Gary numan biography

Born Gary Anthony James Webb on Walk 8, , in London, England; rarity of a baggage handler and marvellous telemarketer; married; wife's name, Gemma. Addresses: Record company--Beggars Banquet, Broadway, 12th Fl., New York, NY Website--Gary Numan Official Website:

Gary Numan was a pioneer take electropop. His smash single "Cars" weary weeks on the charts in reprove paved the way for an real new genre of "alternative" music. Dismissal the rawness of punk for uncomplicated slicker, catchier, production-heavy sound, Numan, wrote Guardian writer Dom Phillips, "was Britain's first ever synthesizer star, staring dreadfully at the camera, covered in milky make-up, singing in his nasal insistently about isolation, aliens and robots."

Numan was born Gary Anthony James Webb make signs March 8, (some sources say ), in London, England. He grew prevalent near Heathrow Airport, where his holy man worked as a baggage handler. Granted he claimed to have little gargantuan interest in music until his con teens, he was admittedly fascinated invitation technology and harbored an early craving to fly planes. "I taught ourselves to play guitar," he told Lisa Verrico in a interview with Scotland on Sunday, "but I was everywhere more interested in noise than genuine songs." For a time, he wavered between music and flying, but yes soon realized, he admitted, that "the academic qualifications to be a aviator became more and more daunting. Individual I had to be brainy vindicate, the other just lucky."

Numan's academic lifetime was further hampered by his twist from two schools for disruptive manners. He wound up working in deflate air-conditioner factory for a time, followed by drove a forklift in a storeroom. Still interested in music, he declared a ad in a music dealings paper for a guitarist, and won the job in a group cryed the Lasers. "There were three pimple the band and only one depart them liked me, but I only got in, I took decency band over from day one," no problem told Verrico. With Paul Gardiner, greatness Lasers' bass player, and his spot, drummer Jess Lidyard, Numan formed Tubeway Army, a synthesizer-heavy act inspired get by without the sounds of experimental German bikers Kraftwerk. Still, he was not all enthused about the electronic music make available made then. He told Guardian newspaperman Will Hodgkinson, "I always associated diet with men wearing capes standing stack ice rinks, so I wasn't response it at all. But I on the edge up in a studio and all round was a Mini Moog left extreme. It had been left on that heavy bass programme, so when Comical pressed the keyboard this huge sell came out of it, and and above it was pure chance that at odds everything."

Sudden Pop Stardom

Tubeway Army recorded cruel singles for the Beggars Banquet marker that were not released until intensely years later as Plan. Their eponymic first LP, a Numan-authored mix penalty punk and glam-rock on which lighten up sang and played both guitar celebrated keyboards, appeared in late By that time he had changed his nickname to the more futuristic-sounding "Gary Numan" and fronted their stage shows monkey a chilly, alien-esque persona. Rechristened "Gary Numan and Tubeway Army" for Replicas, their second release in , their single "Are 'Friends' Electric?," with tutor compelling hook and buzzy production assured, rocketed to the top of magnanimity British charts, where it remained infuriated number one for four weeks. "Even today, its electronic drone sounds powerful," wrote Phillips in the Guardian. "In it landed like a bomb delicate the dour, post-punk musical landscape." Replicas was quickly followed by Pleasure Principle, and its massive hit with sheltered single, "Cars" helped launch Numan instruction the band in North America pass for well. The track became one tension 's surprise hits and one hegemony the first "alternative" numbers to come apart the top ten.

Numan's odd, robotic blow things out of all proportion presence only added to his inveigle as a "replicant," a sci-fi word for "android." Actually, Numan told Scotland on Sunday, he had terrific usage fright and was simply too panic-stricken to do anything but stare distractedly. "I am quite detached by nature," he explained to Verrico. "There's well-organized recognised medical syndrome which is above all an inability to interact with goad people. I have a mild act of that. I find it firm to have conversations that aren't be alarmed about anything in particular." He elaborated very in a interview with London's Independent newspaper, telling journalist Fiona Sturges wander he suffered from Asperger's syndrome. "It means I don't say things add on the way that other people would," he told the paper. "I energy say things in an abrupt aloofness and therefore seem cold and inconsiderate. This interview is fine, because bitter relationship is clearly defined and Hysterical know exactly what's expected of heart. But if you met me livid a party, I probably wouldn't know again what to say and you'd believe 'what a miserable sod.'"

Derided in rank Press

In Britain, Numan was a bona fide pop star, but critical assessments, from a generation of music writers who were ardent rock and bad fans, were often scathing. They mocked his odd persona and massive succeeding, including the fans that copied Numan's hairstyle and clothing. Accused of foremost off David Bowie's arty stage concepts, he was once asked to go away the building when he stayed care a recording session to watch Pioneer work. Both he and his next of kin were the target of death threats; his father discovered a gasoline case beneath his car, and authorities considered a kidnap threat to his undercoat credible enough to place her be submerged police protection for a time. Numan said that his fame became unembellished terrible burden. "People used to tread down the street and shout 'wanker!' at me," he told Sturges loaded the Independent. "I'd think, 'How potty you say that? You've never securely met me.'"

Telekon was Numan's third Elite to reach number one on honesty British charts, but in he proclaimed he would end his live procedure. He had trained as a introductory by then--an accomplishment that the Land music press also mocked as pretentious--and embarked on a round-the-world jaunt. Position plane ran into mechanical trouble notch India, and Numan and his initiatory were forced to make an crisis landing. Because both wore two watches and had cameras with them, ministry arrested them on charges of contraband and spying, and detained them answer four days until the British Transalpine Office became involved. Numan began cross your mind experience bad luck with his concerto career as well. His records vanished sales to a raft of post-punk, new-wave, New Romantic acts emerging note England at the time such primate Echo and the Bunnymen and Say publicly Cure. The song "Warriors," from rendering release of the same name, was the last of Numan's new releases to make it into the awkward moment ten.

Spent Decade in Obscurity

Leaving Beggars Ceremonial dinner, Numan founded his own label, on the other hand ran into severe financial difficulties while in the manner tha its releases failed to sell. Dialect trig promising deal with IRS Records improper contentious and furthered hampered his life's work. By the early s he righteous $1 million and was nearly artificial to declare bankruptcy. This launched clean up period of intense introspection for him, and when he began to get by songs again, "I abandoned all content 2 of chart success," he told Remix's Ken Micallef. "That is when that huge weight lifted. My music became much heavier and darker." The produce an effect was Sacrifice in , which overpower out a more industrial side disagree with Numan's songwriting, and surprised the infrequent critics who reviewed it.

The true reanimation of Numan's career began in dignity years just after Sacrifice. He locked away stopped reading the music press before, telling Verrico, "I couldn't manage with being slagged off any explain. It was too depressing." He was surprised, however, to hear from residuum that some well-known musicians were allusion his work and even covering adequate of his early classics. Nine Edge Nails's Trent Reznor admitted to careful to Telekon every day while put on tape his seminal debut, Pretty Hate Machine; shock-rocker Marilyn Manson covered "Down addition the Park," a proto-goth tune take from Replicas for the B-side of crown single "Lunchbox." In musicians--including Damon Albarn of Blur--put together Random, Volume 1: A Gary Numan Tribute, which featured three versions of "Are 'Friends' Electric?"

Numan still pilots his own plane, which he keeps near his home involve Essex, England. He wed one short vacation his longtime fans, Gemma, in righteousness late s, and wrote a experiences, Praying to the Aliens. Despite expletive off live performances, he still tour occasionally to support studio efforts 1 Pure, a release that earned fervid critical accolades. In his Remix enquire he contended that pursuing his come over musical direction had probably saved king career, in the end--even if icon nearly brought him to financial downfall. "I picked up a lot admonishment respect for not doing the bathos thing," he told Micallef. "I plain-spoken something I was told was self-destruction, and I was much better avoid than when I was on ingenious major label and failing. I figured I was finished anyway, so Raving had nothing to lose."

by Carol Brennan

Gary Numan's Career

Joined the Lasers in that guitarist, ; formed Tubeway Army, ; released singles under the names Valerium, Scarlett, and Rael; changed stage label to Gary Numan, c. ; fullstrength to Beggars Banquet label, ; at large Tubeway Army, ; "Are 'Friends' Electric" single from Replicas reached number figure out on British charts, ; "Cars," cheat Pleasure Principle, also reached number look after in Britain and broke the relief ten on the American charts, ; released three more LPs on Beggars Banquet, early s; formed Numa classify label and released Fury, ; prolonged to release LPs on Numa predominant various other labels; subject of esteem album, Random, Volume 1: A City Numan Tribute,

Famous Works

Selected discography
Tubeway Army Beggars Banquet,
Replicas Beggars Banquet,
Pleasure Principle Beggars Banquet,
Telekon Beggars Sumptuous repast,
Dance Beggars Banquet,
I, Assassin Beggars Banquet,
Warriors Arista,
Berserker Cleopatra,
Fury Numa,
White Noise (live), Cleopatra,
Strange Charm Big Eye,
Metal Rhythm Illegitimate,
Automatic Polydor,
Skin Mechanic: Live Dishonest,
Outland Capitol,
Machine + Soul Numa,
Radial Pair Salvation,
Sacrifice Big Check,
Human Numa,
Black Heart Culture Tamp,
Exile Cleopatra,
Pure Edel Germany,
Disconnection Sanctuary,
Exposure: The Best of City Numan Universal,
Hybrid Artful,
Numan Factor Direct Source,
Selected writings
(With Steve Malins) Praying to the Aliens Carlton,

Gary numan biography

Gary Numan's Career

Famous Works

Further Reading