Goldfrapp - Number 1

NOV 14 2005 · 12:00

Goldfrapp - Number 1 (2005) Director: Dawn Shadforth Era: Mid-2000s Electro-Glam Renaissance (2005) - Peak era of UK electronic dance crossover, synth-pop revival, and high-concept art-directed music video production under post-millennial digital-film hybrid aesthetics High curatorial value as a confirmed, director-attributed exemplar of mid-2000s UK electro-glam video art. Technically distinguished by full practical creature costuming, clinical set design, and rhythmically precise fast editing. Culturally significant as a document of Goldfrapp's commercial and artistic apex, and as a showcase for Dawn Shadforth's internationally award-recognised direction style. Suitable for retrospectives covering 2000s UK electronic music, music video craft history, and the intersection of surrealism with mainstream pop production. Context: Released October 2005 as the second single from Goldfrapp's third album 'Supernature' (Mute Records), the video arrived during a peak moment of UK art-electronic crossover into mainstream pop culture. 'Supernature' debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart, and 'Number 1' reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart while topping the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, Goldfrapp's second consecutive US dance chart number one. Director Dawn Shadforth's surrealist clinical satire, deploying full prosthetic animal-head costuming in a plastic surgery setting, extended Goldfrapp's brand of playful, unsettling sexuality into the visual realm, cementing Shadforth's status as the defining auteur of UK art-pop video direction in this period. The video was later featured in the Supernature deluxe DVD edition. Director notes: Directed and filmed in London, England in 2005 (confirmed via Wikipedia and IMVDb). Premiered in the UK on 3 October 2005. The video is set in a surreal plastic surgery clinic ('Pooch and Tuck') where all staff and patients except Alison Goldfrapp bear dog heads on human bodies, a literal visual pun on the lyric 'I'm like a dog to get you.' The narrative depicts a white poodle patient being operated on by Great Dane and Yorkshire Terrier surgeons, with saluki nurses in attendance. Goldfrapp performs on a white platform throughout, at points moving on all fours. The concept blends clinical futurism with deadpan erotic humour, consistent with Shadforth's signature style of tightly choreographed, idea-rich imagery. Produced by Sally Llewellyn; edited by Amanda James and Paul Marangos. Post-production software: Final Cut Pro.