- published: 25 Sep 2006
- views: 4612070
Gary Numan (born Gary Anthony James Webb on 8 March 1958) is an English singer, composer, and musician, most widely known for his chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" (as Tubeway Army) and "Cars". His signature sound consisted of heavy synthesiser hooks fed through guitar effects pedals.
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 been widely imitated.
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".
We are so fragile
Advertising lies that are whiter than yours
We are so fragile
They could give us a war just to keep us amused
We are so fragile
I could stay here inside and say it's all been done
We are so fragile
Just pretend I never tried, I'll leave it up to you
We are still so young
And it must be wrong but I'd do it all the same
We are really so shy
There's nothing I can do except believe in you
We could always go home
But everyone says this is the place to be
We are so unnatural
But you wouldn't understand, you want to deal with men