"Ghosts" was a single by the British band Japan from the 1981 album Tin Drum. It reached number five in the UK Singles Chart in 1982. Although it was their biggest hit, this was not enough to stop the band splitting a few months later.
Bereft of drums, the minimalist track would not be described as a "commercially viable" single in most circumstances. However, Japan's popularity at the time, in addition to the early 1980s fashion for New Wave music, allowed the single to become unexpectedly popular.
In 2000 David Sylvian re-recorded "Ghosts" using the original Japan backing track and included it on his compilation Everything and Nothing.
Track listings[edit][]
- 7" VS472, 7" picture disc VSY72, 12" VS47212
Side A:
- "Ghosts" (single mix) - 3:55
Side B:
- "The Art of Parties" ("Version" - live) - 5:18
Trivia[edit][]
A cover of Ghosts is available on the song list for the dance game DDRMAX: Dance Dance Revolution 6thMIX.
The song was played in episode six in the BBC series of Ashes to Ashes, a spin-off of Life on Mars, and, since April 2008, it has been used in the trailers for another BBC series, Waking the Dead.
Deftones covered this song as an iTunes exclusive for their album "Diamond Eyes".
The song is also featured in the 2008 Norwegian film "The Man Who Loved Yngve".