Song · Pete Shelley
“Homosapien” by Pete Shelley
From the album Homosapien (1981)
“Homosapien” by Pete Shelley appears on 10 radio countdowns from 5 stations between 1981 and 2023. It was first released in 1981 on the album Homosapien. Its best result is #13 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1981. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #13 alternative song of 1981 and #2,193 alternative song of all time.
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"Homosapien" was Pete Shelley's first solo single after the Buzzcocks, and the title track of his 1981 album, but the song itself went back to 1974, two years before he formed that band. He'd meant it as a demo for a Buzzcocks number; instead he cut it in a single day with Martin Rushent, who went on to produce the Human League, the two of them producing it and playing the instruments between them.
Out went the Buzzcocks' serrated guitars, in came cool, pulsing synth-pop, with Shelley's voice gliding over the top. The BBC reportedly banned it over a line heard as a reference to gay sex; Shelley said that line wasn't meant as innuendo, though he admitted other parts were. It went top 10 in Australia and Canada and filled dance floors, reaching 14 on Billboard's Club Play chart.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 13 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1981 | 106 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 60 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1988) | 496 |
| 1989 | 413 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989) | 495 |
| 1989 | 360 | WOXY 97X | WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1989) | 500 |
| 1992 | 333 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) | 500 |
| 1995 | 418 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) | 500 |
| 1999 | 448 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge | CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) | 1002 |
| 2002 | 345 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2003 | 460 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
| 2023 | 535 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s | 850 |
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