Gary Numan
Synthpop
England
Active
Gary Numan is one of the legends of the British New Wave scene of the late 1970's and early 1980's, an innovative force in synthpop music, and a trendsetter for darktronica fashion.
After a few uninspired punk efforts, Numan latched onto synthesizers as the driving force for his band's music, and embraced his love for science fiction by incorporating it as a lyrical and musical motif. First appearing as a member of Tubeway Army on Britain's Top Of The Pops program with their breakthrough hit "Are 'Friends' Electric?", Numan's band soon started recording under his own name. His distinctively stiff and androgynous stage presence made him a pop curiousity, revered and reviled in equal turn.
Unfortunately, Gary Numan's success was short-lived. After topping the charts with The Pleasure Principle and Telekon, each successive album went steadily downhill, and he has yet to land another album in the top 20 of the British charts ever since Warriors. Several attempts to reinvent his image failed, and his forays into jazz and funk were ill-received, both critically and popularly. This slide continued until 1994's Sacrifice, which returned to a darker, stripped-down electronic sound devoid of all the saxophones and pop foppery of his more commercial efforts.
It seems, however, that the last laugh has belonged to Numan, as the influence of his early albums has continued to grow over time. Cover versions of "Cars" by Fear Factory, "Metal" by Nine Inch Nails, remixes with Numan samples by arists like Basement Jaxx and Armand van Helden have kept him in the public consciousness, and countless other electronic artists cite Numan as inspiration.
Darktronica favorites are "Dead Heaven," "Listen To My Voice," "The Angel Wars," "Cars," and his song "Dark City" from the Dark City movie soundtrack.
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Gary Numan Discography
Tubeway Army
(1978, Beggar's Banquet)
1. Listen To The Sirens
2. My Shadow In Vain
3. The Life Machine
4. Friends
5. Something In The House
6. Everyday I Die
7. Steel And You
8. My Love Is A Liquid
9. Are You Real
10. The Dream Police
11. Jo The Waiter
12. Zero Bars (Mr. Smith)
Replicas
(1979, Beggar's Banquet)
1. Me! I Disconnect From You
2. Are 'Friends' Electric?
3. The Machman
4. Praying To The Aliens
5. Down In The Park
6. You Are In My Vision
7. Replicas
8. It Must Have Been Years
9. When The Machines Rock
10. I Nearly Married A Human
The Pleasure Principle
(1979, Beggar's Banquet)
1. Airplane (Instrumental)
2. Metal
3. Complex
4. Films
5. M.E.
6. Tracks
7. Observer
8. Conversation
9. Cars
10. Engineers
11. Random (Instrumental)
12. Oceans (Instrumental)
13. Asylum (Instrumental)
14. Me! I Disconnect From You (Live)
15. Bombers (Live)
16. Remember I Was Vapour (Live)
17. On Broadway (Live)
Telekon
(1980, Beggar's Banquet)
1. This Wreckage
2. The Aircrash Bureau
3. Telekon
4. Remind Me To Smile
5. Sleep By Windows
6. I'm An Agent
7. I Dream Of Wires
8. Remember When I Was Vapour
9. Please Push No More
10. The Joy Circuit
Dance
(1981, Beggar's Banquet)
1. Slowcar To China
2. Night Talk
3. A Subway Called "You"
4. Cry, The Clock Said
5. She's Got Claws
6. Crash
7. Boys Like Me
8. Stories
9. My Brother's Time
10. You Are, You Are
11. Moral
I, Assassin
(1982, Beggar's Banquet)
1. White Boys And Heroes
2. War Songs
3. A Dream Of Siam
4. Music For Chameleons
5. This Is My House
6. I, Assassin
7. The 1930's Rust
8. We Take Mystery To Bed
Warriors
(1983, Beggar's Banquet)
1. Warriors
2. I Am Render
3. The Iceman Comes
4. This Prison Moon
5. My Centurion
6. I Am Render
7. The Prision Moon
8. Sister Surprise
9. Love Is Like Clock Law
10. The Rythm Of The Evening
11. My Car Slides (1)
12. My Car Slides (2)
13. Poetry And Power
14. Face To Face (Letters)
15. Cars (E'Rag Extended Model)
16. Cars (Motorway Mix)
Berserker
(1984, Numa)
1. Berserker
2. This Is New Love
3. The Secret
4. My Dying Machine
5. Cold Warning
6. Pump It Up
7. The God Film
8. A Child With The Ghost
9. The Hunter
The Fury
(1985, Numa)
1. Call Out The Dogs
2. The Disease
3. Your Fascination
4. Miracles
5. The Pleasure Skin
6. Creatures
7. Tricks
8. God Only Knows
9. I Still Remember
Strange Charm
(1986, Numa)
1. My Breathing
2. Unknown And Hostile
3. The Sleeproom
4. New Thing From London Town
5. I Can't Stop
6. Strange Charm
7. The Need
8. This Is Love
Metal Rhythm
(1988, Illegal Records)
1. This Is Emotion
2. Hunger
3. New Anger
4. Devious
5. America
6. Voix
7. Respect
8. Young Heart
9. Cold Metal Rhythm
10. Don't Call My Name
New Anger
(1989, Illegal Records)
1. Devious
2. America
3. Cold Metal Rhythm
4. This Is Emotion
5. Don't Call My Name
6. Voix
7. Respect
8. New Anger
9. My Dying Machine
10. Child With The Ghost
Outland
(1991, IRS Records)
1. (Interval 1)
2. Soul Protection
3. Confession
4. My World Storm
5. Dream Killer
6. Dark Sunday
7. Outland
8. Heart
9. (Interval 2)
10. From Russia Infected
11. (Interval 3)
12. Devotion
13. Whisper
Machine And Soul
(1992, Numa)
1. Machine And Soul
2. Generator
3. The Skin Game
4. Poison
5. I Wonder
6. Emotion
7. Cry
8. U Got The Look
9. Love Isolation
10. Hanoi
11. In A Glasshouse
12. Wonder Eye
13. Cry Baby
14. The Hauntings
15. 1999
16. Dark Mountain
Sacrifice
(1994, Numa)
1. Pray
2. Deadliner
3. A Question Of Faith
4. Desire
5. Scar
6. Love And Napalm
7. You Walk In My Soul
8. Magic
9. Bleed
10. The Seed Of A Lie
Exile
(1997, Eagle Records)
1. Dominion Day
2. Prophecy
3. Dead Heaven
4. Dark
5. Innocence Bleeding
6. The Angel Wars
7. Absolution
8. An Alien Cure
9. Exile
Pure
(2000, Eagle Records)
1. Pure
2. Walking With Shadows
3. Rib
4. One Perfect Lie
5. My Jesus
6. Fallen
7. Listen To My Voice
8. A Prayer For The Unborn
9. Torn
10. Little Invitro
11. I Can't Breathe
Disconnection (Compilation)
(2002, Sanctuary)
Disc 1
1. Berserker
2. My Dying Machine
3. Cold Warning
4. Pump It Up
5. Child With The Ghost
6. The Hunter
7. Empty Bed, Empty Heart
8. Here Am I
9. Call Out The Dogs
10. This Disease
11. Your Fascination
12. Miracles
13. Creatures
14. Tricks
15. God Only Knows
16. I Still Remember
Disc 2
1. Rumour
2. My Breathing
3. The Sleep Room
4. I Can't Stop
5. Strange Charm
6. The Need
7. This Is Love
8. Time To Die
9. Machine And Soul
10. Generator
11. The Skin Game
12. Poison
13. Love Isolation
14. In A Glass House
15. Call Out The Dogs
Disc 3
1. I Die, You Die
2. I Can't Stop
3. Me! I Disconnect From You
4. My Breathing
5. Cars
6. We Take Mystery (To Bed)
7. We Are Glass
8. Are 'Friends' Electric?
9. Down In The Park
10. My Shadow In Vain
11. Emotion
12. Your Fascination
13. Time To Die
14. The Skin Game
15. The Skin Game (Live)
Jagged
(2006, Metropolis)
1. Pressure
2. Fold
3. Halo
4. Slave
5. In A Dark Place
6. Haunted
7. Blind
8. Before You Hate It
9. Melt
10. Scanner
11. Jagged
12. Fold (Alternate Version)
Engineers (Live)
(2008, Beggars Banquet)
1. Introduction: Theme From Replicas
2. Airlane
3. Me! I Disconnect From You
4. Praying To The Aliens
5. M.E.
6. Films
7. We Are So Fragile
8. Are 'Friends' Electric?
9. Conversation
10. Remind Me To Smile
11. Replicas
12. Remember I Was Vapour
13. Trois Gymnopedies
14. Cars
15. I Die You Die
16. Bombers
17. Tracks
Last updated August 15, 2008.
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