Song · Bauhaus
“Telegram Sam” by Bauhaus
Released 1980
“Telegram Sam” by Bauhaus appears on 4 radio countdowns from 3 stations between 1991 and 2024. It was first released in 1980. Its best result is #137 on The Colorado Sound Top 850 Cover Songs. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #3,312 alternative song of all time.
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Bauhaus reached back to glam for "Telegram Sam" in 1980, taking on a Marc Bolan song that T. Rex had carried to the top of the UK charts off The Slider in 1972. The band produced it themselves, all four of them on board: Peter Murphy singing, Daniel Ash on guitar, David J on bass and Kevin Haskins on drums.
Bolan's lyric is a roll call of oddball hustlers, poets and smooth talkers, all brushed aside in favor of the singer's one true main man, Sam, and it's easy to hear the appeal of all those characters to a singer like Murphy. Where the original struts, Bauhaus make it jitter and sneer.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 621 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge | CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) | 1002 |
| 2002 | 576 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2003 | 694 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
| 2024 | 137 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 850 Cover Songs | 850 |
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