My Human/Numan idol, Gary Numan, turned 66 today.
Regarded as one of the founding fathers of synthpop, Numan has influenced countless artists with his constantly evolving form of dystopian electronic rock music since the late 1970s. Establishing a lonely, android-like persona, he rose to fame leading Tubeway Army, a pioneering new wave band whose second album, 1979’s Replicas, became the first of Numan’s three consecutive gold-selling, chart-topping full-lengths in the U.K.
The same year’s The Pleasure Principle, his first solo effort, included the perennial favourite “Cars”, which remains his biggest worldwide hit. He continued refining his sound, incorporating elements of jazz and funk into more sophisticated efforts like 1982’s I, Assassin, and remained a consistent presence in the U.K. charts throughout the following decades.
Numan’s impact continued to make itself felt; his dark, paranoid vision, theatrically icy alien persona, and clinical, robotic sound were echoed strongly in the work of many goth rock and (especially) industrial artists to come. Kim Wilde, Roland Orzabal (Tears for Fears), Afrika Bambaataa, Fear Factory, Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Damon Albarn (Blur), were among the artists who cited Numan as a major influence.
The first video up above, Gary Numan with his band Tubeway Army performing “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” on the Dutch TV show Top Pop, late 1979. “Are ‘Friends’ Electric” garnered him significant public recognition. With its distinctive, moody synthesizer riff and a futuristic robotic sound, the song’s success paved the way for Numan’s subsequent solo career and his further exploration into electronic music.
So, us Numanoids would like to know, where did you celebrate your paranoid-android birthday? In the cars, down in the park?
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Featured image via Peter Noble/Wall Street Journal.
