Name	Billy Currie
Background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth name	William Lee Currie
Alias	Billy Curry
Born	April 01, 1950
Origin	Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England
Instrument	Viola, keyboards
Genre	New Wave, Synthpop, Glam Rock
Occupation	Musician
Years active	1974–present
Associated acts	John Foxx, Tiger Lily, Ultravox, Visage, Steve Strange, Midge Ure, Dave Formula, Barry Adamson, Gary Numan, Tubeway Army, Phil Lynott, Humania, Sam Blue, Vinny Burns

Billy Currie (born William Lee Currie, 1 April 1950, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England) is an English musician and songwriter. He is best known as the keyboard player with the New Wave band, Ultravox, who achieved their greatest commercial success in the 1980s.

Career

In 1974, after being part of art group Ritual Theatre, Currie joined the glam rock band Tiger Lily, in which he played the viola and keyboard. After several name changes, the band ultimately became Ultravox in 1976. After three albums, Ultravox!, Ha! Ha! Ha! and Systems of Romance, singer John Foxx left the band to pursue a solo career in 1979.

During this period, with the band in hiatus, Currie dedicated himself to different projects. He began to collaborate with Tubeway Army, whose singer Gary Numan had admired the Systems Of Romance album and asked Currie to record some songs which were included on his first solo album, The Pleasure Principle. Currie also toured with Numan's band during 1979. It was during the soundchecks for the tour that Currie and Tubeway Army musician Chris Payne began to develop a song of their own called "Toot City". Simultaneously, Currie joined the studio-based band Visage, fronted by Steve Strange and which also included Midge Ure. Currie and Ure developed a solid working relationship, to the extent that Visage drummer Rusty Egan encouraged Currie to ask Ure to join the virtually defunct Ultravox as lead singer/guitarist. Whilst composing material for a new Ultravox album and for the debut Visage album, Ure collaborated with Currie on the "Toot City" track which eventually became "Fade to Grey". The single became a huge hit for Visage in early 1981. However, this was surpassed by Ultravox's hit "Vienna", released around the same time. Both Ultravox and Visage became highly successful recording acts in the early 1980s, though Ure decided to leave Visage to focus on Ultravox full time in 1982. Currie remained with Visage for a while longer, but he too had left by 1984.

From 1980–86, Ultravox released seven top 10 albums, including a live album and a "greatest hits" compilation and featured in Live Aid in Wembley Stadium on 13 July 1985. However, during the last days of the band, there were tensions between Currie and Ure. Coupled with an underwhelming response to their 1986 album U-Vox, the band effectively disintegrated.

In 1988, Currie put out an instrumental solo album Transportation, released on the IRS NoSpeak record label. Steve Howe played guitar on some of the tracks, including "Schna Schna".

In 1992, Currie tried to reform Ultravox with a new line-up (himself being the only original member involved). With Tony Fennell on vocals, they recorded the album "Revelation", but at the outset of the subsequent tour, Fennell left to be replaced by Sam Blue. The tour took in the former USSR and Malta amongst other locations. Many of the synthesisers for which Currie was famous, apart from the often-volatile OSCar and Minimoog, were abandoned for this tour, replaced with Korg Wavestations and T-series keyboards. A further Ultravox album featuring this line-up, "Ingenuity", was released in 1994. However, both albums were unsuccessful.

In 2009 and 2010, the "classic" Ultravox line-up from the 1980s (Currie, Ure, Chris Cross, and Warren Cann) reformed for two successful tours – their first together in over twenty years.

Instruments

Currie is noted for his use of analogue synthesizers, and in particular his trademark soloing sound, which typically consisted of soaring fluid lines on an ARP Odyssey, making use of oscillator sync, later re-created with the Oxford Synthesiser Company "OSCar" synth. Currie's original instrument whilst at music college was the viola, and he frequently added solo violin or viola to the arrangements of songs he played on, a relatively unusual choice in pop music.

Personal life

Currie has a daughter called Lucy, born c. 1991, and a son Tom, born c. 1996. He is married to Heidi and lives in North London.

Associated bands

Barry Edwards' "The Ritual Theatre"

Ultravox (1974–1988, 1991–1996, 2009)

Visage (1979–1984)

Gary Numan (1979–80)

The Armoury Show (1985)

Humania (1988–89)

Phil Lynott

Steve Howe

Discography

With Ultravox

Ultravox! (1977)

Ha!-Ha!-Ha! (1977)

Systems of Romance (1978)

Vienna (1980)

Rage in Eden (1981)

Quartet (1982)

Monument (1983)

Lament (1984)

U-Vox (1986)

Revelation (1993)

Ingenuity (1996)

With Gary Numan

The Pleasure Principle (1979) (guest)

Living Ornaments '79 (1981)

With Visage

Visage (1980)

The Anvil (1982)

Beat Boy (1984) (guest)

With Humania

Sinews of the Soul (2005, recorded 1989)

Solo

Transportation (1988)

Stand Up and Walk (1990)

Unearthed (2001)

Keys and the Fiddle (2001)

Push (2002)

Pieces of the Puzzle (2003)

Still Movement (2004)

Accidental Poetry of the Structure (2007)

Refine (2009)

References

External links

Official web site

[ Allmusic biography]

Category:1950 births Category:Living people Category:People from Huddersfield Category:English rock keyboardists Category:Ultravox members Category:Tubeway Army members

Name	Warren Cann
Background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth name	Warren Reginald Cann
Alias	Warren Cann
Born	May 20, 1952
Origin	Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Instrument	Drums
Genre	New Wave, Synthpop, Glam Rock
Occupation	Musician, actor
Years active	1973–circa 19902009 (tour with Ultravox)
Associated acts	John Foxx, Tiger Lily, Ultravox, Zaine Griff, Helden, Huw Lloyd-Langton Group
Url	The Warren Cann Forum
Notable instruments	Ludwig drums (John Foxx era Ultravox)}}

Warren Reginald Cann (born 20 May 1952, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada)Date of birth: 20th May 1952
Place of birth: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada is a drummer and drum machine programmer, best known as a member of the British New Wave band Ultravox.

Biography

Early life

The son of two British immigrants, he began to be interested in electronics while he was at school. where he found a more creative environment.

He established himself in London, where formed his first band, along Huw Lloyd-Langton, future Hawkwind member, on guitar and Rob Rawlins, later in Overnight Angels, on bass. By 1974, he intended to join Sparks, but only he got an interview with their leaders, the brothers Ron and Russell Mael.

Ultravox and other contemporary works

Cann tried to join Sparks. Shortly thereafter, Cann contacted Dennis Leigh, who invited Cann to join his fledgling band Tiger Lily with bassist Chris Cross and guitarist Stevie Shears. In 1976, Tiger Lily changed its name to Ultravox!, and later in 1978 to Ultravox. Frontman Leigh went by the stage name "John Foxx" beginning in 1977.

Cann played on three experimental but commercially unsuccessful (initially) Ultravox albums released by Island Records, Ultravox! (1977), Ha! Ha! Ha! (1977) and Systems of Romance (1978). Leigh left Ultravox in 1979, after a tour in United States and Canada. Ultravox replaced John Foxx with singer/guitarist Midge Ure in 1979.

Cann knew keyboardist Hans Zimmer through mutual collaborations with The Buggles and Zaine Griff. In 1980, Cann and Zimmer formed a short-lived electronic New Wave project called Helden. Helden recorded a single and planned an album called "Spies" which was never officially released.

Ultravox signed to Chrysalis with Ure in 1980. Cann sang on some Ultravox songs of this period: "Mr. X" (from Vienna, 1980), "Paths And Angles" (1981) and "Break Your Back" (1982).

Cann's tenure with Ultravox lasted until 1986, when he was fired from the group. In retrospect, Midge Ure considers the firing unjust, unwarranted, and a result of misplaced tensions, according to his autobiography. Ure also describes Cann at the time as an avid gun enthusiast who frequently slept late.

Cann currently lives in Los Angeles, California.

In November 2008 it was announced that Ultravox were to reform, with Cann as one of the members, for a tour, in 2009.

Technical innovations

Cann and his technicians were among the first to modify commercially available rhythm units or drum machines, so they could alter and override the preset manufacturer programs. This is notable on "Hiroshima Mon Amour", from the album Ha!-Ha!-Ha!. When Ultravox were recording Vienna, Cann's electronic ventures would become important for the Ultravox sound. The acquisition of a Roland CR-78 proved something of a headache for Cann, as he saw great sonic potential in it, but it had limited pattern programmability. In the process of adding some much needed practical customisations to the CR-78, Cann became something of a persona non grata at the Roland headquarters in the UK. This did not stop Cann from carrying out his plans, and the result proved to be a key factor in the overall sound of their signature hit song "Vienna".

The initial reaction to the usage of drum machines led to bewilderment among the audience, who wondered what Cann was doing during some songs. Among claims that he was doing nothing, he decided to equip his drum machines with clear perspex cases instead of wood panels, and mount a variety of LEDs inside them as a feature Cann himself described as "absolutely useless, but very impressive looking on a darkened stage; now it would be obvious I was actually doing something." (From Jonas Wårstad's interview at Discog)

In addition to his drum machine work, Cann designed several modifications for bass player Chris Cross' Minimoog, among them a primitive sequencer made from a series of toggle switches to add syncopation to the synthesizer's ability to create a stream of eighth notes, and a proprietary triggering system that allowed Cann and Cross to synchronise the Minimoog with Cann's drum machines, a feat performed almost three years before MIDI was officially introduced in 1983. According to Midge Ure's autobiography, when the Minimoog took a dump on tour, Ultravox borrowed one from The Cars, but it didn't help as it lacked the proprietary modifications.

Playing style

Cann made significant contributions to the drum sounds of New Wave music, both in style and execution. Around 1978, when Ultravox released the Systems of Romance album, Cann's style of drumming turned away from its rock roots and toward what was becoming the New Wave sound. He endeavoured to have extremely precise timing; this would make the songs with live drums match songs driven by electronic, programmed percussion. For an example of this, compare the song "Sleepwalk", where Cann plays live drums, to "Mr. X", where the drums are sequenced. Both of these tracks can be found on Vienna. Despite his machine-like timing, Cann would often do things that neither drum machines nor electronically sequenced percussion could do at the time. Specifically, he would often play very precise triplet fills and crescendos, especially on the snare drum. While these two techniques are easily accomplished by electronic instruments today, around 1979-1982 they were virtually impossible. In essence, it could fool the listeners to believe they were hearing a drum machine, only to prove them wrong through out-performing the rather rudimentary sequencing possibilities of the time.

From a technical perspective, Cann preferred a traditional grip. On the Quartet album and subsequent tour (1982), Cann employed several sets of Simmons SDS-V electronic percussion pads, even to the point where he had an extra kit consisting of the hexagonal Simmons pads, which he played standing up. This way of playing them is quite unique and Cann seemed to be using this setup for one song only, namely "The Song (We Go)" from Quartet.

References

External links

Warren Cann interview at Discog

Warren Cann interview at Torque Point

Ultravox: The Story as told by Warren Cann to Jonas Wårstad

The Warren Cann Forum

Category:1952 births Category:Living people Category:Canadian rock drummers Category:Ultravox members

Name	Midge Ure
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	James Ure
Born	October 10, 1953Cambuslang, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Genre	New Romantic, soft rock, punk rock, hard rock, synthpop, New Wave
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician, producer
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, keyboards, synthesizer
Years active	1972–present
Associated acts	Slik, The Rich Kids, Visage, Thin Lizzy, Ultravox, Band Aid
Url	Official website
Notable instruments	Fender StratocasterYamaha SG 2000 Ibanez Roadstar RS125

James "Midge" Ure, OBE (born 10 October 1953) is a Scottish guitarist, singer, keyboard player, and songwriter. He enjoyed particular success in the 1970s and 1980s in bands including Slik, Thin Lizzy, The Rich Kids, Visage, and most notably as frontman of Ultravox. Ure co-wrote and produced the charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and co-organised Band Aid, Live Aid and Live 8 with Bob Geldof. He twice received an Ivor Novello Award with Geldof for co-writing "Do They Know It's Christmas?" Ure acts as trustee for the charity, and serves as ambassador for Save The Children. His stage name, Midge, is a phonetic reversal of Jim, the diminutive form of his real name.

Career

Early years

Born to a working-class family in Cambuslang, Lanarkshire, Scotland, he attended Rutherglen Academy, in Glasgow, until he was 15 years old. After leaving school, Ure began to work as engineer, training at the National Engineering Laboratory, (NEL), in nearby East Kilbride and playing music in a Glasgow band called Stumble (c. 1969 - c. 1971), that included a girl singing duet Christine, Agnes, and on lead guitar John McMenemy, Alan Wright on harmonica Fraser Spiers on bass Kenny Ireland on drums Alec Baird on vocals Gordon Appacellie.

Salvation, Slik and PVC2

Ure joined Salvation as a guitarist in 1972. The band had been formed in Glasgow in June 1970 by the brothers Kevin (vocals) and Jim McGinlay (bass guitar). Kevin McGinlay decided to turn Ure's name backwards to "Midge" to avoid any confusion caused by two members of the band having the same first name. Ure has since presented himself in the music scene as Midge Ure. so Ure assumed vocals in addition to his guitar duties. In November 1974 the band changed their name to Slik, with Bay City Rollers writers Bill Martin and Phil Coulter providing songs. In 1975 Ure turned down an offer to be the lead singer of the Sex Pistols, stating that he felt at the time that McLaren had "his priorities completely wrong!", a position he later reversed. Musical tensions within the band led to Ure's departure. Having acquired a synthesiser, Ure, alongside band-mate Rusty Egan, wanted to integrate the new instrument into the band's sound. With Matlock and Steve New preferring to remain with the traditional guitars and drums approach, the band split. The Rich Kids were renowned for their high-octane energetic live shows, including a seminal show at London College of printing. In January 2010, The Rich Kids reformed for one night only, for a benefit concert for Steve New who was fighting terminal cancer (and died on 24 May 2010). Although it had been over 30 years since they played together, the press reports praised the gig, with energetic performances of "Ghosts of Princes In Towers, and "Hung on You". The Rich Kids were joined on stage by Mick Jones and Gary Kemp. Ure also played an acoustic set of Ultravox and Visage songs.

Visage

In 1978, Egan and Ure formed Visage with lead vocalist Steve Strange, and utilised their new synthesiser when they recorded a cover of the Zager & Evans classic "In The Year 2525" for promotional purposes. The line-up was expanded in 1979 with the inclusion of Magazine members Dave Formula, John McGeoch and Barry Adamson, and Ultravox keyboardist Billy Currie, and the band would sign briefly to Radar Records for the release of their first single "Tar". Egan and Ure would also form the short-lived band The Misfits, whose career was curtailed by an approach from Thin Lizzy. Though Visage's first single was unsuccessful, they signed with Polydor Records in 1980, and their second single "Fade to Grey" became a hit.

Thin Lizzy

In July 1979 Ure replaced Gary Moore, co-writing "Get Out Of Here" with Phil Lynott for the album . He also contributed guitar parts to "Things Ain’t Working Out" and "Dublin" for the 1979 Thin Lizzy compilation The Continuing Saga of the Ageing Orphans. The band then embarked upon a tour of America and Japan. In 1980, during the second part of the tour he switched to keyboards, replaced by Snowy White as guitarist. At the end of the tour Ure decided to leave the band, although he continued to collaborate with Lynott, providing the chorus to "Chinatown" and co-writing Lynott's biggest solo hit, "Yellow Pearl". Ure felt his energies were better committed to another group: Ultravox.

Ultravox

1979 had seen Ure and Billy Currie form a close bond playing together in Visage. The pair decided to resurrect Currie's former group, the synthpop band Ultravox. The group had been presumed defunct since guitarist Robin Simon quit and lead singer John Foxx had left to pursue a solo career. In April Ure joined the band as singer and guitarist to complete the "classic" Ultravox lineup of Currie (keyboards, violin), Chris Cross (bass) and Warren Cann (drums). Although Ure had spent the latter half of 1979 on tour with Thin Lizzy, Ultravox found time late in the year to tour in the USA. During this time the band wrote a number of songs which were included on their first album with Ure.

The album, Vienna, was recorded in 1980. Although it was the band's fourth album in all, it was their first album to actually chart and was only a minor success upon first release. However, when the title track of the album "Vienna" was released as a single in early 1981, it became a huge hit and spent four weeks at #2 in the UK singles chart and was the 5th highest selling single in the UK that year. The album itself re-entered the album chart and peaked at #3. Inspired by the 1949 film The Third Man, the promo video for "Vienna" was directed by Russell Mulcahy, The same year that Ultravox released the Vienna album, Visage also released their debut album which made the UK Top 20 and featured the hit single "Fade to Grey" (co-written by Ure and Currie with Chris Payne), also influential in the direction of the New Romantic electropop music scene. ! valign="top" width="40"|US Hot 100 ! valign="top" width="40"|US Modern Rock ! valign="top" width="40"|US Main- stream Rock ! valign="top" |Album |- |align="left" valign="top"|No Regrets |align="center" valign="top"|1982 |align="center" valign="top"|9 |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="left" valign="top"|'' |- |align="left" valign="top"|After a Fashion (with Mick Karn) |align="center" valign="top"|1983 |align="center" valign="top"|39 |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="left" valign="top"|'' |- |align="left" valign="top"|If I Was |align="center" valign="top" rowspan=2|1985 |align="center" valign="top"|1 |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="left" valign="top" rowspan=3|The Gift |- |align="left" valign="top"|That Certain Smile |align="center" valign="top"|28 |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|- |- |align="left" valign="top"|Wastelands |align="center" valign="top" rowspan=2|1986 |align="center" valign="top"|46 |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|- |- |align="left" valign="top"|Call of the Wild |align="center" valign="top"|27 |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="left" valign="top"|'' |- |align="left" valign="top"|Answers to Nothing |align="center" valign="top" rowspan=2|1989 |align="center" valign="top"|49 |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|26 |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="left" valign="top" rowspan=2|Answers to Nothing |- |align="left" valign="top"|Dear God |align="center" valign="top"|55 |align="center" valign="top"|95 |align="center" valign="top"|4 |align="center" valign="top"|6 |- |align="left" valign="top"|Cold, Cold Heart |align="center" valign="top" rowspan=2|1991 |align="center" valign="top"|17 |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|12 |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="left" valign="top" rowspan=2|Pure |- |align="left" valign="top"|I See Hope (In The Morning Light) |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|- |- |align="left" valign="top"|Breathe |align="center" valign="top" rowspan=2|1996 |align="center" valign="top"|70 |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="left" valign="top" rowspan=2|Breathe |- |align="left" valign="top"|Guns and Arrows |align="center" valign="top"|166 |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|- |- |align="left" valign="top"|You Move Me |align="center" valign="top" rowspan=2|2001 |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="left" valign="top" rowspan=2|Move Me |- |align="left" valign="top"|Beneath a Spielberg Sky |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|- |align="center" valign="top"|- |- |}

References

External links

Official website

Midge Ure discography @ Discogs.com

Listings of all Ultravox albums and music sampler

Final Rich Kids concert, and photos

Category:1953 births Category:Living people Category:Scottish pop singers Category:Scottish male singers Category:BRIT Award winners Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:People from Cambuslang Category:Ultravox members Category:Thin Lizzy members

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. He also wore costumes and openly proclaimed his influences: David Bowie, Marc Bolan, and contemporary electronic acts such as John Foxx's Ultravox. His persona was aloof, alien, and androgynous; Numan was not seen to be part of the punk or New Romantic movements. During this period, Numan generated an army of fans calling themselves "Numanoids", providing him with a fanbase which maintained their support through the latter half of the 1980s, when his fortunes began to fall precipitously.

1980s

In 1980 Numan topped the album charts with Telekon, although the concurrent singles "We Are Glass", "" and "This Wreckage" reached #5, #6 and #20, respectively. The final studio album of what Numan retrospectively termed the "Machine" section of his career,

The more upbeat and danceable I, Assassin (1982) fared less well than Dance. Despite spawning three Top 20 singles, the album peaked at No.8 and dropped out of the charts after six weeks. Numan supported the album with a concert tour in America in late 1982 (where he was living as a tax exile), which were his first series of live shows since his farewell at Wembley.

Warriors (1983) further developed Numan's jazz-influenced style and featured contributions from avant-garde musician Bill Nelson (who fell out with Numan during recording and chose to be uncredited as the album's co-producer) and saxophonist Dick Morrissey (who would play on most of Numan's albums until 1991). The album peaked at No.12 and, like I, Assassin, spent six weeks in the charts. Warriors was the last album Numan recorded for Beggars Banquet Records, and was supported by a 40-date UK tour (again with support from robotic mime and music duo Tik and Tok) -- Numan's first live tour in the UK since his Wembley appearances in 1981. Numan's look for the album artwork and tour was a Mad Max-influenced black leather costume against a post-apocalyptic backdrop, but this latest image change was scorned by the music press.

Now battling against the increasing public perception that he was a spent force, Numan issued a series of albums and singles on his own record label, Numa. As the decade continued, he experienced a creative malaise, trying to recapture his former chart glory with less distinguished albums, some of which were stylistically derivative of artists like Robert Palmer and Prince. The first album released on Numa, 1984’s Berserker was also notable for being Numan's first foray into music computers/samplers, in this case the PPG Wave. Berserker moved away from the fluid, fretless sound that characterised Numan's previous three albums, featuring instead harder-edged electric bass and drum sounds. The album was also accompanied by a striking blue-and-white visual image, a tour and a live album/video, but it divided critics and fans and commercially was Numan’s least successful release to that date. This year also saw the death of Paul Gardiner, who was Numan's bassist and friend since his Tubeway Army days, from a fatal heroin overdose on 4 February 1984.

Numan's next album, The Fury (1985), charted slightly higher than Berserker, and featured another new image of white suit and red bow tie. To date, The Fury is the last Numan album to crack the British Top 30.

Collaborations with Bill Sharpe of Shakatak helped little, though two singles the duo recorded, "Change Your Mind", did see chart action, reaching No.17 and "No More Lies" reaching No.35 in 1988 in Britain. Numa Records, which had been launched in a flurry of idealistic excitement, folded after the release of Numan's Strange Charm album (1986). In addition to Numa's commercial failure, a lack of radio play (his records were removed from the BBC Radio 1 playlist) and sales drained the fortune (he estimated £4.5 million) Numan had amassed in the late 1970s. Numan signed to IRS Records and his final studio album of the 80s, the edgy, industrial-funk Metal Rhythm (1988) found favour with fans and scored some positive reviews in the UK music press, but it sold poorly. Metal Rhythm's sales were arguably confounded by the lack of strong promotion and IRS's inappropriate choices of singles (the record label also changed the album's title to New Anger, changed the album colour shade from black to blue, and remixed several of its tracks for its American release against Numan's wishes). 1989 saw the release of the Sharpe + Numan album Automatic. A more lightweight-pop effort than Numan's solo albums, Automatic fared less well than Metal Rhythm, and has been out of print since its initial release, fetching high prices on auction sites.

1990s

In 1991, Numan ventured into film-scoring by co-composing the music for The Unborn with Michael R. Smith (the score was later released as an instrumental album in 1995, Human). After Outland (1991), another critical and commercial disappointment and his second and last studio album with IRS, Numan reactivated Numa Records, under which he would release his next two albums. However, even Numan considers his 1992 Machine + Soul, a misguided attempt at a purely commercial release recorded solely to pay off debts, a career low point. The album sold only a few thousand copies. By 1994, Numan decided to stop attempting to crack the pop market and concentrate instead on exploring more personal themes, including his vocal atheism. His future wife Gemma encouraged him to strip away the influences of the previous years. Numan re-evaluated his career and went in a harsher, more industrial direction with his songwriting on the album Sacrifice — for the first time he played almost all the instruments himself. The move was critically well-received, as Numan's harder and darker sound emerged just as Numan-influenced bands like Nine Inch Nails were enjoying their first rush of fame. The influence was two-way; Numan claimed that Nine Inch Nails' song "Closer" is his favourite hit single of all time, and influenced his music. Sacrifice was the last album Numan made before shutting down Numa Records permanently. His next two albums, Exile (1997) and Pure (2000), restored his critical reputation. Numan toured the U.S. in support of Exile, his first stateside concerts since the early 1980s.

2000s

Numan has become acknowledged and respected by his peers, with such musicians as Dave Grohl (of Foo Fighters and Nirvana), Trent Reznor (of Nine Inch Nails), and Marilyn Manson proclaiming his work an influence and recording cover versions of old Numan hits. He later expressed regret for giving his public support, calling it "a noose around my neck". He has recently said that he considers himself neither left-wing nor right-wing and that he does not support Tony Blair or David Cameron. Numan has stated he has Asperger syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder which causes restricted social and communication skills. In a 2001 interview, he said: "Polite conversation has never been one of my strong points. Just recently I actually found out that I'd got a mild form of Asperger's syndrome which basically means I have trouble interacting with people. For years, I couldn't understand why people thought I was arrogant, but now it all makes more sense."

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