For a change I am putting the info on how to send questions at the beginning of the session, in the hope that it will remind subscribers to include all necessary information. I had to delve back into previous Q&A sessions to get particulars about some people :-(

PLEASE NOTE!

Send your questions via email to:

Derek Langsford (dlangs@sunstroke.sdsu.edu)

with a subject line of:

Gary's Qs

Include your real name, town/city, county/province/state and country.

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.

Gary's responses to this month's questions were delayed a few days due to the Premier Tour but being the trooper he is, he got them to me after only a week's break.

Gary admits to feeling strangley unfulfilled now, even though the tour was great on virtually all counts. He needs to get his motivation back. Let's hope that happens soon.

Onto the questions:

I heard about the Techno Army CD thats due for release,
and got pretty excited about it. Then I heard rumours
that it wasnt techno at all, but more reminiscent of
80's dance stuff.

Q1.  Have you thought of getting any stuff remixed by cutting
     edge techno artists such as The Prodigy, or Chemical
     Brothers ?

A1.  No, I haven't thought about getting anything remixed by anybody. I
     don't like techno music and I couldn't afford to use people like The
     Prodigy even if I wanted to and, to be honest, what would be the point?
     I want to sell what I do to people not other peoples versions of my
     music. I would be more than happy for anyone to re-record my stuff but
     only if it went out under their name. Stuff that goes out as Gary Numan
     will have to be my work, not somebody elses remix of it.

I'm really looking forward to the show at the Astoria,
and / or Hammersmith, and can I say how happy I am that
you have some 1st class support bands this year !

Dear Gary:

I was looking over the notes in 'Exhibition' and noticed Bill Nelson's
name in the musician list.

Q2.  Which track(s) did you work with Bill on?

A2.  I can't remember what tracks are on 'Exhibition' but anything from the
     'Warriors' album and associated singles will have Bill Nelson on them.


Q3.  Also, if you are familiar with his music, what is your opinion of it?

A3.  I think Bill Nelson is a superb musician and an excellent producer.
     When we worked together though our outlook on life and its meaning were
     so far apart from each other that we ended up not exactly getting on
     that well which was a shame.

I was interested and pleased to see that you had taken up
motorcycling in the last year or so. I have been riding bikes for the
16 years myself, originally as my sole mode of transport and now just
for fun.

Q4.  Why did you choose the Yamaha Virago as your first proper bike
     Gary?  Having ridden one myself I found I quite enjoyed the ride and
     it was comfortable, but it is a bit of a girls bikes isn't it? (no
     offence Gary). I would have thought you would be more suited to a
     race replica or an Italian classic like the Ducati 916.

A4.  I like custom bikes is the main reason. I read a lot of bad things
     about Harley's, liked the look of the Virago anyway and so thought that
     it would make an ideal first bike. Not too big or powerful but big
     enough to feel a definite progression from a leaner. The Ducati would
     appear to fall apart quite easily and as I have no mechanical knowledge
     to speak of I need something that will keep running with a minimum of
     fuss. I don't understand at all this idea of the Virago being a girls
     bike though. It's size suits me perfectly as I'm only 5' 8" tall, it
     does about a hundred miles an hour which is more than you need for a
     bike with no fairing and no screen. In my opinion it is also much
     better looking than any race rep but that is obviously a personal
     thing. My girlfrind loves it but hates most other bikes so that was
     also an important consideration and, finally, people are forever saying
     that custom bikes handle badly but they mistakenly assume
     that everyone on a bike wants to be the next Mick Doohan. Well I don't,
     I want a bike that looks great and gets me where I want to go at the
     speeds and in the style that I want to travel. The Virago is what
     appeals to me the most and, at the moment, fulfills all my biking
     needs.

Hi Gary,

Welcome back after the tour. Even though it's not over yet (1st April), it's
been a fantastic tour already. It's great to see you back on stage with some
great audiences. I guess a lot of people will be asking questions about the
tour but I'll add my tuppence worth!

Q5.  What was the high point for you on the tour? And the low point?  Have
     you any idea when the Southampton gig will be screened?

A5.  Firstly Matthew thank you for the warner bros post card. The low point
     was passing out after the gig at Ipswich due to a viral infection of
     some kind. This illness was with me for quite a few days and the hectic
     schedule of the tour made it hard to recover from. The high points were
     several. After the crushing irritation at the small stage size left to
     us at Hammersmith (it was filled by the set of the Joseph musical) the
     audience reaction was just incredible and finished the tour off in
     spectacular fashion. Milton Keynes was a great and welcome surprise.
     I'd almost written it off as one to 'get out of the way' but the crowd
     were great and it became one of my best nights. The London Astoria was
     heaving, as was the Nottingham Rock City gig. To be honest it all went
     so well it's impossible trying to pick out any one show as being the
     best. The audiences were just excellent throughout.


     At the moment I have no idea when the Southampton show will be
     screened.


It was great to see you on the ITV programme 'Not Fade Away'. I found it
extremely interesting to see which videos you picked and why. Some good
stories too. I think the Bowie one was very popular! It's just a shame it
was on the time it was.

Q6.  How did you find it presenting this programme? Was it difficult to just
     have you and the camera? At points you seemed a little embarrassed
     maybe...were you or was it just because it was something a little
     different than normal tv stuff that you are asked to do?

A6.  No, I wasn't embarrassed. I found it quite easy actually. In fact I've
     also been asked to host a day, or an evening, of programmes on the Sci-
     Fi satellite and cable channel. I'm not sure if I'll do it yet but it
     shows that I did okay on 'Not Fade Away'.



Q7.  What are your thoughts on the problem of BSE? I ask because I was just
     wondering what you are eating without your steak and hamburgers!!! Just
     chips? Or are you carrying on as normal?

A7. I'm carrying on as normal. When you look at how many people have got
    the illness compared to how many have been exposed to it it seems more
    likely that I'll win the lottery than get mad cow disease.


Q8.  I saw an advert in The Standard for an event in Chelmsford in August
     with Pulp, Supergrass, Cast, and yourself amongst others. Are you
     definitely booked for this event?

A8.  Yes. It's two festivals over a weekend. The first day we are all in
     Chelmsford and the second day we are in Warrington. I've never done a
     festival before, never even been to one, so I'm extremely nervous about
     it. I'm hoping that a large amount of my fans will go along so that I
     have a core of support amongst the crowd. They are expecting about
     thirty thousand people a day.


Thanks for the great shows over the last couple of weeks. It'll be too long
until the next tour!

All the best - Matthew.

Hi Gary.

The Astoria show was such good fun. Even my bass player
enjoyed it (who came along very sceptical...)

Q9.  Anyway, my question is what happened to Sheep On Drugs ?
     I was really looking forward to them. I dunno who the
     band were, but they were pretty boring...

Q9.  Sheep On Drugs played at Folkestone and went down so badly that they
     pulled themselves off the tour. They wanted to go on stage and fire a
     gun filled with blanks into the audience which my tour manager refused
     to allow. This was only a few days after the Dunblane massacre of
     school children so I think he was right to stop them from a
     disgustingly tasteless piece of 'entertainment'. I had 50 minutes of
     soundcheck time, they had over 75 minutes and still complained that it
     wasn't enough. Bearing in mind that they are two men and a fucking tape
     recorder and you begin to see how pathetic their complaints were
     beginning to sound. During their set they insulted me personally and
     the audience generally so the reaction to their music was poor to say
     the least. Even after all that I was not particularly bothered and was
     happy for them to do the other gigs as agreed but they decided to pull
     out. So much for the hard attitude then, one bad gig and run away.


Sheep On Drugs and Gary Numan could have been such an
awesome, unreal show!!!!!!

But thanks again for a wonderful fun night!

Q10. How do you feel the Premier tour went?  I live in the
     US and have seen great reviews but I would like to know your
     opinion.

A10. I thought it went remarkably well. The new songs went down better than
     I could possibly have hoped for, the attendance was better than it has
     been for at least 12 years, maybe longer, in most places that we
     played. I did 5 signing sessions at HMV shops around the country and
     all were full of people. The band played brilliantly, everyone got on
     well, the atmosphere both on stage and off was just brilliant.


Q11. On the Dance album, who is Zara???  Is it a literary character?

A11. She was someone who tried to play head games. She was actually a
     friend of the girl that it is the subject of 'We Take Mystery' and
     'Moral' so it was probably connected.

Q12. I remember you played "Stormtrooper in Drag" for Paul on the last
     tour...have you, or do you ever plan to, sneak in 'Child with a
     Ghost' on any upcoming shows....the song is beautiful.

A12. No plans to but each tour I look at my choices so it's quite possible
     for the future. It was actually on an early list for the Premier Tour
     come to think of it.


As usual, anxiously awaiting a US Numan tour! (as are you, i'm sure.)
thanks once again....dan

As fewer questions are being asked this month I'll add a few more than usual.

First welcome back to Cyberspace.

Q13. Many have mentioned the stunning stage set you used on the Premier Tour
     and I have seen the new wardrobe you are using to promote the material.
     Were these all your own creation or did someone help out with design
     and will they be maintained for the "Exile" promotion and possible
     tour?

A13. The image was put together by me and Gemma simply by walking around
     and looking at all the various options and then piecing together a
     'look' bit by bit. The stage set was a result of many talks between me
     and Andy Keightley, the lighting designer, based on lyrical ideas from
     the new songs and from various bits of artwork that I was already
     working on. The NuWORLD site 'gold look' was already, in my mind at
     least, the way that I wanted the tour to go. The brickwork backdrop and
     riser cladding was an extension of the marbling idea seen on NuWORLD. I
     will have a special tour section on-line on the NuWORLD site in the
     very near future which will look at the tour and all it's various
     elements in some detail.


Q14. Now you are able to look back on the tour, did you find the shorter
     set worked out better in terms of logistics and stamina?

A14. Absolutely. It was more punchy as a show, easier to rehearse both
     musically and in the light programming and was much less wearing
     physically. It was lucky that I did shorten the set as the programming
     week leading up to show 1 was one of the hardest weeks I can remember.
     Sleep became a distant memory for most of it. We had big problems with
     the moving lights which had been redesigned without our knowledge and
     no longer did what we wanted them to do. Again, more of this on NuWORLD
     soon.


Q15. Some noted again your superior vocal performance on this tour.  It
     almost seems like you are putting extra effort into your vocals whereas
     before they were very stylized and often slurred.  Has that been a
     conscious decision or an evolution over time?

A15. Definitely not a conscious decision although I'm very glad to hear
     that people think my vocals are better now. I suppose the PA system
     might have something to do with it as they do seem to be better these
     days. On the other hand I am getting older and the voice does seem to
     be improving with age. On this particular tour I moved differently in
     that it was more subtle and less frantic which meant that I could
     concentrate on the singing a lot more than previous tours. I think that
     may be the main factor to be honest.

Q16. Now the tour is over are you going to take a break or do you need to
     get back to work on "Exile" promptly?

A16. I've just given myself a week off to get my sleep pattern back to
     normal and to recover in general but then, as of today actually, I
     intend to get back into 'Exile' with some urgency.


Q17. "Metal Beat" is a gem of a song.  A very pleasant surprise on "Babylon
     7".  I am surprised you did not release it as a b-side.  Can you
     remember why it wasn't?

A17. I didn't like it very much at the time was the main reason. It was one
     of those rare things for me where a song was actually taken to near
     completion and then just abandoned and forgotten. Normally I dump songs
     far sooner and so have nothing to forget. I'm glad you like it and now
     I think it would have made a good b-side as well. Typical of me
     unfortunately.


Bye for now.

Gary Numan.

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

Thanks to all who participated.