As usual, info on how to send questions are at the end of the session.

Gary's responses to this month's and March's Digest Questions may be delayed due to the Premier Tour preparations and performances but he has promised to get to them when he can, even though I offered to put the session on hold until April - what a guy!

Q1.  In previous Q&As you mentioned that you don't read much sci-fi anymore.
     You have, however, referenced reading Clive Barker (horror).  Have you
     ever read American horror writer H.P. Lovecraft who was most prolific
     during the 1920s and late 1930s?  I ask because Lovecraft has written
     stories of pure horror ("The Dunwich Horror") and fantasy ("Dream Quest
     of Unkown Kadath").  If you are familiar with Lovecraft, do you like
     his stories?  If unfamiliar, I think you may enjoy his writing and
     highly recommend him.

A1. I haven't read any Lovecraft but I'll go out and get some as soon as I
    can. The more variety of influence I can get hold of the better.

Q2.  Aside from your music, I was always a fan of the Police. Since
     you both kinda rose to popularity at the same time, though different
     musical influences, had you ever met Sting? I know they were regulars
     at the Marquee, which is why i ask....

A2.  I've met him a few times. He used to record at my Rock City Studios in
     the Shepperton Film Centre and once took me around the set of one of
     the films he was working on but I can't remember what one it was. It
     was a horror film I think.

Q3.  Aside from forgetting lyrics, have you had any intensely
     embarrassing moments on stage? :)

A3.  Not really. I've had plenty of power failures and gear breaking down,
     that kind of thing, but nothing that was personally embarrassing. I did
     fall over once but I went over so slowly that people didn't know I'd
     actually fallen. I got my jacket hooked up on a girl singers clothes,
     started the wrong song, all pretty tame stuff. I must have been very
     lucky.

Q4.  How did you meet Nash the Slash and how many times have you
     recorded with him? (I had one of his albums with a two headed guy on
     it, but i can't recall the name...liked his stuff though)

A4.  I met him in Toronto when I was due to play there. He was doing a gig
     in a local club and someone took us all out to see him. I can't
     remember how many times we recorded things together, just once I think.

Q5.  You mentioned that you very much like Robert Palmer's
     Addicted to Love...i couldn't help but notice a striking similarity
     of that song to your 'New Anger' (aside from the chorus)...was this
     intentional?

A5.  Guilty. It was a clear influence that I let get the better of me.

Gary,

Just finished screening "The Unborn" to some unsuspecting folk,
including one self-avowed "Numan-hater".  Afterwards there came the
usual discussion about strengths and weaknesses... and the
overwhelming consensus was that the movie's strong point was the
spooky music... a point that was initially raised by the
"Numan-hater"!  I let him prattle on for about 15 minutes before
finally giving him the bad news.  :-)

With that introduction, it will come as no surprise that my questions
this month are related to the "Unborn Project".

Q6.  This was a case where you were working with another musician
     (Michael R Smith) and under the direction of "somebody at the studio".
     How well did this relationship work out?  Was the finished product
     something you consider yourself proud of?  Was it something you
     consider to be YOUR work?

A6.  It worked very well. I'd done a lot of work with Mike before anyway,
     although not co-writing, so that was unlikely to become a problem
     anyway.  The 'direction' was also very easy to live with. Yes I was
     very pleased with the music although a little disappointed at the extra
     reverbs and such like that were added to our final mixes when the music
     was added to the film after it left my studio. I felt that it took away
     much of the clarity and covered up some of the more intricate musical
     parts. I consider it to be as much mine as anything co-written can ever
     be. I don't think that the changes made by the film people, or the
     direction from that side, were enough for me to stop thinking of the
     music as mine, or rather ours.

Q7.  It occurs to me that further soundtrack projects might be an
     excellent way to re-establish your good name in North America without
     anyone (with prejudices) realizing it... and your work on The Unborn
     stands as an outstanding example of what you're capable of.  My
     question to you is - is this something you are actively pursuing?  I
     don't mean simply being ready to consider any offer... I mean are you
     actively SEEKING such work.

A7.  Getting the chance to write music for a film of serious consequence is
     far harder than getting to number one so I don't really see it as an
     easy option. I am not actively pursuing film work no, nor am I likely
     to in the near future. I think you may be underestimating how much
     music I can write in any given time. At the moment I am trying to
     finish Exile, I will, as soon as the tour is over, be mixing and
     editing the live album and video. I will probably tour again when the
     Exile album comes out and I still have to finish off the ballad album,
     not forgetting the possibility of the unplugged album. I also have to
     design all of the artwork for all of those projects plus the tour
     programmes, posters, t-shirts, itineraries, passes etc not to mention
     the light shows themselves plus a great deal of preparation for the
     musical elements of the tour(s). I also have 3 newsletters and a
     yearbook to complete the artwork for this year, the NuWORLD web site to
     maintain, an air display season to organise and fly in, plus a whole
     load more trivial but time consuming stuff. I'm also talking to
     Microprose concerning an ongoing relationship whereby I will write
     music for some of their computer games. None of the above takes into
     account the promotional efforts that go in to actually trying to sell
     all of this stuff. And I'm still trying to get on and write my 'Pray'
     book. This is quite a busy year already, but it's a fairly typical year
     in terms of workload. Bear in mind also that this only lists stuff that
     I will be doing in the UK. If things pick up my international
     commitments could make this list look like a holiday.

     This is a long winded way of saying that, at the moment, I don't think
     I could even consider doing a film let alone actively seeking one. I
     think film music is definitely something that I would like to do more
     of in the future but I don't see how I could do it now so there is no
     point in looking for that kind of work.

Q8.  I was watching the Dream Corrosion video last night and was remembering
     all the different tours you've done. For me I think the Emotion tour
     was one of the best, particularly so the trip out to Belgium with Pete
     and Frank. Brilliant! But I remember one night when you played at
     Leicester Polytechnic and there was a (false) fire alarm. Because of
     the delay caused by everyone having to go outside, the set had to be
     shortened, particularly as the show was on a Sunday and you weren't
     meant to play past 10:30. To the delight of everyone there though you
     did play on. There was a rumour that you incurred a fine because of
     this. Is this true? If so, how much did they sting you for?!?

A8.  I remember the incident very well but I can't remember if they actually
     carried out their threat of fining me for playing longer than they
     said. It always seemed a bit stupid to me that they would allow big rig
     concerts into their building, with all the smoke machines and
     paraphenalia of such an event, but leave all the smoke detectors in the
     hall turned on. If I had played up until the curfew fans would only
     have had about an hour of music which hardly seemed fair as it was the
     Polytechnics stupidity that caused the problem in the first place.


Q9.  I was just a-wondering...you've had some great backing singers in the
     past, but how come you never took Tessa Niles on tour? She did backing
     for so many songs and sounded great.  I saw a Jimmy Nail concert on TV
     over christmas and she did a great job backing for him.

A9.  I asked her but she couldn't, or didn't want to, do it. I probably
     couldn't pay her enough money. She is brilliant and is able to work
     with the most successful people in the world who pay her a great deal
     of money I would imagine.

Hi Gary, I'm planning on sending you a tape of some interpretations of your
songs, from a heavy techno dance floor version of "A Question Of Faith", to
guitar versions of the same song, My Shadow In Vain, Down In The Park,
Blue Eyes and Berserker.

Q10. Would you be able to give me comments on them via the Q/A sessions on
     the net ?

A10. I would rather not to be honest. I'll be quite truthful with you and
     say that I like about one tape in a hundred of what people send me and
     I hate being put in the position of either having to tell the truth in
     that I think it was crap or, and this is normally what I do, lie
     through my teeth and say how good it was blah blah blah. The question
     and answer pages are not suitable for this kind of thing anyway as they
     have to be about things that everyone can share in. Talking about a
     tape sent to me in private is not very interesting for those people
     that haven't heard it. Apart from telling people lies about what I
     think I can't do anything to help anyway. I've noticed over the years
     how brutally honest fans can be about my music but I'm afraid that I
     can't do that to people. I don't like hurting peoples feelings so I
     would prefer it if people didn't ask me for my opinions on their stuff.
     Send it to me by all means but please don't ask me to comment on it.


Q11. Also, in my Shadow In Vain, what does the phrase "Here am I, more roche
     5 than pain" mean ? Its one lyric I've always wondered about, and have
     never heard the phrase  Roche 5 anywhere else...

A11. When I was younger, school age, I was sent to a psychologist in an
     attempt to find out why I was 'disturbed' as they put it. They put me
     on the drugs Nardil and Valium for about a year. Roche 5 was written on
     the Valium tablets.

Q12. Would a possible way of getting back into people's musical
     consciousness be to go down the John Peel route again. After all, he's
     Britain's most  respected DJ, and you did sessions for him with Tubeway
     Army..

A12. He's not my most respected DJ and the Tubeway Army sessions were over
     18 years ago so I doubt they have much bearing on today's music scene.
     John Peel has had other things to say about me since then as well which
     you may not have heard. Not very nice so he can poke right off as far
     as I'm concerned.

In your lyrics, the words that ring truest to me, and the words I always
remember are from 'Zero Bars' where you sing

     "Time heals nothing. It merely rearranges our memories"

However, in 'Heart' (I think...) you sing

     "Time will heal you. Time heals everything"

Q13. Was this a conscious contradiction into the way your views have
     changed or are they both used in different contexts ? What would you
     say is the truest lyric ?

A13. My views haven't changed at all. In the 'Heart' song those words were
     being sung from a third parties point of view and were meant to signify
     how much cliched crap people pour on you when they can't think of
     anything useful to say. I believe that the 'Zero bars' lyric is the
     truest.

You are very brave to be so open and honest with your fans.  You really go
above and beyond.  I cannot begin to tell you what your music means to me,
so I will simply offer my most heartfelt, "Thank You".  You are very
much>appreciated here.

Q14. I understand that you had a difficult time handling fame in the past.
     What do you now find so "amazing" about fame that you want to recapture
     it (something I don't doubt you'll accomplish), and how at this point
     in your life do you feel better equipped to deal with both the positive
     and negative aspects of fame?

A14. Very hard to answer in anything less than a book but, to be successful
     at something that means the world to you is a very special feeling. To
     have people hang on your every word, on a massive scale, is very
     rewarding if at times a little daunting. To have people travel in their
     thousands to see you live is immensely satisfying and the kind of power
     that comes with making huge money is something that you just have to
     experience to appreciate. The world opens up to you like the sweetest
     smelling flower. I am better equipped to deal with it now because of my
     experience and age. I know better how to avoid as many of the negative
     things as possible and I know better how to enjoy the positive. You
     have to learn how to be famous and very few people are famous for long
     enough to really get the hang of it. I was so busy worrying about what
     to do next that I lost the moment.

Hello Gary,

For the past year or so MTV and VH1 have been airing '1980s' or 'what
ever happened to?' video specials.  Whenever interviews are possible
with the 80's bands the general attitude is they feel they have alot to
answer for. i.e. they're either embarrassed or ashamed that they made
that 'crap'.   Even Bowie said at one point that he and Eno were
completely responsible for that 'movement' and apologized.

Q15. What is your attitude towards your early material and this total
     mockery that is made of the 80's?

A15. This must be an American thing because over here the 80's are all the
     rage. Nobody is apologising for anything, quite the opposite as 80's
     clubs are springing up all over the place. I have no problems with any
     of my earlier material. I certainly don't think it was crap and I don't
     believe for one minute that Bowie truly believes that any of his early
     stuff was crap either. Who knows for sure? People have to remember that
     songs written in 1979 were not really intended to be put alongside
     songs from 1996 and compared. Everyone and everything changes with
     time. Likes, dislikes, attitudes, everything. You cannot have a career
     that spans three or more decades and expect all of that material to
     stand the test of time. If even a fraction of it does then you have
     done very well, and been very creative. Personally I like around the
     chart today and don't exactly see a great deal for anyone to be proud
     of. The 80's were no better or worse than any other decade.

Q16. We all know of your love for films such as Blade Runner and The
     Terminator. Is there anything recent that has made an impact on you?

A16. Not really. I'm told I was about the only person in the world that
     loved 'Stargate' but it didn't really have a major impact on me apart
     from opening my eyes to ancient Egyptian symbology and clothing. I
     thought that was very cool.

Gary,

I've seen a few written references to short stories you have written
both on this Internet list and elsewhere.  When listening to your
music I find that your lyrics evoke some very strong images (some
probably far different than you intended, but evocative nonetheless!)

Q17. If your lyrics have such an impact, I'd assume your writing would too.
     Are your short stories available in any way (via fan club, via
     letter, via internet?)

A17. No 'fraid not. All lost and long forgotten. I used to write for the
     same reason that other people like to talk and socialise. None of it
     seemed that important.

Q18. Also, on an unrelated topic:  Since you like Blade Runner, Aliens
     and that lot have you ever read William Gibson's 'Neuromancer'?
     For me Gibson is to prose like Numan is to music.   If you have not
     done so, you might want to pick up a copy, I am sure you would enjoy
     it.

A18. No, but I've heard a great deal about him and the book. He, I think,
     is the man credited for the 'Cyberspace' tag or something to do with
     Internet terminology at any rate. I will get the book.

Q19. When are you going to get the credit card facility up and running on
     NuZone?

A19. I have been running regular updates on NuWORLD to keep people informed
     as to what is going on with the credit card situation. At the moment we
     are STILL waiting for them to approve us and send the little machine.
     Every date they have given us for completion has come and gone without
     any result so we are absolutely at their mercy. I believe that we will
     be able to handle Visa and Mastercard.


Q20. The BBC gave you your shot with Tubeway Army when they showed "Are
     Friends Electric?" that time on TOTP.  a/ What happened to make them
     become so hostile?  b/ Why are they behaving this way towards you?  c/
     Is there a particular person we can talk to?  d/ How can we help?  e/
     What about MTV? f/ Could we sidestep the Beeb by going for MTV?

A20. a/ I don't know. b/ I also don't know. c/ No-one that will do
     anything. d/ Just keep buying the music and coming to concerts.
     Longevity is a powerful weapon. e/ Ask MTV. f/ MTV is good but has
     nowhere near the power in the UK that the BBC has.

     I would add that BBC television and BBC Radio One are very different
     organisations run by completely different people. I have no problem
     with any BBC organisation other than Radio One.

Q21. I have a single in my collection: "First Night in Berlin" by Claire
     Hamill, on which you play.  How did this come about?  I never saw
     anything else by her...

A21. She was married to Nick Austin who was a director of Beggars Banquet
     who asked me to play on the track. I've never heard the finished song
     strangely enough.

Q22. My favourite track off of _Berserker_ has long been "This Is New Love."
     There is one thing about this song, however, that has always intrigued
     me.  Just as the song completes its fadeout, one can faintly hear what
     sounds like a man saying "Oh, yeah!" while bongo sounding drums are
     being played.  I once asked the members of this digest about this
     strange snippet and managed to stump them all (no small feat!).  So, I
     was wondering if you could let us know what the "story" is behind this
     oddity.

A22. No real story actually. It was just Zaine talking as he stood back
     from the microphone.


Q23. Back in 1990, I spent a term abroad in the UK.  One of the primary
     questions we were asked to ponder and answer, was if there exists a
     "special relationship" between the United Kingdom and the United States
     or not.  Some feel that the commonality of culture (particularly in the
     northeastern states) and language has resulted in especially cozy
     relations between the two countries.  Others feel that this "special
     relationship" is a fabrication that masks a rather pragmatic foreign
     policy vis-a-vis the two states.  I know you don't want to delve into
     political questions, so if this one is too "political" then simply
     ignore it.  I was merely wondering how you felt about this issue.

A23. I believe in the special relationship although I don't know why it
     exists. I'm also very glad that it does. It may have lots to do with an
     almost common language, it may be our connected history although
     Britain is connected with almost every country somewhere along it's
     empirical history line so that may not be it. I hope it's real and I
     hope it lasts.


Q24. One of the other artists I collect is Nash the Slash.  I was wondering
     if a) you are at all familiar with his solo work from 1978 - 1985 b) if
     you like any of his music c) what was he like to tour and record with?
     and finally d) if the opportunity arose again - and without too much
     expense on your part - would you consider recording with Nash the Slash
     again in the future?

A24. a/ Not really. b/ Couldn't say because of a. c/ He was excellent to
     tour with, interesting and good fun. d/ Probably not because I've
     become a recording hermit again. I'd like to know what he's doing
     though and how he is getting on.

Gary, I'd like to bring up something that might be a good idea.

Q25. How about publishing a small tour biography book?  I've noticed
     that many artists such as U2 and Queen have put one out and I
     think it would be a good idea.  I understand that it is a lot
     of work compiling set lists and writing down particular instances
     of shows and such, but I'm thinking- If your live CD's sell well-
     why wouldn't a small Live Book?

A25. I don't fully understand what this tour biography is. Is it a book
     that looks back at all of my tours or just one? I have no idea about
     set lists from previous tours apart from what's on the live albums
     which could be a problem. I have thought about putting out a
     photographic booklet of a tour that could I guess easily be made into a
     one tour biography. I like the sound of that. Is that what these other
     bands have done?


Q26. I'm curious, you mentioned "Noise Noise" as being one of your
     personal favourite tracks.  Why was it omitted off the "I,
     Assassin" release and instead used as a 'B' side?

A26. It's become one of my favourites. When I finished recording it I had
     heard it so many times I was sick to death of it. That's often why I
     put the wrong songs on B-sides, it all depends on when they were
     recorded. The earlier songs that haven't been listened to for a few
     months tend to sound fresher than the more recently recorded things.
     Hence some very dodgy decisions on album track listings and singles.

Q27. One song that I've always thought was brilliant was "Unknown
     and Hostile".  What are your feelings on this song as you
     look back?  I'm just curious also, according to album credits
     this song was the only song you played guitar on from 1984-
     1991 when you played acoustic guitar on "Dream Killer".  Why
     did you decide to pick up the axe on that one?

A27. I think it's okay but nothing special. I don't remember playing guitar
     on it so I wonder if the credit refers to a sampled guitar. I would
     have to get out the original tapes to be sure and they're not here at
     the moment.


Q28. I've never seen you live but have associated
     with a lot of fans who have and over the years songs like
     "War Songs" and "Strange Charm" have popped up infrequently
     during tours, but have never been done night after night.
     Is this because, these songs are difficult to get right on
     stage or do you like to play them only once in a while?

A28. No those songs are easy to get right, most of my stuff is far from
     technical so it's very easy to get most of them right actually.
     Sometimes I drop things because I don't think that they have gone down
     very well, sometimes because I just go off them after a while. Some
     songs sound good on record but just don't seem to come across well
     live. It varies.

Q29. Finally, can you ever remember just having a disaster with
     a song on a tour or in rehearsal and just saying "can that one!"

A29. I tried to do 'Voix' for three years before I finally managed to get
     it to work well on stage. It has a very strange, disjointed percussion
     section running through it that actually supplies 99 per cent of the
     groove and I just couldn't recreate the same feel. Got it eventually
     though.

Hi Gary --

Q30. "Dance" is my all-time favorite album and (it seems to me) marks a
     radical change in your musical style.  Can you say what sort of things
     were going through your mind at the time you recorded it?

A30. I thought it, the career, was possibly coming to an end. I was very
     bewildered by the things that had happened to me since becoming
     successful, blackmail, death threats, a wierdo on every corner or so it
     seemed. Love lost, all that kind of thing.

Q31. 'The Image is' & 'We Need It' really stand out to me thanks to the
     'dreamlike' quality of the sound and the extra added inflection of
     emotion in your singing of these two songs.  Further,'The Image Is'
     seems to be the forerunner of Absolution.  I would be gratified to know
     what these two songs are about and if you had any thoughts on these two
     tracks that you would be willing to share with us.  Thank you.

A31. 'The Image Is' I can't remember at all I'm afraid. I've listened to it
     again but can't honestly say that it means anything to me. Maybe if I
     could see the lyrics it would all come back to me as they are too
     difficult to make out on the record. 'We Need It' is about how
     unpleasant fame can make a person.

In the past you said that you usually have to edit down your original
recordings of songs to produce the regular length album, meaning you
already have extended versions ready to go without having to do much if any
remixing.  Hence you can release extended versions at the same time or
shortly after the original version.

Q32. Does this also apply to your IRS albums i.e. is there an extended
     "Metal Rhythm" and "Outland"?   I suspect not because there would have
     been extended mixes for the singles wouldn't there?  Just checking :-)
     (BTW, copying recorded works is not illegal in the USA as long as it
     is for personal use or a gift :-)  ).

A32. It's not quite as simple as that actually as not all parts of original
     long versions are fully developed especially if obvious edit points are
     figured out before the mixing stage begins. Those underdeveloped parts
     are then worked on later. Also it's only been in more recent years,
     mainly due to hard disc recording technology, that I've recorded overly
     long versions of songs anyway. Before, when tape splicing was the only
     way to edit, it was far more important to record things in the way you
     wanted them to end up. There are no extended versions of 'Outland' or
     'Metal Rhythm'. I think I may have explained this badly before but to
      give a full and accurate answer as to how I record and whether long
      versions are available or even practical we would have to go through
      the albums one by one.


Q33. We know you are a fan of Depeche Mode but has that always been the
     case, even back in the days of their tinkley-bonk beginnings?

A33. I liked them before but I love what they are doing now.

Q34. Did you keep up with what other synth based artists were doing back
     in the late 70s/early 80s, specifically Ultravox, John Foxx, Yazoo,
     Blancmange, Visage and did you like any of these artists?  Has your
     perspective on them changed over time?

A34. Ultravox were good up until Midge Ure joined in my opinion, apart from
     'Vienna'. John Foxx's solo stuff never touched me at all, didn't really
     like it. Yazoo and Blancmange I kind of missed for some reason although
     I remember one or two singles as being okay and Visage I always hated
     with a passion, well Steve Strange actually if I'm to be honest. I
     wasn't interested in what other synth artists were doing because, in my
     opinion again, I'd already begun to move on from my 'synthy' days with
     my use of other instruments being added to the synths that in
     themselves were developing into more interesting and capable machines.
     I did feel, and still do whenever I hear it, that a lot of the
     following wave of synth bands simply repeated the same old ideas in a
     lighter, more poppy kind of way.


Q35. Do you have any more domesticated things you like to do - cooking,
     gardening?  Do you eat out all the time or survive on Wagon Wheels
     with Gemma :-) and have a gardener?  I find these activities very
     therapeutic and a means of getting away from technology and the
     rat-race gardening and cooking that is, not eating Wagon Wheels).

A35. I have a tractor that I use to keep the grass down in my field. I only
     cook burgers and chips and we do not have a gardener although we do
     need one. My way of getting away from the pressures of the music
     business is air display flying. It requires so much concentration that
     you cannot afford to think of anything else. These days I also ride out
     on the motorbike a lot.

Q36. Do you have a favourite cuisine - English, Italian, French,
     Chinese, Indian, Thai, German, Greek, American or other?


A36. I don't like Chinese, Indian, Thai, German, Mexican, Japanese or
     anything wriggly. I like fish and chips, burgers, steaks, English
     roast, most meat, English pork sausages and fried chicken. I am not a
     vegetarian. I hate vegetables, ALL OF THEM. I do not eat sweets (as in
     fruit bon bons and all that) and I hate coffee. The only ice cream I
     like is plain old vanilla. I do not drink alcohol because I don't like
     it and I don't smoke. I am quite content to eat exactly the same thing
     everyday for months and not get bored with it whereas I notice that
     most people seem to prefer to eat something different everyday if they
     can. I am not interested in trying new foods at all and if I don't like
     the smell of something, which is most of the time, a gun to my head
     couldn't make me try it. Well maybe a gun but not much else.

----

That's it.

Bye.

Send your questions via email to:

Derek Langsford (dlangs@sunstroke.sdsu.edu)

with a subject line of:

Gary's Qs

Include your real name and the town/city, county/province/state and country where you are located. Please follow these directions carefully and DO NOT post your questions to the Digest. Use a question from a posted session as a guide to the best format to use.

Please write out fully the name of your state or province. I doubt if Gary would know the difference between MA, ME, MI and MO. It'd be really nice if you could copy the format of the questions as presented here. That would allow me to simply copy and paste questions into my email to Gary rather than spend an hour or so formatting them all.

Questions are collated and sent to Gary at the end of each month and Gary's answers are posted ASAP after he responds.

I reserve the right to delete and edit questions for content or length.

Thanks to all who participated.