Name	Gothic rock
Bgcolor	crimson
Color	white
Stylistic origins	Punk rock, post-punk, art rock
Cultural origins	Late 1970s, United Kingdom
Instruments	Guitar - Bass - Drums - Drum machine - Synthesizer - Keyboard
Popularity	Largely underground until the mid and late 1980s; low since the mid 1990s.
Derivatives	Ethereal Wave
Fusiongenres	Dark cabaret - Deathrock - Gothabilly - Dark Wave
Other topics	Dark Wave - Culture - Fashion

Gothic rock (also referred to as goth rock or simply goth) is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes. The genre itself was defined as a separate movement from punk rock during the early 1980s largely due to the significant stylistic divergences of the movement; gothic rock, as opposed to punk, combines dark, often keyboard-heavy music with introspective and depressing lyrics. Notable gothic rock bands include Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Cocteau Twins, The Cure, The Sisters of Mercy, Virgin Prunes, The Sex Gang Children, Christian Death, and Alien Sex Fiend, among many others. Gothic rock gave rise to a broader goth subculture that includes clubs, fashion and numerous publications that grew in popularity in the 1980s.

Style, roots and influences

Gothic rock takes the guitar and synthesizer sounds of post-punk and uses them to construct "foreboding, sorrowful, often epic soundscapes". According to music journalist Simon Reynolds, standard musical fixtures of the genre include "scything guitar patterns, high-pitched basslines that often usurped the melodic role; [and] beats that were either hypnotically dirgelike or 'tribal'". Many goth bands use drum machines that do not stress the back beat in the rhythm. Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Cure tended to play the flanging guitar effect, producing a brittle, cold, and harsh sound that contrasted with their psychedelic rock predecessors.

Gothic rock typically deals with dark themes addressed through lyrics and the music atmosphere. The poetic sensibilities of the genre led gothic rock lyrics to exhibit literary romanticism, morbidity, religious symbolism, and/or supernatural mysticism. Nico's 1969 album, The Marble Index, was also particularly influential. Gothic rock creates a dark atmosphere by drawing influence from the drones used by protopunk group The Velvet Underground, and many goth singers are influenced by the "deep and dramatic" vocal timbre of David Bowie, albeit singing at even lower pitches.

In 1976, Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice was published. The main character, although dark, wanted companionship and love. The book, according to music journalist Dave Thompson, slowly created an audience for gothic rock by word of mouth. The same year saw the punk rock band The Damned debut. The group's vocalist Dave Vanian was a former gravedigger who dressed like a vampire 24 hours a day. Brian James, a guitarist for the group, noted, "Other groups had safety pins and the spitting and bondage trousers, but you went to a Damned show, and half the local cemetery would be propped up against the stage". In the late 1970s, the word "gothic" was used to describe the atmosphere of post-punk bands like Joy Division. In 1979, Martin Hannett described Joy Division as "dancing music with Gothic overtones". The same year, Tony Wilson described the band as "gothic" on the television show Something Else. Not long after, the term was used in a derogatory fashion in reference to bands like Bauhaus and Siouxsie and the Banshees. However, the term was not adopted as "positive identity, a tribal rallying cry" until a shift in the scene in 1982. Despite their legacy as progenitors of gothic rock, these groups disliked the label. Adam Ant's early work was also a major impetus for the gothic rock scene, and much of the fan base came from his milieu.

Bauhaus's debut single "Bela Lugosi's Dead", released in late 1979, is considered to be the beginning of the gothic rock genre. According to Peter Murphy the song was written to be tongue in cheek but since the group performed it with "naive seriousness" that is how the audience understood it. Steve Severin attributes the supernatural lyrical aesthetic of the album to the influence of The Cramps. The Cure's style was atmospheric and withdrawn, contrasting with their contemporaries The Birthday Party, who drew on funk, blues, and spastic, violent turmoil. Their 1981 single "Release the Bats" was particularly influential in the scene. Killing Joke were originally inspired by Public Image Ltd., borrowing from funk, disco, and dub, and later, heavy metal. Calling their style "tension music", Killing Joke distorted these elements to provocative effect, as well as producing a morbid, politically-charged visual style. In 1982, Ian Astbury of the band Southern Death Cult used the term "gothic goblins" to describe Sex Gang Children's fans. Southern Death Cult were themselves icons of the scene, drawing aesthetic inspiration from Native American culture. The group appeared on the cover of NME in October 1982. The emerging scene was described as "positive punk" in a February 1983 article in NME. Journalist Richard North described Bauhaus and Theatre of Hate as "the immediate forerunners of today's flood" and declared, "So here it is: the new positive punk, with no empty promises of revolution, either in the rock'n'roll sense or the wider political sphere. Here is only a chance of self awareness, of personal revolution, of colourful perception and galvanisation of the imagination that startles the slumbering mind and body from their sloth." That year, myriad Goth groups emerged, including Flesh for Lulu, Play Dead, Rubella Ballet, Gene Loves Jezebel, UK Decay, Blood and Roses, The Virgin Prunes, and Ausgang. The 4AD label released music in a lighter, more ethereal style, by groups such as Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, and Xmal Deutschland. As journalist Jennifer Park puts it, "the original blueprint for gothic rock had mutated significantly. Doom and gloom was no longer confined to its characteristic atmospherics, but as the Sisters demonstrated, it could really rock." The Sisters of Mercy, influenced by Leonard Cohen, Gary Glitter, Motörhead, The Stooges, The Velvet Underground, The Birthday Party, Suicide, and The Fall, created a new, harder form of gothic rock. In addition, they incorporated a drum machine. The group created their own record label, Merciful Release, which also signed The March Violets, who performed in a similar style. The Violets toured with The Danse Society, a group inspired by The Cure in their Pornography period. as did Fields of the Nephilim and All About Eve. Bands who continue to be associated with gothic rock include Alien Sex Fiend, All Living Fear, And Also the Trees, Balaam and the Angel, Claytown Troupe, Dream Disciples, Feeding Fingers, Inkubus Sukkubus, Libitina, Fields of the Nephilim, Nosferatu, Rosetta Stone, and Suspiria.

American gothic rock began with 45 Grave and Christian Death, both of whom were strongly influenced by The Cramps. This style is often described as deathrock. European groups inspired by the style have also proliferated, including Xmal Deutschland and Clan of Xymox. These groups are associated with Dark Wave, which draws on gothic rock in addition to synthpop and industrial.

See also

List of gothic rock bands

Goth subculture

Gothic fashion

Footnotes

References

Collins, Andrew. "Bluffer's Guide to Goth." NME. 30 November 1991.

Charlton, Katherine. Rock Music Styles. Fourth edition. McGraw-Hill, 2003. ISBN 0-07-249555-3

Furek, Maxim W. "The Death Proclamation of Generation X: A Self-Fulfilling Prophesy of Goth, Grunge and Heroin." i-Universe, 2008. ISBN 978-0-595-46319-0

Hannaham, James. "Bela Lugosi's Dead and I Don't Feel So Good Either". Gothic. Boston: MIT Press, 1997.

Kilpatrick, Nancy. The Goth Bible: A Compendium for the Darkly Inclined. Chapter 5, "Music of the Macabre: In the Beginning ..." New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2004.

Mercer, Mick. Gothic Rock. Los Angeles: Cleopatra Records, 1994.

Mercer, Mick. Gothic Rock Black Book. London: Omnibus Press, 1988.

Mercer, Mick. The Hex Files: The Goth Bible. Woodstock: Overlook Press, 1996. ISBN 0-87951-783-2

Park, Jennifer. "Melancholy and the Macabre: Gothic Rock and Fashion". Gothic: Dark Glamour by Valerie Steele and Jennifer Park. Yale University Press, 2008.

Reynolds, Simon. Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984. Chapter 22: "Dark Things: Goth and the Return of Rock." London: Faber and Faber, 2005. ISBN 0-571-21569-6

External links

Stylus Magazine's Guide to Goth."">"England Fades Away: Stylus Magazine's Guide to Goth." StylusMagazine.com article on gothic rock.

Category:Alternative rock * Category:Post-punk

Name	Lacrimas Profundere
Landscape	yes
Background	group_or_band
Genre	Extreme Symphonic Doom MetalGothic MetalDeath/Doom(early)
Alias	Rock'n'Sad Crew
Origin	Waging am See, Germany
Years active	1993–present
Label	Napalm Records
Url	lacrimas.com
Current members	Oliver Nikolas SchmidRob VitaccaPeter KafkaTony BergerKorl Fuhrmann
Past members	See Below

Lacrimas Profundere is a gothic metal band from Germany. Their name means "to shed tears" in Latin. Their stylistic aesthetic has evolved over time, originally a death doom rooted gothic metal band, they have progressively changed their style to a more mainstream gothic style with the late albums.

Biography

Lacrimas Profundere was founded in 1993 by guitarist Oliver Schmid. At the time, the band was influenced by doom metal, and also made use of feminine vocals and classical elements. With the entrance of vocalist Anja Hötzendorfer, they drew enough attention to themselves to be able to record their debut, entitled ... and the Wings Embraced Us, which was released in 1995 and was followed by La Naissance d’un Rêve (French for "Birth of a Dream"), from 1997.

After the said releases, the band was granted a deal with Napalm Records which included five albums. A harpist was added to the band's line-up and they proceeded to record Memorandum (1999).

Burning: A Wish from 2001 was Lacrimas Profundere's first album to receive attention from the international specialized press. This album featured the removal of the band's classical elements to some degree, and was also the first time they employed baritone vocals, supplied by Oliver's brother, Christopher Schmid. Their first international tour then began, including countries of Europe and Latin America.

Lacrimas Profundere's subsequent albums were Fall, I Will Follow from 2002 and Ave End from 2004.

Filthy Notes For Frozen Hearts received considerable attention from Jackass star Bam Margera and the songs My Velvet Little Darkness, Short Glance, Should and Sweet Caroline along with a vocal excerpt from Sad Theme For a Marriage were played on his show Bam's Unholy Union.

In April 2007, Christopher Schmid, the band's founding member and vocalist left the band; citing prolonged stress from touring. It did not take long to find a new vocalist: Peter Kafka, who also sings for the Deutsch band Sonicslave. A Few months later basist Daniel Lechner left the band and vocalist Peter Kafka became the new basist and Rob Vitacca employed as the new vocalist, who also sings for the German Rock band Lost. Long time keyboardist Christian Steiner also left the band but supplied some parts for the new album. The album called "Songs For The Last View" was released in the summer of 2008. This was the first album featuring their new singer, Rob Vitacca.

Lacrimas Profundere's new album, The Grandiose Nowhere has been released on 30 April 2010.

Members

Current members

Rob Vitacca - Vocals

Oliver Nikolas Schmid - Guitars

Tony Berger - Guitars

Korl Fuhrmann - Drums

Former members

Guitars

Marco Praschberger

Christian Freitsmiedl

Stefan Randelshofer

Manuel Ehrlich (Seraph (Ger))

Ryan Gabriel Short

Bass

Markus Lapper

Rico Galvagno (ex-Darkseed)

Daniel Lechner

Peter Kafka

Drums

Willi Wurm (ex-Darkseed)

Christian Greisberger

Stefan Eireiner

Lorenz Gehmacher

Kevin Sumner

Other

Christopher Schmid - Vocals

Christian Steiner - Keyboards

Anja Hötzendorfer - Violin, Backing Vocals

Ursula Schmidhammer - Harp

Eva Stöger - Flute, Keyboards

Extra Members

Tony Cheirichetti(deceased)

Alexandra Diehl (Vegetable)

Discography

...And the Wings Embraced Us (1995)

La Naissance D'Un Rêve (1997)

The Crown of Leaving (1997)

The Embrace and the Eclipse (1998)

Memorandum (1999)

(2001)

Fall, I Will Follow (2002)

Ave End (2004)

Again It's Over (2006)

Filthy Notes for Frozen Hearts (2006)

Songs for the Last View (2008)

The Grandiose Nowhere (2010)

Videos

"Ave End" (2004)

"Amber Girl" (2004)

"Again It's Over" (2006)

"My Velvet Little Darkness" (2006)

"A Pearl" (2008)

"And God's Ocean" (2009)

"The Letter" (2010)

References

External links

Official website

Lacrimas Profundere at Napalm Records

Lacrimas Profundere at MySpace

Category:German heavy metal musical groups Category:German doom metal musical groups Category:German gothic metal musical groups Category:Musical groups established in 1993 Category:Musical quintets

Name	Gary Numan
Background	solo_singer
Landscape	Yes
Birth name	Gary Anthony James Webb
Born	March 08, 1958Hammersmith, west London, United Kingdom
Genre	1977-1994:New Wave, synthpop, electronic1994-present:Industrial rock, gothic rock, darkwave
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician, producer
Years active	1977–present
Instrument	Vocals, synthesizer, guitar, bass, percussion
Label	Metropolis, Beggars Banquet, Numa, IRS, Eagle, Mortal, Atco
Associated acts	Tubeway Army, Dramatis, Nine Inch Nails, Paul Gardiner, Bill Sharpe, Fear Factory
Url	Official site
Notable instruments	Minimoog, Polymoog , ARP Odyssey

Gary Numan (born Gary Anthony James Webb on 8 March 1958) is an English singer, composer, and musician, most widely known for appearing on the chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" by Tubeway Army and his song "Cars". His signature sound consisted of heavy synthesizer hooks fed through guitar effects pedals.

Commercially unsuccessful for many years of his career, Numan is considered a pioneer of commercial electronic music. His use of themes from science fiction, and his combination of aggressive punk energy with electronics, have since been widely imitated.

Biography

Early life

Born in Hammersmith, Gary Anthony James Webb was the son of a British Airways bus driver based at Heathrow Airport. Webb was educated at Town Farm Junior School Stanwell, Ashford County Grammar School, Middlesex, Slough Grammar School and Brooklands Technical College. He joined the Air Training Corps as a teenager. He then briefly did various jobs including fork lift truck driver, air conditioning ventilator fitter and clerk in an accounts department. A guitar was purchased for him at an early age and he began writing songs when he was about 15 years old. He played in various bands, including Mean Street and The Lasers, before forming Tubeway Army with his uncle, Jess Lidyard, and Paul Gardiner. His initial pseudonym was "Valerian", probably in reference to the hero in French science fiction comic series Valérian and Laureline. Later he picked the name "Numan" from an advert in the "Yellow Pages" for a plumber "A. Neumann".

1970s

Tubeway Army

Numan rose to prominence at the end of the 1970s as front man, writer and producer for Tubeway Army. After recording an album's worth of punk-influenced demo tapes (released in 1984 as The Plan), he was signed by Beggars Banquet Records in 1978 and quickly released two singles, "That's Too Bad" and "Bombers", neither of which charted.

A self-titled, New Wave-oriented debut album later that same year sold out its limited run and introduced Numan's fascination with dystopian science fiction and, more importantly, synthesizers. Tubeway Army's third single, the dark-themed and slow-paced "Down in the Park" (1979) also failed to chart but it would prove to be one of Numan's most enduring and oft-covered songs; it was featured with other contemporary hits on the soundtrack for the movie Times Square, and a live version of the song can also be seen in the movie Urgh! A Music War. After exposure in a television advertisement for Lee Cooper jeans with the jingle "Don't be a dummy", Tubeway Army released the single "Are 'Friends' Electric?" in May 1979. The single took seven weeks before it finally reached #1 at the end of June; the parent album Replicas simultaneously achieving #1 in the album charts.

As Gary Numan

A few months later Numan found success in the charts on both sides of the Atlantic with "Cars", which peaked at #1 in the UK in 1979 and #9 in US in 1980. "Cars" and the 1979 album The Pleasure Principle were both released under Numan's own (assumed) name. A sell-out tour ('The Touring Principle') followed; the concert video it spawned is often cited as the first full-length commercial music video release. The Pleasure Principle was a rock album with no guitars; instead, Numan used synthesizers fed through guitar effects pedals to achieve a distorted, phased, metallic tone. The Pleasure Principle remains one of Numan's most highly-regarded efforts to date. A second single from the album "Complex" made it to #6 in the UK charts.

Personality and style

Numan bewildered the music press. He was a driven, creative, angst-ridden 21-year-old loner who still lived with his parents at the peak of his success. While angry like his punk contemporaries, Numan could not relate to the specific political issues they were singing about. Numan suppressed his anger and "got really hung up with this whole thing of not feeling, being cold about everything, not letting emotions get to you, or presenting a front of not feeling". Furthermore, Numan's admiration of wealth alienated critics and fellow musicians; Yes recorded a sardonic song about him, "White Car", for their 1980 album Drama, a reaction to his habit of tearing around London in the white Chevrolet Corvette given to him by Beggars Banquet.

Around this time, Numan also developed his distinctive style. Numan claims this was an unintentional result of acne; before an appearance on Top of the Pops, he had "spots everywhere, so they slapped about half an inch of white makeup on me before I'd even walked in the door. And my eyes were like pissholes in the snow, so they put black on there. My so-called image fell into place an hour before going on the show". Numan claims his "wooden" stage presence was a result of extreme self-consciousness and lack of "showmanship". Telekon reintroduced guitars to Numan's music and featured a wider range of synthesizers. The same year he embarked on his second major tour ("The Teletour") with an even more elaborate stage show than The Touring Principle the previous year. Although considered a success, Numan claimed the tour actually lost him a great deal of money because of the vast expense in mounting it. He announced his retirement from touring with a series of sell-out concerts at Wembley Arena in April 1981, supported by Alternative musician Nash the Slash and Shock, a rock/mime/burlesque/music troupe whose members included Barbie Wilde, Tik and Tok and Carole Caplin. The decision to retire would be short-lived.

Moving away from the pure electropop that he had made his name with, Numan then experimented with jazz, funk and ethereal, rhythmic pop. His first album after his 1981 farewell concerts was the bleak, atmospheric and experimental Dance (1981). The album charted as high as #3 on the UK charts, but it only produced one hit single ("She's Got Claws") and then dropped out of the charts after only eight weeks. The album featured several distinguished guest players; Mick Karn (bass, saxophone) and Rob Dean (guitar) of Japan, Roger Mason (keyboards) of Models and Roger Taylor (drums) of Queen.

With his former backing band, Chris John Payne (Keyboards, Viola) Russell Bell (Guitar) and Ced Sharpley (Drums) now reformed as Dramatis, Numan contributed vocals to the minor hit "Love Needs No Disguise" from the album For Future Reference. However, Numan's career had begun to experience a gradual decline, and he was eclipsed initially by acts such as Adam Ant, and later by The Human League, Duran Duran, and Depeche Mode. Each album also saw a new "image", none of which captured the public's imagination to nearly the same extent as the lonely android of 1979. The band Basement Jaxx had a huge hit in 2002 with "Where's Your Head At?", which relied on a sample of Numan's "M.E." - from The Pleasure Principle - for its hook. Fear Factory produced a cover of "Cars" (featuring a prominent guest appearance by Numan himself) for the digipak version of their album Obsolete. Nine Inch Nails covered the song "Metal" on The Fragile remix album Things Falling Apart as did Afrika Bambaataa (with Numan himself) on the album Dark Matter Moving at the Speed of Light. "Cars" remains Numan's most enduring song; it was a hit again in 1987 (remixed by Zeus B. Held) and 1996, in the latter case thanks to an appearance in an advert for Carling beer. In 2000 DJ Armand Van Helden sampled the track and mixed it up in his single "Koochy" which conquered the dancefloors. In 2002, UK pop trio Sugababes scored a #1 with "Freak Like Me" - a mashup of Adina Howard's "Freak Like Me" and "Are Friends Electric?" by Numan's Tubeway Army.

Other musicians, and at least one comedian, who have sung Numan's praises in recent years include Beck, Grant Nicholas, Tricky, Damon Albarn & Matt Sharp, Jarvis Cocker, Queens of the Stone Age, David Bowie, Noel Fielding and Afrika Bambaataa, who spoke of the influence Numan's music had on the fledgling American DJ scene: "In the late 70s and early 80s Gary had the rhythms that DJs wanted to get hold of and people waited for his records on the dance floor." "Cars" was featured on the soundtrack for the blockbuster 2002 videogame as part of the New Wave radio station Wave 103, although it did not appear on the soundtrack CD release for the game. "Are Friends Electric" appeared on EA's game in 2006.

In 2002, Numan enjoyed chart success once again with the single "Rip", reaching #29 in the UK chart and in 2003 with the Gary Numan vs Rico single "Crazier", which reached #13 in the UK chart. Rico also worked on the remix album Hybrid which featured reworkings of older songs in a more contemporary industrial style as well as new material. Other artists and producers who contributed on these remixes included Curve, Flood, Andy Gray, Alan Moulder, New Disease and Sulpher. 2003 also saw Numan performing the vocals on a track named "Pray For You" on the Plump DJs album Eargasm, which was well received. In 2004 Numan took control of his own business affairs again, launching the label Mortal Records and releasing a series of live DVDs. In late 2006, Numan announced on his website that recording would begin on his new album in January 2007, with Ade Fenton co-producing. Numan stated "think of Jagged and Pure, but faster, with bigger choruses, more energy, and more aggression" to describe the album's intended sound. The album, Jagged, was duly released on 13 March 2006. An album launch gig took place at The Forum, London on 18 March followed by UK, European and US tours in support of the release. Numan also launched a Jagged website to showcase the new album, and made plans to have his 1981 farewell concert (previously released as Micromusic on VHS) issued on DVD by November 2006 as well as releasing the DVD version of the Jagged album launch gig. Numan undertook a Telekon 'Classic Album' tour in the UK in December 2006.

On 6 November 2006, Numan took part in the Sky1 reality show The Race. It pitted ten celebrities (five male, five female) against each other in a series of Formula One-style car races. These races were held at Silverstone over the next five days, and varied in racing styles, ultimately culminating in one final Grand Prix race on Sunday, 12 November. Numan did win on the overall leaderboard, though he lost the final race to AC/DC lead singer Brian Johnson.

Numan contributed vocals to four tracks on the April 2007 release of Fenton's debut solo album Artificial Perfect on his new industrial/electronic label Submission, including songs "The Leather Sea", "Slide Away", "Recall" and the first single to be taken from the album, "Healing". The second single to be released in the UK was "The Leather Sea" on 30 July 2007. He sold out a fifteen-date UK tour in Spring 2008 during which he performed his 1979 number one album Replicas in full, and all the Replicas-era music including B-sides. The highly successful tour also raised Numan's profile in the media again due to the fact that it coincided with his 30th anniversary in the music business. The tour was also notable for the Manchester gig on 8 March 2008 which also happened to fall on his 50th birthday. The band, along with wife Gemma, helped Numan celebrate by bringing a large cake onstage. A recording of the concert was released on DVD under the title "Replicas Live".

In November 2007, Numan confirmed via his website that work on a new album, with the working title of Splinter, would be under way throughout 2008, after finishing an alternate version of Jagged (called Jagged Edge) and the CD of unreleased songs from his previous three albums (confirmed to be titled Dead Son Rising on 1 December 2008 via official mailing list message). He wrote that Splinter was likely to be released in early 2010. Numan has recently completed a four-date run of gigs in Australia and will be touring the UK in the coming months.

In July 2009, Gary Numan appeared as a special guest at the "Wave Goodbye" Nine Inch Nails concert at The O2 arena (London) in London. Before coming on stage, Trent Reznor explained how Numan was "vitally important and a huge inspiration" to him during the past 20 years. Numan then went on to play two songs with Nine Inch Nails; "Cars" and "Metal". Numan appeared once again at the final run of the "Wave Goodbye" shows in Los Angeles, CA. In August 2009 he played at the Hevy Music Festival in Folkestone, UK. On 2 September 2009 at the Hollywood Palladium, Numan joined Reznor on stage to perform "Metal" and "Cars" near the end of the Nine Inch Nails set. He then joined the band onstage a third time at the Echoplex in Los Angeles, CA, this time performing "Metal" and "I Die: You Die" from the album Telekon. He then joined them a fourth time at the Henry Fonda Theater, performing "Down In The Park", "Metal" and "Cars". Mike Garson initially played "Down In The Park (Piano Version)" before they started the song. He then joined them for the final show at the Wiltern Theater.

In a September 2009 interview with The Quietus, Numan says that he and Trent Reznor plan to make music together. He was set to perform a small number of American live dates in April 2010, including a Coachella Festival appearance in California, but had to cancel because air travel in Europe was halted by the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud. As a result, the tour was not only postponed but expanded, and his Pleasure Principle 30th Anniversary Tour's American and Mexican dates began on 17 October 2010, at Firestone Live in Orlando, Florida.

Personal life

Numan is a positive atheist and has incorporated anti-religious motifs and images in his music. Numan was an outspoken supporter of the Conservative Party and of Margaret Thatcher after her inauguration as Prime Minister. He also said, "I'm not socialist, I know that. I don't believe in sharing my money."

Numan married a member of his own fan club, Gemma O'Neill, a native of Sidcup. In 2003, after some pregnancy difficulties, the couple had their first child, Raven. In 2005 they had a second daughter, Persia. In 2007 the couple had their third child, Echo. Numan resides with his family in East Sussex. He published his autobiography, Praying to the Aliens, in 1997 (updated edition 1998), in collaboration with Steve Malins. (Malins also wrote the liner notes for most of the CD reissues of Numan's albums in the late 1990s, as well as executive producing the Hybrid album in 2003.)

Numan is known for his love of flying, a passion which has featured in some of his music videos ("Warriors", "I Can't Stop"). He has owned several small aircraft. Numan was a member of the Air Training Corps. He is one of a very small handful of flyers with the credentials and qualifications to train aerobatic instructor pilots. He was once forced to emergency-land his light aircraft on a Southampton motorway.

Numan is referenced several times in the BBC TV series The Mighty Boosh as Vince Noir, one of the main characters, is a huge Gary Numan fan. Examples of this are in the episode "Tundra" where Numan gives Noir a lift to the Antarctic in his personal jet (a black jet with a red trim with "NUMAN" written in white), in the episode "Electro" Numan's influence is clear to see on Noir when he joins electro band "Kraftwork Orange". Along with making several other references to Numan (notably a scene where Noir states he's made some 'tapes' for a journey saying "This is the best of the 60s (holding one tape), this is the best of the 70s (holding another tape) and THIS (picks up a horde of tapes) is Gary Numan!"), Numan guest-starred in "The Power of the Crimp", being locked in a cupboard and is used (unsuccessfully) to cheer Vince up.

At age 15, after a series of outbursts in which Numan would "smash things up, scream and shout, get in people's faces and break stuff", he was prescribed antidepressants and anxiolytics.

Discography

Tubeway Army (1978) (with Tubeway Army)

Replicas (1979) (with Tubeway Army)

The Pleasure Principle (1979) (Numan's first album under his own name)

Telekon (1980)

Dance (1981)

I, Assassin (1982)

Warriors (1983)

Berserker (1984)

The Fury (1985)

Strange Charm (1986)

Metal Rhythm (1988) (New Anger in the United States)

Automatic (1989) (With Bill Sharpe)

Outland (1991)

Machine and Soul (1992)

Sacrifice (1994) (Dawn in the US)

Exile (1997)

Pure (2000)

Hybrid (2003)

Jagged (2006)

References

Paul Goodwin (2004). Electric Pioneer: An Armchair Guide To Gary Numan.

Guinness Book of British Hit Singles 7th Edition

Gary Numan Famous people with Asperger Syndrome

External links

NuWORLD: Official website

Official MySpace page

Numanme unofficial fansite with complete discography

North American Gary Numan Fan Club, unofficial

Complete discography, unofficial

GaryNuman.com - Interactive Fan Site, unofficial

Gary Numan Unauthorised - Trade site, unofficial

Review: Exposure - NXLive.co.uk

Category:1958 births Category:Living people Category:British industrial musicians Category:English atheists Category:English male singers Category:English songwriters Category:English New Wave musicians Category:I.R.S. Records artists Category:Old Paludians Category:People with Asperger syndrome Category:Synthpop Category:People from Hammersmith Category:Gothic rock musicians Category:Tubeway Army members Category:1980s New Wave acts