"Dumb Waiters" is a song by English

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 band The Psychedelic Furs from the band's 1981 album Talk Talk Talk

Talk Talk Talk

Talk Talk Talk is the second studio album by the English rock band The Psychedelic Furs. It was released in 1981 on Columbia Records. It was reissued with bonus tracks in 2002 by Columbia/Legacy....

. Written by the band and produced by Steve Lillywhite

Steve Lillywhite

Steve Lillywhite is an English Grammy Award winning record producer. Since he began his career in 1977, Lillywhite has been credited for working on over 500 records and has collaborated with a variety of musicians including XTC, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Dave Matthews Band, U2, Peter Gabriel,...

, it was released as a single in April. The New York City dance-punk

Dance-punk

Dance-punk is a music genre that emerged in the late 1970s, and is closely associated with the post-punk and No Wave movements.-Predecessors:...

 band The Rapture

The Rapture (band)

The Rapture is an Indie rock band based in New York City. The band mixes influences from many genres including post-punk, acid house, disco, electronica and rock, pioneering the post-punk revival genre...

 recorded a cover of the song, which was included on the B-side of their 1998 debut single "The Chair That Squeaks".

Release

To help promote the band's Talk Talk Talk

Talk Talk Talk

Talk Talk Talk is the second studio album by the English rock band The Psychedelic Furs. It was released in 1981 on Columbia Records. It was reissued with bonus tracks in 2002 by Columbia/Legacy....

album, the UK single for "Dumb Waiters" was packaged in a sleeve of record-playing material which previewed the songs "Into You Like a Train", "I Wanna Sleep With You" and "Pretty in Pink

Pretty in Pink (song)

"Pretty in Pink" is a song by the English rock band The Psychedelic Furs, originally released in 1981 as a single from the band's second album, Talk Talk Talk...

".
Singer Richard Butler

Richard Butler (singer)

Richard Lofthouse Butler is the lead singer of the Psychedelic Furs. He is also the founder and vocalist for the disbanded Love Spit Love.-Musical career:...

 opens the album by saying "This is a Psychedelic Furs commercial. Buy Talk Talk Talk".
"Dumb Waiters" was the first single to chart in the UK, peaking at number 59.
It also reached number 27 on the U.S. Dance Music/Club Play Singles chart.

Critical reception

Allmusic writer Dave Thompson

Dave Thompson (author)

Dave Thompson is the British born author of over 100 books, largely dealing with rock and pop music, but also covering film, sports, philately, numismatics and erotica....

 said the song "captures the band at its most frenzied, a state of mind which subsequent live versions only amplified".
Allmusic's Ned Raggett

Ned Raggett

Ned Raggett is a library assistant, freelance writer and music journalist. His work has been published in Allmusic, the OC Weekly, Plan B, Metal Edge and The Quietus, while pieces have also appeared in Dream, Arthur, as well as Stylus, The Broken Face, Fake Jazz, Freaky Trigger, Careless Talk...

 called the song "especially striking. . .with its queasy, slow-paced arrangement that allows both [Duncan] Kilburn's sax and [John] Ashton's guitar to go wild".

Track listing

7" Vinyl

1. "Dumb Waiters" - 3:35
2. "Dash" - 3:06

• Playable sleeve contains "A Psychedelic Furs Commercial" - 4:39

Chart performance

Chart (1981)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	59
U.S. Dance Music/Club Play Singles	27