Proto punk rocker…chart-topping electronic pop pioneer with an alien presence…a man of chameleonic image changes…the world’s first pop singing pilot…years in the wilderness…a master of re-invention…GARY NUMAN has been/enjoyed/ suffered all these and more and is one of the few people around actually deserving of the term “Living Legend”. His new career-spanning compilation “EXPOSURE” celebrates the reasons why we still need to listen o50%ut for him. TIM PEACOCK talks to Gary about Mexico, the vagaries of fame, synthesisers and – of course – SUGABABES.
There can’t be many artists out there who – should they even arrive at their silver jubilee in the none-more fickle music business – have endured such a bumpy ride as GARY NUMAN.
The new extensive compilation “Exposure” on Gary’s own Jagged Halo label is a career-spanning opus that will adroitly remind you just how many great singles this pioneering performer has recorded. We’ll come back to “Exposure” a little later, but first let’s tackle the SUGABABES. For those of you out there with bags over your heads, the current SUGABABES smash “Freak Like Me” downloads very large portions of NUMAN’S still eerily effective “Are ‘Friends’Electric?” hit and builds a whole new song around it.
Not surprisingly, GARY’S keen to talk about it.
“I liked the SUGABABES thing straight off,” he enthuses. “Universal (Records) sent me a promo of it and when it arrived, my band were round my house that night. I’ve got to say I’d never heard of SUAGABES before…and I don’t think they’d heard of me…but as soon as I heard the vocal I thought it’s brilliant! Fantastic! Prior to that I’d just thought they were some manufactured girl band. They’re not at all!”
It’s only natural for a performer to take an interest when their work is re-discovered, but Gary seems genuinely wide-eyed and excited by the resurgence of interest in him. So much so that it almost took him over during his recent holiday in Mexico…
“Yeah, the worst thing was that it was all kicking off here while I was away,” he laughs.
“My wife and I were in Mexico for a couple of weeks and I’m missing all the fun! I mean, my own single (“Rip”) got to #1 in KERRANG and the SUGABABES single’s taking off…and I’m in Mexico!”
Must’ve been amazing out there, though, surely.
“Oh yes, of course. My wife’s really into the pyramids, but we were over on the west coast whale watching. In itself, that was incredible, really something else.”
Back to reality, though, it seems Gary’s taken quite an interest in the growing army of fans he’s got in the industrial/ metal sectors.
“Yeah, I’m finding loads of interest from bands as widespread as FOO FIGHTERS, REPUBLICA and NINE INCH NAILS, who I love anyway. I can’t tell you how fucking exciting it is with my own single “Rip” getting to #1 in the KERRANG! Charts. I’ve waited eight years for that moment.”
There are some legendary covers of Numan’s songs out there. I venture FOO FIGHTERS’ “Down In The Park” from the “X FILES” OST as my own favourite…
“I love NINE INCH NAILS’ take of “Metal,” he suggests. “Oh, and MARILYN MANSON’S “Down In The Park.”
You’re quite friendly with the self-styled “Antichrist Superstar,” aren’t you?
“Yeah, well, he’s really bright, really clued in. He knows exactly what he’s doing, and I think people underestimate that in him,” considers Gary.
“I tell you what, though, it was quite embarrassing when he wanted to get up onstage and do “Down In The Park” with me in Los Angeles,” he continues.
“I didn’t know his real name is Brian Warner at the time and I get this message saying that Brian Warner wanted to get up and sing with me…and initially I thought “Fuckin’ cheek, who does this guy think he is!” Then I found out who he really was. It was…embarrassing.”
Although I can’t quite picture Gary blushing down the phone, I get the impression the incident still makes him wince. Nonetheless, when you consider the wealth of material available again across the 2 CDS making up “Exposure: The Best of Gary Numan 1977 – 2002”, it’s inevitable that this particular phoenix would rise from the ashes and exert his influence again at some stage. Even if SUGABABES had never existed, it’s odds on that this collection would have re-established him kudos –wise. A quick glance down the track listing reveals the likes of (deep breath) “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?”, “Cars”, “Complex”, “We Are Glass”, “I Die, You Die”, “Music For Chameleons”…plus other fantastic stuff like “Down In The Park” and “Films.”
Hindsight is a great leveller, of course, but apart from the fact that he had five Top 5 albums and a seemingly unassailable stream of UK hit singles during the period 1979 – 1982, does Gary look back at his work and feel his futuristic synth-rock sound with TUBEWAY ARMY and solo was pioneering in the way that, say, KRAFTWERK were?
“I didn’t think so, no. It was different though certainly,” he muses.
“I didn’t look at it as pioneering. I just thought that for me discovering synthesisers suddenly meant that, even as a poor musician, it didn’t matter. Suddenly it was all about sound which was more my cup of tea.”
Warming to this theme, he continues:
“For me, an atmospheric sound is far more interesting. One note can have more impact and tension than, like 2000 notes per second, y’know? Also, when Sampling came in…that was a dream come true for someone like me, working the way I do.”
Can you tell us more about the day you first discovered the possibilities of a synthesizer then?
“Oh yeah,” he fires back. “I went into the studio to make a guitar-based punk rock album with TUBEWAY ARMY and in the corner of the studio was this…thing racked up. It was a Moog synth made by Morris Plaquet.”
What happened next, then?
“Well, I asked if I could give it a try. The engineer guy agreed, saying it was only sitting about there waiting to be collected. I hit a key and the sound it made…it was like 10 guitars going off at once! Massive! Absolute luck, but hearing that sound changed my life. Literally.”
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Do you know who set it up in the studio in the first place?
“No, that’s just it,” he laughs. “To this day I don’t know who set up that Moog in the studio. I’d like to say a huge “THANKS!” to that person!”
We move on to talking about “Exposure.” Like any artists with a lengthy career span, I wonder if there are any of Numan’s past records where he personally feels he was pushing the envelope and achieved exactly what he set out to do?
“I wouldn’t want to make any claims really,” he says carefully.
“To be honest, I’m probably most happy with “Pure” (Numan’s last studio album from 2000). It was really tough to make though.”
How do you mean?“Well, there was a lot of bad stuff went down,” he sighs. “My Nan, my Baby and my dog all died during the making of it. One thing after another…indescribable stuff. Plus I wasn’t sleeping.”
“And all this time, the interest in me was building,” he brightens, after a pause.
“Suddenly, “Pure” gave me a major opportunity to come back into the public eye. After so long in the wilderness, you wonder if you’ll ever come back. Finally, when the record came out, it got good reviews across the board. Even now, I can’t tell you how fantastic that was…especially after everything that had happened.”
In terms of your live show, how do you feel about playing the old hits now. Does the routine bore you?
“No, I’m perfectly happy still to play “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” and so on,” he suggests.
“Sometimes I feel like a bit of a spare part doing “Cars” because I don’t play anything on it and after my vocal’s finished, I’m stuck with trying to look cool (laughs uproariously).”
“Live, now, though, I can rework older songs, put in new loops and things to bring the songs into a more modern context. The weird thing is I’ve got over 300 recorded songs but I’ve got problems choosing ones to do live…especially stuff dating back to the mid-1980s.”
Do you feel those records have dated badly?
“In some cases,” he agrees. “I mean, there’s fretless bass and saxophone all over some of them. The band I have now wouldn’t suit that at all. It’s difficult…a lot of fans are adamant I play some things and I end up feeling, well…hang on, this is supposed to be my show!”
In terms of obsessive fans, you do seem top get especially devoted ones, Gary. Have you noticed that? This writer remembers once being plagued for weeks by one punter desperate for Numan back catalogue stuff while working at a second hand record store.
“Yeah, it’s possible that my alienated image may have encouraged that and inspired a lot of attention,” he admits.
“At the time I presumed it happened to everyone who’s public property, but now I’m not sure. I guess everyone gets nutters, but I’m still not certain if this is peculiar to me. Yeah, I do get very fervent fans.”
Talking of attention, in the media age we now live in, he internet plays an integral part in many peoples’ public profiles. Would I be right in thinking you adopted this medium early on and that’s it’s played a significant part in your renaissance?
“Yeah, very much so,” concurs Gary. “We set up an internet site first in 1994/95 and it got about 17,000 hits in the first year. Now it gets about half a million every year.”
“It’s a vital part of my enterprise now,” he continues. “For someone in my position who’s been struggling for years, it’s suddenly made me accessible to people all over the globe. D’you know, I haven’t had a record deal in the US for about 16, 17 years, but now people can order my records directly…God it makes such a difference.”
2002’s GARY NUMAN is very different to the peroxided alien apparatchik who so fascinated us in the post-punk period. Relaxed, friendly and stimulating in conversation (with an earthy Cockney twang) he’s clearly a man feeling more contented with his lot and happy to be in (something like) control of his destiny.
Before we part, though, the obvious question remains: what if the SUGABABES and ”Exposure” were to do a Reggie Perrin for you and you end up going supernova again. Could you handle it now?
“I’d be able to handle it better, but having said that I don’t really wanna go there again,” says Gary pensively.
“The pride and credibility is one thing, but the workload and the pressures intrude on your life and family too much. I mean, there’s lots of excitement with the SUGABABES introducing me to a new generation. In that sense I’m almost #1 again.”
“I tell you, though,” he says with finality: “There’s nothing like being influential but still being able to go and catch a film or something without being bothered. What could be better?”
What indeed. But if I know anything about GARY NUMAN – and with “Exposure”s help – we’ll all be loving the alien for years yet to come.
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