To help promote Talk Talk Talk, the UK single for "Dumb Waiters" was packaged in an embossed plastic sleeve, playable at 33⅓ RPM on a turntable, which contained a track with excerpts from the songs "Into You Like a Train", "I Wanna Sleep with You" and "Pretty in Pink".[1]
Lead vocalist Richard Butler opened the track by saying, "This is a Psychedelic Furs commercial. Buy Talk Talk Talk".[1]
"Dumb Waiters" was the first Psychedelic Furs single to chart in the UK, peaking at No. 59.[2]
It also reached No. 27 on the U.S. National Disco Action Top 80 chart.[3]
Critical reception
AllMusic writer Dave Thompson said that the song "captures the band at its most frenzied, a state of mind which subsequent live versions only amplified".[4]
AllMusic's Ned Raggett called the song "especially striking. . .with its queasy, slow-paced arrangement that allows both [Duncan] Kilburn's harmonica and [John] Ashton's guitar to go wild".[5]
Cover versions
New York City dance-punk band the Rapture recorded a cover version of the song, which was included on the B-side of their 1998 debut single, "The Chair That Squeaks".
Track listing
7" vinyl
"Dumb Waiters" – 3:35
"Dash" – 3:06
Playable sleeve contains "A Psychedelic Furs Commercial" – 4:39