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TL;DR:

  • Bauhaus’ “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” was inspired by an old horror movie playing on television.
  • A member of Bauhaus didn’t want the song to just be a tribute to Bela Lugosi.
  • The band performed the tune in the horror film The Hunger which co-stars David Bowie.

Some classic rock songs were inspired by movies. For example, Bauhaus’ “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” was influenced by a viewing of a famous horror film. However, the tune was also supposed to have an “erotic” component.

David J said Bauhaus’ ‘Bela Lugosi’s Dead’ was inspired by the best film version of Dracula

Bela Lugosi was a horror movie star, most known for playing Count Dracula in the 1931 film Dracula. During a 2019 interview with Uncut, Bauhaus’ David J discussed the inspiration behind “Bela Lugosi’s Dead.”

“There was a season of old horror films on TV, and I was telling Daniel about how much I loved them,” he recalled. “The one that had been on the night before was Dracula. I was saying how Bela Lugosi was the quintessential Dracula, the elegant depiction of the character.” By the time “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” was released in 1979, Count Dracula had also been portrayed by other famous actors like Christopher Lee, Frank Langella, Udo Kier, and Jack Palance on the stage and the screen.

Bauhaus said the song wasn’t just a tribute to a legendary actor

Bauhaus’ Peter Murphy discussed writing “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” with bandmate Daniel Ash. “Danny called me at home and said: ‘Pete, me and David had this idea about writing something on the vampire theme,'” he remembered. “To me, that was really about attraction. There’s an erotic, alluring element to the vampire.”

Murphy downplayed the song’s connection to Lugosi. “We didn’t want to write an ode to Bela Lugosi, ostensibly,” he said. “The kitsch element was his name because he was the biggest icon, yet he was the most unlikely vampire-looking person. So there was that Brit angle to it, but it wasn’t at all negative. It was perfect. The idea of Bela Lugosi being dead or undead is classic.”

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How ‘Bela Lugosi’s Dead’ performed on the charts and impacted pop culture

“Bela Lugosi’s Dead” never charted on the Billboard Hot 100. The tune appeared on several compilation albums, but none of them charted on the Billboard 200.

According to The Official Charts Company, “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” never charted in the United Kingdom either. A live version of the tune appeared on the compilation album Bauhaus 1979–1983. That record peaked at No. 36 and stayed on the chart for two weeks.

“Bela Lugosi’s Dead” still impacted popular culture. Bauhaus famously performed the track in the cult classic vampire film The Hunger, starring Susan Sarandon, Catherine Deneuve, and David Bowie. In addition, the electronic band Chvrches covered “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” for the movie Vampire Academy. In addition, critics often cite “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” as the first gothic rock song.

Lugosi is the defining Count Dracula, and “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” is the ultimate tribute to his performance. 

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