"And if the 'friends' all go home, you know love needs no disguise."
The Gary Numan FAQ V2.0b - Feb 7 1996
Compiled by Kay Teel
with input from various members of the
Gary Numan Digest mailing list.
Special thanks to Derek
Langsford, Brian Hammond, Joey Lindstrom, and Markus Dietrich.
Much information was taken from "Gary Numan: the Authorised Biography"Kay Teel.
HTML translation by Joey Lindstrom.
Please Note: This FAQ does NOT include the complete Numan
discography, which can be found in the ftp sites at
ftp.uwp.edu and
mirrors.aol.com/pub/music/lists/numan,
or at
The "Compleat" Gary Numan Discography
CONTENTS
Section I: Biographical and personal info:
1.) The basics
- Gary Numan was born Gary Anthony James Webb on 8 March 1958
in Chiswick Hospital near London, England. He grew up in Ashford
and Wraysbury. Parents-- Beryl (Lidyard) Webb and Tony Webb. He
has a younger brother (adopted) named John.
- Schools: Gary attended Town Farm Junior School, Stanwell;
Ashford Grammar School; Stanwell Secondary Modern; and Brooklands
Technical College, Weybridge, which he left at age 17. He held
various odd jobs after leaving college.
- Flying: Next to music, Gary's passion in life is his flying.
He earned his first pilot's license in 1980. In 1981-82 he made
his problem-plagued round-the-world flight. He has flown in
numerous air displays, released a video on his hobby, and remains
actively interested in flying.
- First guitar: age 4. First electric guitar: age 13. Began
writing songs around age 15.
Bands:
- Crimson Lake - When he was 15, he was in the band
for about 1 month before being fired.
- Black Gold - for a couple of gigs only. The band split up.
- Mean Street - Gary formed this band, which went through many names until
at last settling on Mean Street. The rest of the band kicked Gary out,
an experience he recounts in the song "Mean Street."
- The Lasers - Gary joined this band and met bassist Paul Gardiner. They
left the band shortly after, and recruited Gary's uncle Jess Lidyard
on drums to form:
- Tubeway Army. Tubeway Army were recording a demo tape at Spaceward
Studios, Cambridge, when Gary happened across a synthesizer. He liked
what he heard and changed the band's musical direction. Tubeway Army
were signed to Beggars Banquet Records, an up and coming small label,
in 1978. Tubeway Army released the self-titled first album (originally
released in a limited edition blue vinyl pressing in a blue sleeve). The
next album, _Replicas_ was released in the UK under Tubeway Army, but
for all intents and purposes, Tubeway Army no longer existed at this
point.
Return To Index
2.) Problems with the press
From almost the start of his rise to fame, Gary has been
beset by problems from the British music press. Bad reviews,
misquoted interviews, and sniping comments were common. For a
while in 1980-81, Gary refused to do any interviews, saying the
papers would print whatever they wanted anyway. The press
eventually went on to other targets, but the initial nastiness
has meant a legacy of the British music press never taking Numan
seriously.
2a.) Problems with the BBC
The BBC boycott really took hold after 1980. As Numan has
mentioned in one of the Images albums, "Down In The Park" was the
one and only single of his to ever get good reviews. John Peel
of BBC1 did like Numan and even allowed him to cut two Peel
Sessions (most groups only got one). Numan's music was played on
BBC1 during his peak years (1979-1982) but by _Warriors_ onwards,
getting radio play became increasingly difficult. By the time he
formed Numa Records in 1984, it was nigh impossible to get
BBC1 to play anything more than once. Numan is left having to do
promotional spots and interviews on independent radio in the UK
because BBC1 still won't have anything to do with him. The only
exception was the single "Radio Heart" which did get played a
little bit - but this wasn't really a Numan single.
Return To Index
Section II: Common Questions:
A.) Personal:
Where did he get the name Numan from?
- Gary changed his last name to Numan around the time he formed Tubeway
Army. He found the name by leafing through a London telephone directory
and finding "Neumann," which he altered to "Numan."
I have an old Tubeway Army single that gives his name as
Valerian. Where did that come from?
- The band was trying to use "futuristic" names and Gary chose that
one. The idea was soon abandoned. Gary's comment: "Quite probably
my most stupid idea."
-
Has Gary ever composed movie soundtracks?
- He did the soundtrack for the horror film, _The Unborn_ (1991). As of
11/1/95, the soundtrack has not been released, though the film is
available on video. A Fall 1995 Numa Records release, _Human_,
contains music written for consideration for use in the film,
although it isn't the actual soundtrack. Several of Gary's previous
songs have been used in variety of films.
When did Gary "retire" from touring and why? And why did he return to
touring?
- In August 1981, Gary put on his highly-publicized farewell concerts at
Wembley Arena, near London. He was still at his peak in popularity and
had completed his very successful Touring Principle and Teletour tours.
He lost money on all the tours, because of the huge shows he put on,
but his main reason for announcing his retirement was pressure. He had
risen to fame very quickly, and wanted to step out of the spotlight for
a while. He wanted to concentrate on his music, and devote more time to
flying. He also saw video as the future of music and planned to go into
making short films but this never materialized. He returned to touring
after the album _Dance_ was released. He missed it, and the fans had
never stopped asking for his return.
Has Gary had a hair transplant operation?
- He had one in 1982, and discussed it in detail in a _Smash Hits_
interview around that time.
Didn't Gary live in America for a while?
- In 1982 he left the UK for tax reasons, and lived in Los Angeles for a
year.
Is Gary gay? Married?
- Gary is not gay, though some of his lyrics have been interpreted to
contain gay-themed references. He is not married, and has been living
with his girlfriend for several years.
B.) Lyrics:
Who was Jo the Waiter?
- Although "Jo the Waiter" is probably a fictitious character, Gary once
dated a girl named Jo during the time he was keeping a notebook of
story and lyric ideas.
What are S.U.'s?
- According to the Coleman biography (p.70), S.U. was "a comment on his
turbulent relationship at the time with Su Wathan, the press girl at
Beggars Banquet."
Where did MachMen come from?
- MachMen was an abbreviated form of Machine Men, taken from a comic
strip Numan used to read.
What is the Japanese bit in "This Wreckage?"
- Transliterated as: "wakareyo", it can be translated as "I am going to
leave" or "I am going to part company [with you]."
What were "letters like D.E.B." in "We Take Mystery (To Bed)"?
- Another comment on a girlfriend, Deb.
C.) Misc:
Has Gary been influenced by William S. Burroughs?
- Numan started reading Burroughs after hearing others talk about his
writings. Numan is quoted in the Coleman biography (p.68) as saying, "I
couldn't figure out Burroughs' books at all, but I did find I could get
so many ideas from page to page."
Has Gary been influenced by Philip K. Dick?
- Gary read the books by science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, and got
many ideas from them. The title "Are 'Friends' Electric?" was probably
modeled on _Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?_. Also, _Bladerunner_
(based on this novel) is one of Numan's favorite films, and he has used
samples from the film in several songs.
Who were his other influences?
- Other influences he has mentioned are: Marc Bolan, David Bowie,
Ultravox with John Foxx, Kraftwerk. He mentions modeling his early,
androgynous look on Bolan and Bowie. His Warriors image was drawn from
Mad Max, and his Dance and I, Assassin image from watching old Humphrey
Bogart films.
What happened to Paul Gardiner?
- Paul Gardiner released a solo single, "Stormtrooper In Drag" backed
with "Night Talk" (from _Dance_) which was a collaboration with Numan.
Unfortunately, his addiction to heroin led him away from Numan, and in
1984 he died of an overdose. His single "Venus In Furs" was released
posthumously on the Numa label.
What is the symbol on the _Sacrifice_ album?
- It is a caduceus, a wing-topped staff with 2 snakes winding about it,
carried by Hermes in Greek legend. To the Greeks, it symbolized
fertility, sun-gods, wisdom, and healing. It is a common symbol for the
medical profession.
What is the album _Photograph_?
- It was a German compilation album released in 1980, apparently without
Numan's consent. For whatever reason, it was quickly deleted and has
become a collectors' item, although it does not contain any rare or
unreleased tracks.
Is that really a sample from Tears For Fears song on "I Wonder" ?
- That really is a sample of Tears For Fear's "Shout" on there. In an
interview with TFF's Roland Orzabal some years ago, he stated that he
lifted the part himself by programming his Drumulator drum machine to
play the same part played by a human in the song "Seen and Not Seen"
on the Talking Heads album _Remain in Light_.
Is it true Numan is planning a ballad album and an "unplugged" album?
- Yes, it seems so. We wait.
What are some of the old band members doing now?
- Chris Payne and Ade Orange formed the group Big Noise UK. They
released an album called _Good Morning Baby_. Also of interest, in
the mid-1970's Jess Lidyard played drums on the albums _Druid
Toward The Sun_ and _Fluid Druid_, which have been rereleased on CD
in the UK.
Return To Index
Section III. Collaborations:
-
Billy Currie, keyboardist/violinist from Ultravox, played on The
Pleasure Principle and toured with Numan on the Touring Principle
tour.
-
The group Dramatis (Rrussell Bell, Denis Haines, Chris Payne, and Cedric
Sharpley) was formed from Gary's backing band. (Chris Payne had also
co-written the Visage single "Fade To Grey"). Dramatis record "Love Needs
No Disguise" with Numan on vocals, released on album (_For Future
Reference_), and a few singles.
-
In 1980, Australian pop singer James Freud traveled to England
to work with Numan. Although it was planned that Numan would
produce Freud's album, this fell through. Freud is credited
("handclaps") on the album _Telekon_. He later went on to join
the group The Models, as did Roger Mason, who toured with Numan
on the Teletour.
-
The group Simple Minds are credited on the album _Telekon_
("handclaps").
-
Numan co-wrote the songs "Johnny and Mary" and "Style Kills" with
Robert Palmer. Palmer did a cover of "I Dream Of Wires" on his
_Clues_ album (with Gary on keyboards).
-
Mick Karn, bassist from the group Japan, played on Dance. So did
Japan ex-member, guitarist Rob Dean, and Japan's publicist Connie
Filapello provided the Italian spoken parts in "Boys Like Me."
-
Pino Palladino played fretless bass on _I, Assassin_ (1982).
He was quoted once in an interview as saying he is most proud of
his work he did for Gary Numan on the _I, Assassin_ album.
-
Roger Taylor, drummer from the group Queen, played on _Dance_.
-
Nash the Slash, Canadian keyboardist/violinist and member of the
on-again/off-again group FM, toured with Numan in 1980, playing
electric violin on the song "The Joy Circuit." He also appears
on the _Dance_ album (1981) on the songs "Cry, The Clock Said,"
"You Are You Are," and "Moral," and toured with Gary on the
_Dance_ tour. Nash The Slash had a brief solo career (1977 -
1985) in which he released a few LPS, 12" and 7" singles.
-
The duo Dollar appeared in the song "Bridge? What Bridge?".
-
Bill Nelson provided backing vocals to the song "Poetry and
Power" and was involved with the production on the _Warriors_
album. Nelson had his name removed from the credits thought
because by the end of the sessions Nelson had "artistic
differences" with Numan and did not want his name on it.
-
In 1985-89, Numan worked with Bill Sharpe from Shakatak to put
out four singles ("Change Your Mind," "New Thing From London
Town," "I'm On Automatic" and "No More Lies"/"Voices") and an
album _Automatic_. He may have helped on Sharpe's solo album
_Famous People_, the CD of which contains the 12" version of
"Change Your Mind."
-
Claire Hamil
-
Yen (produced a few tracks)
-
Big Noise (produced a few tracks)
-
Most of the Numa label artists of 1984-87
-
Radio Heart:
Appearing seemingly out of nowhere (though they come from
Scotland), Radio Heart managed to get such big names as Gary
Numan and Elton John to help them out on their first (and only)
album _Radio Heart_. After three singles were released, an LP and
CD of the album came out with Numan prominently pictured on the
sleeve and with his name in big letters. This cover created the
illusion that this was a Numan album when in fact it was not.
Numa got mad and apparently had the clout to pull the plug on
the whole deal. A good number of LPS had been released at this
point but very few CDS made it out and it is now quite a rare
find. The writers of _Radio Heart_'s music were two men named
Hugh and David Nicholson. After _Radio Heart_ faded into
obscurity, in 1994 a song called "Like A Refugee (I Won't Cry)"
was released by a group called Da Da Dang. It was written by
Hugh and David Nicholson, and Numan was the guest vocalist.
-
Numan co-wrote the song "Shame" with Nick Beggs (ex-member of
Kajagoogoo).
-
Generator, formed by Numan guest guitarist Kipper, had Gary do
voice-overs on their cover of "Are 'Friends' Electric?" in
1994.
-
Gary collaborated on a new remix of "Are 'Friends' Electric?" with UK
band Nancy Boy in 1995.
Return To Index
Section IV. Covers of Gary Numan songs:
-
Big Hair: "Cars" ("Shall I Pee On Your Face and Make It Stick"
7" EP (Energy Records 1993))
-
Caroline Munro: "Pump Me Up" (Numa Records 1984 on 12" and 7")
-
Foo Fighters: "Down In The Park" (performed live during 1995 tour)
-
Generator: "Are 'Friends' Electric?" ("Are 'Friends' Electric?"
CD single (two versions) with Numan contributing to the two
spoken parts)
-
Hole: "Cars" (performed live during 1995 tour)
-
Jack'O'Nuts: "My Shadow In Vain" ("Taking Him Over" 7")
-
Judybats: "Cars" ("Daylight" CD single 1991)
-
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo: "Cars" (Road To Riches CD (contains samples
from "Cars"))
-
Marilyn Manson: "Down In The Park" ("Lunchbox" CD single 1995)
-
Nancy Boy: "Are Friends' Electric?" [Parts 1 and 2] (UK CD
single 1995)
-
Replicants: "Are 'Friends' Electric?" (album on Zoo Records)
-
Robert Palmer: "I Dream Of Wires" (Clues LP)
-
Sir Mix-A-Lot: "Rippin'" contains samples from "Cars" (Swass LP)
-
Sir Mix-A-Lot: "Lockjaw" contains a sample from "Zero Bars:
["Your silence is my trade"] (Mack Daddy CD)
-
Smashing Pumpkins: "M.E." (performed live during 1995 tour)
-
Thought Industry: "Metal" ("Gelatin" 7" EP (Metal Blade Records Inc. 1993))
-
Tik & Tok: "A Child With The Ghost" (Intolerance LP 1984)
-
Christian Death: "Down In The Park" (live) (The Iron Mask CD)
-
And many, many, up-and-coming bands are covering Numan songs (or
using Numan samples in their songs).
-
Apparently a journalist for an American magazine went
to interview Trent Reznor (of Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson)
at his studio and found him in the process of recording a version
of "Metal."
Return To Index
Section V. Numan and IRS Records:
In 1987, Numan penned a deal with long-time fan Miles
Copeland to produce _Metal Rhythm_ on Illegal Records (U.K.'s IRS
counterpart). However, Gary's 3 record contract with IRS expired
upon the release of _Outland_ and Gary was left without a U.S
deal once again. For _Metal Rhythm_, Gary wanted to call it "Cold
Metal Rhythm" but was told it was too long a title. The UK
release was the only one that contained Gary's own choices for
the album. The US, continental European and Japanese releases of
the retitled album _New Anger_ had two tracks omitted, 3 songs
remixed, and two tracks from _Berserker_ added, one of which was
remixed. Gary was not happy with this level of interference in
his artistic conceptions.
IRS did not want to release the soundtrack Gary did for the
movie _The Unborn_. This upset Gary as he was proud of the work
he did for it and thought IRS would jump at the chance of putting
out an album of music that has a film to advertise it.
Gary wanted IRS to help fund a US tour to promote the US
album releases of _New Anger_ and _Outland_. IRS would not. The
lack of any advertising or promotion apart from a brief visit to
New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco made Gary feel IRS were
not serious about him as an artist on their label. Even the
attempt at issuing a US single from _Outland_ was half-hearted.
The "My World Storm" US remix only appeared on 12" when CD5s were
the more popular format for singles and the T-shirt offer
associated with it fizzled with none being printed.
Gary's comments on the IRS situation: "IRS fired me, or in music biz
parlance, decided not to exercise their option. They messed with my songs
in the most disgraceful way, behind my back and at times against my express
wishes. They made me work with people who were completely crap and clueless
[...] A most unpleasant period."
Return To Index
Section VI. UK Chart Positions
This information is available at The World
Wide Webb in the Radio Heart
section.
Return To Index
Section VII. Numan Books:
- Coleman, Ray. _Gary Numan: The Authorised Biography_. London:
Sidgwick & Jackson, 1982. 128 pages, b&w ill. ISBN 0283988762
The best and fairest assessment of Numan's life and work, but sadly
out of date.
- Vermorel, Fred & Judy. _Gary Numan By Computer_. London:
Omnibus Press, 1980. b&w and color ill.
A shoddily-created book of photographs and quotes.
- _The Gary Numan Songbook, vol. 1_. London: Chappell Music
Ltd., 1982. 79 p., b&w and color ill.
Sheet music for 1978-1979 songs (covers songs on the 1st
album, _Replicas_ and _The Plan_). Also contains a few reprints
of articles. As far as is known, there were never any more
volumes published.
- _Electric Shadows_. circa 1984.
A scrapbook-like compilation of magazine articles and clippings.
Return To Index
Section VIII. Useful addresses:
Gary Numan UK Fan Club
Gary Numan Fan Club
P.O. Box 14
Staines, Middlesex
TW19 5AU
Check the NuWORLD web site at http://www.numan.co.uk for complete fan
club information.
Gary Numan North American Fan Club (Official)
Ron Cole and his wife attempt to provide UK Fan Club services to the rest
of the world. For information, please write:
Kristina Cole
P.O. Box 1412
Ridgecrest, CA
93556-1412
Gary Numan North American Fan Club (Unofficial)
Contact:
Jim Napier
165 Enfield Center Road East
Ithaca, NY
14850
Return To Index
Section IX. CD Releases:
PLEASE NOTE
As of February 7th I have not had time to update this information, which
will shortly be presented in a different format. If you just GOTTA have the
information right now, please check the text version of the Gary Numan FAQ for
all the latest.
A.) UK CD release of _Living Ornaments_ (BEGA 155CD):
-
Yes, it was planned but Beggars Banquet could not find the
tapes for the 1980 show. They wanted to put a full 75 mins of
each concert on CD. Beggars Banquet told Numan that they would
pair the Wembley 1981 farewell concert with _Living Ornaments
'79_ instead. There has been no sign of this set yet.
- 70+ mins of the _Living Ornaments_ concerts can be found on
the Japanese _Asylum_ Volume 3 CD. Even though '79 is edited
down they merged it with '80 so it sounds almost like one
concert. The omitted tracks are present as bonus tracks on other
_Asylum_ Vol. 1 discs.
B.) _Berserker_ CD:
-
A _Berserker_ CD (with the cassette extended mixes) saw a
limited 2000 disc release via the UK-only Gary Numan Fan Club in
1991. It was Numa's first release after the split with IRS but
occurred before the distribution deal with Pinnacle which now
distributes all Gary's Numa material. So only a few copies found
their way out of the UK. The initial pressing ran out in 1992.
- As of October 1995, the Berserker CD was on the verge of being
released.
C.) Derek Langsford's CDiscography:
-
Please Note: This FAQ does NOT include the complete Numan
discography, which can be found in the ftp sites at
cs.uwp.edu and
mirrors.aol.com.
-
All within categories are in chronological order of original
release rather than CD release.
|
Title |
Status |
Studio Album CDs |
Tubeway Army & Dance |
DELETED |
Replicas & The Plan |
DELETED |
The Pleasure Principle & Warriors |
DELETED |
Telekon & I, Assassin |
DELETED |
Replicas (UK budget rerelease) |
CURRENT |
Asylum 1 (1st 4 BB albums + bonus tracks) Jap 4CD Collection |
DELETED |
Asylum 2 (2nd 4 BB albums + bonus tracks) Jap 4CD Collection |
DELETED |
Asylum 3 (Living Ornaments 80 + some of 79) Jap 1CD Collection |
DELETED |
Tubeway Army & Dance UK 2CD (+ bonus tracks) |
CURRENT |
Replicas & The Plan UK 2CD (+ bonus tracks) |
CURRENT |
The Pleasure Principle & Warriors UK 2CD (+ bonus tracks) |
CURRENT |
Telekon & I, Assassin UK 2CD (+ bonus tracks) |
CURRENT |
Berserker (extended mixes) UK Fan Club-only CD |
Fall '95 |
White Noise UK 2CD Live |
CURRENT |
The Fury UK CD album |
out of print |
Strange Charm UK CD album |
out of print |
Ghost UK 2CD Live |
CURRENT |
New Anger (US version of Metal Rhythm) US/Ger/Jap CD Album |
DELETED |
Metal Rhythm UK CD album |
DELETED |
The Skin Mechanic all markets CD Live |
DELETED |
Outland all markets CD Album |
DELETED |
Machine and Soul UK CD album |
CURRENT |
Machine and Soul Extended UK CD album |
CURRENT |
Dream Corrosion UK 2CD Live |
CURRENT |
Sacrifice UK CD album |
CURRENT |
Sacrifice Extended UK CD album |
CURRENT |
Dark Light UK 2CD Live |
CURRENT |
Human UK CD album |
CURRENT |
|
Title |
Status |
Compilations |
Exhibition UK/Ger/Can/Jap 2CD |
DELETED |
The Collection UK CD Compilation |
CURRENT |
Isolate UK CD Compilation |
CURRENT |
Document Series presents Gary Numan UK CD compilation |
CURRENT |
The Other Side of Gary Numan UK CD compilation |
DELETED |
The Best of Gary Numan 1978-1983 UK/Ger/Jap 2CD |
CURRENT |
Here I Am UK CD compilation |
CURRENT |
|
Title |
Status |
CD Singles & EPs |
Peel Sessions UK CD5 Studio Live |
DELETED |
Selection UK CD5 EP |
out of print |
Exhibition Jap CD3 EP |
out of print |
New Anger UK CD5 Single |
DELETED |
America UK CD5 Single |
DELETED |
Heart UK CD5 Single |
DELETED |
Emotion UK CD5 Single |
CURRENT |
The Skin Game UK CD5 Single |
CURRENT |
Machine and Soul 1 UK CD5 Single |
CURRENT |
Machine and Soul 2 UK CD5 Single |
CURRENT |
Cars EP UK CD5 EP |
CURRENT |
Dream Corrosion Live EP UK CD5 EP |
CURRENT |
A Question of Faith UK CD5 Single |
CURRENT |
Absolution/Magic UK CD5 Single |
CURRENT |
Dark Light Live EP UK CD5 EP |
CURRENT |
|
Title |
Status |
UK Fan Club-only Releases |
Berserker (extended mixes) UK Fan Club CD |
out of print |
Radial Pair Video Soundtrack UK Fan Club CD |
CURRENT |
Babylon vols 1-7 back catalogue issues UK Fan Club CD |
due Jun-Nov 95 |
|
Title |
Status |
Interview CDs |
Images 1 & 2 2LP Interview |
near future |
Images 3 & 4 2LP Interview |
near future |
Images 5 & 6 2LP Interview |
near future |
Images 7 & 8 2LP Interview |
near future |
Images 9 & 10 2LP Interview |
near future |
Images 11 CD Interview |
CURRENT (UK Fan Club) |
Interview (b&w Fury era cover) CD Interview |
out of print |
|
Title |
Status |
Collaborations |
Automatic (with Bill Sharpe) UK CD Album |
out of print |
All Across the Nation (with Radio Heart) Holl CD album |
only a few exist |
I'm On Automatic (with Bill Sharpe) UK CD5 |
out of print |
No More Lies (with Bill Sharpe) UK CD5 |
out of print |
Voices (same tracks as No More Lies) Ger CD5 |
out of print |
All Across The Nation (Radio Heart) UK CD5 |
impossible to find |
Adrenalin (Numan/Yen) UK CD5 |
out of print |
Like a Refugee (with Da Da Dang) part 1 UK CD5 |
CURRENT |
Like a Refugee (with Da Da Dang) part 2 UK CD5 |
CURRENT |
Are 'Friends" Electric? (with Generator) UK CD5 |
CURRENT |
Are Friends' Electric? Parts 1 & 2 (Nancy Boy) |
CURRENT |
There are also numerous various artist compilations which feature Gary but
mostly the tracks are "Are Friends Electric?" and "Cars."
"Change Your Mind" with Bill Sharpe never had a CD single release but the 7"
version is on the Canadian Polydor release of "Exhibition" along with "No More
Lies" and "Voices." The "Change Your Mind" 12" mix can be found on the Canadian
compilation "Hardest Hits, Volume II" CD. This series supposedly had a US
release in 1995.
Return To Index