
Songwriter(s)Portishead
Producer(s)
  • Portishead
Portishead singles chronology
"Numb"
(1994)
"Sour Times"
(1994)

"Numb" is a song by English trip hop group Portishead, released on 13 June 1994 as the lead single from their debut album, Dummy (1994). NME magazine ranked it at number 43 on their list of the "Best Albums and Tracks of 1994".[2]

Release[edit]

The single was released on 13 June 1994 in the United Kingdom and on 17 October 1994 in Australia.[3][4] It did not chart in Europe, reaching the top 300 only in Australia at number 213.[5]

Critical reception[edit]

Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote, "Not to be confused with U2's number, although they share the love for cinema. Will their short film "To Kill a Dead Man" bear as much suspense as this song in a Fever spirit?"[6] Andy Beevers from Music Week's RM Dance Update described it as "a gem of a debut with its moody spaced-out beats and haunting melancholy female vocal."[7]

Track listings[edit]

All tracks are remixes of "Numb" except "A Tribute to Monk & Canatella", which is a seven-minute instrumental track followed by 14 seconds of silence and yet another remix of "Numb".

  • UK CD and 12-inch single, Australian CD single[8][9]
  1. "Numb" – 3:57
  2. "Numb (Numbed in Moscow)" – 3:56
  3. "Numb (Revenge of the Number)" – 3:23
  4. "Numb" (Earth - Linger) – 4:14
  5. "A Tribute to Monk & Canatella" – 11:01
  • European CD single[10]
  1. "Numb" – 3:55
  2. "Sour Times" (live) – 5:52
  3. "Wandering Star" (live) – 4:48
  4. "Interlude" (live) – 2:26

Charts[edit]

Chart (1995) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[5] 213

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Portishead Numb UK 12". Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  2. ^ "NME's Best Albums and Tracks of 1994". NME. Retrieved 3 May 2021. Misspelled as "Dumb" on source.
  3. ^ "Single Releases" (PDF). Music Week. 11 June 1994. p. 25. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  4. ^ "New Release Summary – Product Available from : 17/10/94 > Singles (from The ARIA Report Issue No. 244)". ARIA. Retrieved 18 January 2017 – via Imgur.
  5. ^ a b "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 17 February 2016". Retrieved 17 January 2017 – via Imgur.
  6. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. 11 June 1994. p. 9. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  7. ^ Beevers, Andy (4 June 1994). "Hot Vinyl" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 6. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  8. ^ Number (UK & Australian CD single liner notes). Portishead. Go! Beat. 1994. GODCD 114, 857 561-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. ^ Number (UK 12-inch single sleeve). Portishead. Go! Beat. 1994. GODX 114, 857 561-1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. ^ Number (European CD single liner notes). Portishead. Go! Beat. 1994. 850 267-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)