Cleopatra Records Info on Gary Numan

"Here in my car, I feel safest of all, I can lock all my doors, it's the only way to live - in Cars..." Think of Gary Numan,and you'll think of this song. Although "Cars" was the only Top Ten song Numan scored in America, back home in England he had already won fame and accolades with numerous Top Ten hits, and was called, by many, "The Godfather of Electronic Pop."

Today, top selling acts such as Bec, Weezer, Smashing Pumpkins, Shampoo, Marilyn Manson and the Foo Fighters are all paying homage to Numan's genius by covering his songs live and on record. The Foo Fighters' remake of Numan's classic "Down in the Park" appeared recently on an X-Files album.

Numan's latest, Exile, is a return to the electronic chill of his earlier work, and is already receiving praise in the British press, who are calling it his best work to date. 1998 will prove to be the busiest year yet for Numan. In addition to the release of Exile, he is set to release a remix album entitled The Mix. He is also slated to tour the U.S. in March '98 in support of Exile, and act in his first movie role as a drug dealer in the British film Kinsmen. In addition, he is also preparing for the release of his autobiography due out in bookstores at the end of October. [Yes, yes, info's a bit outdated, he's touring N. Europe in March, etc. etc., just read, okay? - RP]

Rewind: Numan's story begins as the '70s end, when a 20-year-old ex-punk from West London saw the possibililty of a synthesized future. In 1978 Beggars Banquet released Gary Numan's Tubeway Army's self-titled debut, which mixed electronics and post-punk guitar with solid no-frills drumming by Numan's uncle, Jess Lidyard. He immediately created a new sound - a fresh, garage-synth style - and by the time the album was released, Numan was back int he studio.

Replicas, the follow up to Tubeway Army, was recorded in three days at Gooseberry Studios in London. Numan utilized a stark, synthetic sound for most of the tracks. The album's first single, "Down in the Park," proclaimed this radical change of diretion, but no one believed that the alienated, rhythmical drone of the follow-up, "Are 'Friends' Electric?", would elbow its way up to the Number One slot. Within weeks, Numan was posing on Top of the Pops (England's version of American Bandstand for the alternative set) in harsh white light, bringing a touch of showbiz camp to the clipped, motorized repetitiveness of the song.

When "Cars" and The Pleasure Principle album both topped the UK charts in autumn of '79, Numan put together a complete package of song, video and aloof stage image which later acted as a catalyst for a new wave of suburban no-hopers who broke through a year or two later. These new wave and synth-pop bands influenced by Numan included Human League, Depeche Mode and OMD, all who benefited from his success.

Over the next two years Numan scored more hits in the UK with "We Are Glass" and "I Die: You Die," as well as a third successive Number One album, Telekon, which featured an increasingly opulent sound built out of synths, piano, strings and guitar. Althought these albums achieved chart recognition and praise form the press, Gary Numan took a dramatic turn, announcing his intention to give up live performances. He made a meloramatic exit with three lavish shows at Wembley Arena. These farewell shows effectively ended his reign as a multimillion-selling pop star, and he took time out to enjoy the rags-to-riches trappings of money - Ferraris, sponsored racing cars, and, of course, his own aircraft.

On Dance, his 1981 album, he explored sparser, more ambient textures. However, all his idealism about creating a fresh sound album by album failed to impress the British press, who weren't ready to encourage this hyper-creativity. His last two albums for Beggars Banquet, [I,] Assassin 9'82) and Warriors ('83), adopted fluid funk styles which garnered more chart success with "We Take Mystery," "Music for Chameleons" and "Warriors."

Although most casual observers knew little about Numan's new releases, they were certainly aware of his activities away from teh pop scene, in particular, his adventures as a pilot. A much publicized roun-the-world solo flight in his own plane was initially aborted when he was arrested in India on suspicion of spying. Although he eventually achieved his ambitions, the newspapers had lost interest, and his return was hardly acknowledged. He did, however, make the news after he made and emergency landing on a road due to engine failure.

For the next decade, Numan released a new album on his own label every year, and toured every autumn. Musically, these albums combined bright pop with unique songwriting, vocal and production techniques. Titles included Berserker, The Fury, Strange Charm, Automatic with Bill Sharpe from Shakatak, Metal Rhythm and Outland, the latter released through IRS Records. Although they continued to chart in the UK just outside th Top 20, they had more affinity with the glam-slamming funk of Prince than with the British music scene.

When 1992's Machine and Soul album followed the usual pattern and stalled at 42 on the UK charts, Numan believed he'd reached an all-time low. Yet, just three years later, for the first time in over a decade, the musical climate progressively changed in his favor. This cultural backlip [? sic] was signaled by his best album in years, 1994's Sacrifice. At the same time, covers by the aforementioned actes crated a resurgence of interest in h is songs. In 1995, Carling Premier Lager was advertised with "Cars" as its musical backdrop, kicking off a chart revival which pushed the song back into the Top 20. A greatest hits compilation also peaked at 21 in Britain in the spring of 1996 which also found Numan in support of Pulp at V96. With the release of Exile, and the upcoming remix album, Mix, as well as his forthcoming autobiography and acting projects, Numan is starting off 1998 with a bang.

Numan's story is that of an imperfect, improbable pop star who has fulfilled an entertainer's primary role of never boring his fans - a tale of fame, dreams, lightshows, guns, girls, money, Moog synthesizers, science fiction, introspection, ego, alter egos, paranoia, cult status, Max Factor 28 pan stick and his beloved airplanes. Fly low, and avoid the radar, Mr. Numan.