Banapple Gas

"Banapple Gas"
French single sleeve
Single by Cat Stevens
from the album Numbers
B-side"Ghost Town"
ReleasedMarch 1976
RecordedOctober 1975
StudioLe Studio, Morin-Heights, Canada
GenreSoft rock, folk rock
Length3:07
LabelIsland (UK/Europe)
A&M (US/Canada)
SongwriterCat Stevens
ProducerCat Stevens
Cat Stevens singles chronology
"Two Fine People"
(1975)		 "Banapple Gas"
(1976)		 "(Remember the Days of the) Old Schoolyard"
(1977)

"Banapple Gas" is a song written and recorded by English singer-songwriter Cat Stevens in October 1975, initially released on his album Numbers. Stevens recorded the song at Le Studio, in Morin-Heights, Canada. It was released as a single in March 1976, reaching no. 41 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and no. 7 in the Netherlands, though it didn't chart in the UK.

Background and meaning

The song ties into the concept for Stevens's album Numbers, which is a spiritual musical set on the fictional planet Polygor. Stevens stated: "That's the comical side to the Numbers story, connected to Trezlar, who was responsible for caring for the banapple trees."

The song's lyrics describe banapple gas as a substance that "all the world is stuck on" and "everybody's sniffing". However, "no one knows what's inside it", though the chorus claims that "it must be healthy 'cause it's certified!"

During a live performance of "Banapple Gas" for Stevens's 1976 Majikat tour, he gave the song the following introduction:

"Alright, I'd like to introduce you now to somebody who's been a close friend and very important associate during my career that nobody has ever ever met, ever. Not even my band. It's very important to me, I really, this is the first time I think it's really right that you get to meet...Mr. Banapple."

Release and reception

The song was released as Numbers' only single on 8 July 1976, with "Ghost Town" as B-side.

In a negative review for Rolling Stone, Paul Nelson called the song "malodorous" and joked that it "may cause severe attacks of dreadful Gibranian diarrhea." Music archivist George Brown noted the song as "upbeat", and that it was "an obvious choice for a single".

Music video

The song was promoted with a music video, which has since been described as "bizarre" by music critic Gareth Branwyn. The video features a yellow-suited Stevens handing out the fictional fruit, or its gas, to various people, as well as selling it in stores.

Charts

Chart (1976) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report) 59
Canada RPM Top Singles 65
Germany 37
Netherlands 7
US Billboard Hot 100 41

References

Notes

  1. ↑ See also: Background and concept of Numbers
  2. ↑ In the story, Trezlar was one of the nine Polygons living on Polygor.

Citations

  1. 1 2 DeYoung & Stevens 2001, p. 45
  2. 1 2 DeYoung & Stevens 2001, p. 87
  3. 1 2 "BANAPPLE GAS / GHOST TOWN (France)". Yusuf / Cat Stevens. Retrieved 2026-10-20.
  4. 1 2 "Cat Stevens | Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Retrieved 2026-10-20.
  5. 1 2 Brown 2006, p. 100.
  6. 1 2 Numbers (Media notes). Cat Stevens. A&M Records. 1975.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. ↑ Stevens, Cat (1975). Numbers (songbook).
  8. ↑ "Banapple Gas". Yusuf / Cat Stevens. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  9. ↑ Yusuf / Cat Stevens - Banapple Gas (live, Majikat - Earth Tour 1976) (Video). April 8, 2019.
  10. ↑ Nelson, Paul (1976-02-26). "Numbers". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  11. ↑ Branwyn, Gareth (2020-02-24). "The bizarre 1976 Cat Stevens song and video, Banapple Gas". Boing Boing. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  12. ↑ Taysom, Joe (2020-04-27). "Revisiting the bizarre 1976 Cat Stevens video for 'Banapple Gas'". faroutmagazine.co.uk. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  13. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  14. ↑ "Search for "Cat Stevens"". RPM. 17 July 2013. Archived from the original on 7 August 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2020 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  15. ↑ "Suche – Offizielle Deutsche Charts". offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  16. ↑ "Discografie Cat Stevens and Yusuf". Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 11 July 2020.

Sources