Simultaneously credited for ushering in the synth-driven new wave of the early '80s and lambasted for liberally borrowing from stylistic cousins like Japan and Ultravox, Gary Numan is still only known in the U.S. for his solitary hit, 1979's "Cars." Immediately falling off American charts, Numan has for the last 17 years been relegated to, at best, cult performer status. But with a new compilation, Tubeway Army Premier Hits, and a pending tribute album, Random, Numan at long last seems to be getting the respect he's due. Numan spoke at length with SPINonline's Jason Roth about his new found success, whether or not the Chemical Brothers and Prodigy are his legacy, hanging out with Beck, Gravity Kills and Marilyn Manson, and of course... his hair transplant scarring.
SPINonline: For all intents and purposes, you're a one-hit wonder in this country. You've not had a significant place on the charts since "Cars." Why did American popular taste move past you?
Gary Numan:I think most of the fault lies with me, actually. In 1980 I did a tour and said it was going to be my last--which was a genuine feeling at the time. I hadn't taken well to the whole playing thing. I was young, 22, and in a childish kind of way I wanted to make it a hobby again. It had become all big business and money, and people were talking about songs as units. The British press in particular were really unpleasant with me and I thought, "This isn't what I expected it to be." I missed home. I couldn't write when I was touring. I was getting behind in commitments to record companies and I didn't care. The whole thing was a very steep learning curve. I got left behind with for too many years. It took me seven years to come to terms with what had happened. In the meantime I'd done some silly things, as a musician, and upset a few people.
Would those silly things include your flirtation with the "New Romantic" movement?
Well, I was never part of the New Romantic thing. It was just a misunderstanding of what's going on in one country and another. The New Romantics came and went. I was just plodding along beside it like I've plodded along beside every other fashion. That's apart from the one I was loosely involved in starting, and I don't necessarily believe that I started the electronic thing. I was just one of a number of people that were doing it.
But what about your fashion? The suits? The Fedora?
Oh yeah, the main fashion of the New Romantic was the long flowing gowns and wraps. I looked like a gangster--or I tried to (laughs). The only reason I did all of that is because I had two hair transplants and I needed to cover up the scarring for it to heal. I had a hundred-odd stitches in my head for six months. "I don't know, I'll wear a hat."
You've never been shy about admitting some stylistic debts you owe. I remember one quote in which you admitted, "I never claimed to be original."
That's right. I don't believe in originality. I don't believe there's a single song in the world that hasn't been influenced by someone. It's impossible to listen to one bar of music without it having some influence. I don't believe in the concept of originality, ever.
Why "Cars?" Why was this your only song that had any popularity in America?
Well I think the fact that I've not had a deal in America for most of my career is more the key than anything else. I didn't have a deal from about 1982 to 1988, and then only briefly with [IRS Records'] Miles Copeland. So for the vast part of my career I've had no record company in America at all.
At the height of your success did you ever indulge in rock star excess?
Nothing. [Except the sex! -RP] I swear to you on my life that I've never given importance to pop stars, myself included. I don't see what we do as being significant. We are transient people. For every one of us that sits in the charts there are a thousand every bit as good waiting to come along. I do not have any feelings of great importance. I've been #1, had police escorts out of buildings to protect me and shit like that. I've never had a tantrum in my life because I'm famous.
Besides your music career, you're also known as an aviator. Are you still flying?
I'm an air display pilot. You know, you go to an air show and you see people come along and do acrobatics close to the ground. I fly World War II combat airplanes in low level formation where you are very close to the ground. They're very fast, incredibly powerful, very demanding to fly, and it's dangerous. I've lost four friends in the last 18 months, killed while flying. In the music business you can take a risk which means your album might not sell as much as the one before. In aviation you take a risk and you risk your life.
So after a long absence from American pop culture, why a Gary Numan renaissance now?
Fuckin' surprise to me, man. It is. Like you said, "Why should it happen?" I've done nothing here for like 15, 17 years. And then all of a sudden, out of the blue, people started to talk about me again and say I've been a key influence. I have no idea why, but I'm sitting back with a huge smile on my face going, "This is so cool." My girlfriend has this theory that people who were fans of mine are now successful themselves. It's only been in the last year--the last six months really. It's been a brilliant time. I've been going out meeting lots of people. I spent a lot of time with Gravity Kills when I was in London. I went out with Beck and Marilyn Manson when they played the UK. It's just been brilliant and I'm actually having more fun now than I've had for a long time. I feel popular again, in a way that I hadn't in a long time.
There's a big buzz about the British electronic acts in the U.S. these days. Do you think bands like Prodigy and Chemical Brothers can make it big here?
The thing that I find is cool about it, which may be why it's taking off is it's the next progression in dance. It's's got all of the vibe and the groove and all that, so it's very good in a live situation, but it has more substance to it. There's a menace to the Prodigy which I think is phenomenal. Similar thing with the Chemical Brothers, though there's not quite so much menace, it is very inventive. I still think what's happening now is just the beginning of where it's going. It's going to get better and better and better and it will become more musical and more melodic than it is at the moment, I hope anyway.
Who on the tribute album most surprised you as being a closet fan? Pop Will Eat Itself, Beck, Damon Albarn? What was the biggest surprise?
I find the whole thing a surprise. I honestly do.