I was in art college when the Gary Human Replicas LP was released, in 1979. I really liked it the first time I heard it - especially the song Are Friends Electric - which was probably on CFNY-FM because no other station would have played this kind of music back then. This really was new music when it came out, the kind of stuff that hadn't been heard before. Replicas was the second and final studio album by English new wave band Tubeway Army, led by Gary Numan - real name Gary Anthoing James Webb - who would release records under his own name beyond this point.
Tubeway Army would continue to work with Numan for a while, but the music was Numan's solo vision entirely, and Replicas would end up being the first of three records Numan later termed the "machine" phase of his career. The other two records were The Pleasure Principle and Telekon.
Replicas was based on a book Numan hoped to someday complete, a story set in a not-too-distant future city (metropolis would probably be a better word) where Machmen (androids with human skin) and other machines keep the populace in line.
One of the first new wave electronic pop records to be released, Replicas employs a Minimoog synthesizer and an early drum machine, instruments that weren't being widely employed at the time. Dark and brooding lyrically, it also sounded to me fresh and inspired in 1979, especially coming off of the disco decade.
I never got to see Numan play live back in the day, but in 2017 he embarked on a Replicas Live tour of a few select North American cities - Toronto included - and I was lucky enough to be able to attend the show at The Opera House. Basically a live translation of the Replicas album, with a few hits tossed in at the end to flesh things out, it was an amazing show with great sound and lights. The decades since the release of Replicas have allowed Numan to become more than comfortable performing it, and the energy of that performance is captured on Replicas Live, which was recorded in London, U.K., in 2015.
Numan says his image started as an attempt to cover up his acne before an appearance on the British TV show Top of the Pops. "I had spots everywhere," he recalled, "so they slapped about half an inch of white make-up on me before I'd even walked in the door. And my eyes were like piss holes in the snow, so they put black on there. My so-called image fell into place an hour before going on the show."
His initial onstage stiffness, often referred to by critics as a lack of stage presence, was in reality a result of his extreme self-consciousness. It fit his brooding image and helped shape his "machine" persona. Dark, yes - but also fun.
Numan is reported to have Asperger syndrome.
Aside from being a musician, Numan was for a while a pilot. In November and December of 1981 he and his co-pilot, Bob Thompson, successfully flew around the world in Numan's Piper Navajo. It was their second attempt, the first having ended in India when the two men were arrested (so the story goes) on suspicion of smuggling and spying.
In 1982, with Numan at the controls, the same plane would run out of fuel near Southampton, U.K., make a rough landing and be written off.
But the music continued, and this record - which is pressed on white vinyl and signed by Numan - proves the songs have stood up well over time. The sound is full and heavy, and shows off the stellar musicianship of his band. A very hard record to find, a great listen and …
I was in art college when the Gary Human Replicas LP was released, in 1979. I really liked it the first time I heard it - especially the song Are Friends Electric - which was probably on CFNY-FM because no other station would have played this kind of music back then. This really was new music when it came out, the kind of stuff that hadn't been heard before. Replicas was the second and final studio album by English new wave band Tubeway Army, led by Gary Numan - real name Gary Anthoing James Webb - who would release records under his own name beyond this point.
Tubeway Army would continue to work with Numan for a while, but the music was Numan's solo vision entirely, and Replicas would end up being the first of three records Numan later termed the "machine" phase of his career. The other two records were The Pleasure Principle and Telekon.
Replicas was based on a book Numan hoped to someday complete, a story set in a not-too-distant future city (metropolis would probably be a better word) where Machmen (androids with human skin) and other machines keep the populace in line.
One of the first new wave electronic pop records to be released, Replicas employs a Minimoog synthesizer and an early drum machine, instruments that weren't being widely employed at the time. Dark and brooding lyrically, it also sounded to me fresh and inspired in 1979, especially coming off of the disco decade.
I never got to see Numan play live back in the day, but in 2017 he embarked on a Replicas Live tour of a few select North American cities - Toronto included - and I was lucky enough to be able to attend the show at The Opera House. Basically a live translation of the Replicas album, with a few hits tossed in at the end to flesh things out, it was an amazing show with great sound and lights. The decades since the release of Replicas have allowed Numan to become more than comfortable performing it, and the energy of that performance is captured on Replicas Live, which was recorded in London, U.K., in 2015.
Numan says his image started as an attempt to cover up his acne before an appearance on the British TV show Top of the Pops. "I had spots everywhere," he recalled, "so they slapped about half an inch of white make-up on me before I'd even walked in the door. And my eyes were like piss holes in the snow, so they put black on there. My so-called image fell into place an hour before going on the show."
His initial onstage stiffness, often referred to by critics as a lack of stage presence, was in reality a result of his extreme self-consciousness. It fit his brooding image and helped shape his "machine" persona. Dark, yes - but also fun.
Numan is reported to have Asperger syndrome.
Aside from being a musician, Numan was for a while a pilot. In November and December of 1981 he and his co-pilot, Bob Thompson, successfully flew around the world in Numan's Piper Navajo. It was their second attempt, the first having ended in India when the two men were arrested (so the story goes) on suspicion of smuggling and spying.
In 1982, with Numan at the controls, the same plane would run out of fuel near Southampton, U.K., make a rough landing and be written off.
But the music continued, and this record - which is pressed on white vinyl and signed by Numan - proves the songs have stood up well over time. The sound is full and heavy, and shows off the stellar musicianship of his band. A very hard record to find, a great listen and …
BONUS TRACK
THINGS YOU PROBABLY DON'T KNOW ABOUT GARY NUMAN
1. He worked in a WHSmiths warehouse right up until the day the first Tubeway Army single, That's Too Bad, was released, in 1978.
2. He selected the stage name Gary Numan while leafing through The Yellow Pages in the Earl’s Court offices of Beggars Banque Records.
3. On the cover of Replicas, in Numan’s non-symmetrical reflection in the window, tucked away in the bottom right-hand corner, outside The Park, there is a man in a grey hat and trench coat. This is supposedly based on a ghost Numan and long-time bassist and ally, Paul Gardiner, claim to have seen at a Piccadilly Underground Station.
4. Numan retired from touring in 1981, claiming he didn’t enjoy the experience as much as he thought he would, but has since performed hundreds of shows.
5. His infamous 'round the world flight of 1982 is generally perceived as a failure, the belief being he experienced several crashes resulting in the project being abandoned. There's also the story of an arrest in India on possible smuggling and spying charges, and even though there was a perception among some that Numan was a lousy oilot he was in fact very successful and much sought after for aerial shows and wartime recreations.
6. Gary Numan started his own airline called Numanair, but eventually gave up flying and the airline dissolved in 2013.
THINGS YOU PROBABLY DON'T KNOW ABOUT GARY NUMAN
1. He worked in a WHSmiths warehouse right up until the day the first Tubeway Army single, That's Too Bad, was released, in 1978.
2. He selected the stage name Gary Numan while leafing through The Yellow Pages in the Earl’s Court offices of Beggars Banque Records.
3. On the cover of Replicas, in Numan’s non-symmetrical reflection in the window, tucked away in the bottom right-hand corner, outside The Park, there is a man in a grey hat and trench coat. This is supposedly based on a ghost Numan and long-time bassist and ally, Paul Gardiner, claim to have seen at a Piccadilly Underground Station.
4. Numan retired from touring in 1981, claiming he didn’t enjoy the experience as much as he thought he would, but has since performed hundreds of shows.
5. His infamous 'round the world flight of 1982 is generally perceived as a failure, the belief being he experienced several crashes resulting in the project being abandoned. There's also the story of an arrest in India on possible smuggling and spying charges, and even though there was a perception among some that Numan was a lousy oilot he was in fact very successful and much sought after for aerial shows and wartime recreations.
6. Gary Numan started his own airline called Numanair, but eventually gave up flying and the airline dissolved in 2013.
