3 Classic Numan Albums A Personal View on each album

On this page I am giving my personal views on, in my opinion, the best 3 albums that Gary Numan has released in his long and established career. Each album has it's own personality in my opinion and each album is a classic and should sit right at the top of every Gary Numan fan's collection. For the sake of being different, I am not going full on into each album and including all musicians and anyone else involved in the making of them. To be honest, other Numan related sites go more in depth and do an excellent job of it so if you want to find out more about each album then I would suggest you click on the links at the bottom of the main page and visit those sites I have recommended. I hope you enjoy reading the following information.

I was 11 years old when the album Replicas was released in 1979. I always loved listening to music as a youngster and up until then I had been listening to the music that my parents had played in the house which was a mixture of The Beatles, Rolling Stones and Motown. Listening to the Jimmy Saville show on a sunday afternoon on Radio 1 was almost religious for mum and dad although not much fun for me and my brother and sisters. As an 11 year old I wasn't that keen on looking back to the 60's and wanted something new and exciting. I wasn't aware of bands like Kraftwerk, Foxx era Ultravox and The Human League and never really brought music, just taped it off the radio or played my parents records. I must admit that I had a rather embarassing liking for...dare I say it...Boney M !! It's been said a 1000 times before, both by myself and every other Numan fan, but when I saw Gary Numan and Tubeway Army on Top of the Pops for the first time I was almost hypnotised by what I saw. I saw the face of the future and the music that I heard coming from the TV grabbed me by the balls, squeezed them really hard and shouted "I've got you for life now!". The song featured was Are 'friends' electric? and to a lot of people it was just dirge (as my family would often say) presented to the public by some wierd, skinny, white faced bloke who never smiled. I thought it was cool, I thought he was cool and my mind was made up. I wanted to hear more.

I'll try not to go over the same lines again as a lot of stuff around this time is mentioned in my book 'Numan and Me', but at the time I was working a paper round before and after school and I also got a small amount of pocket money. I liked to look after myself back in those days and if I wanted something I would try my hardest to get it myself as my mum and dad had enough on their plates trying to look after 4 kids in the unfortunate Thatcher days. I went into town at the weekend when Are 'friends' electric? was number 1. A guy at school had got it in the week on a picture disc and was bragging to everyone about it. I didn't even manage to get a picture cover with mine, just a simple white paper sleeve but at least I had it. I remember getting home, putting it on my portable record player and playing it non stop. I actually preferred the b-side We are so fragile? when I heard it but both songs annoyed my family at the time, especially my brother who had to share the same bedroom as me. Anyway, enough of that, we're talking about the Replicas album here and it was the album cover that got me when I saw it on sale in the shop. To my surprise it was listed under Tubeway Army and not Gary Numan. I don't know why it was a surprise to be honest as the album was credited to Tubeway Army, Gary Numan hadn't gone 'solo' (if you want to call it that) just yet. I couldn't afford the album at the time and although it sounds sad really, I used to go into the shop and just look at the cover because it looked so wierd.

The front cover of Replicas features Gary Numan dressed in black with white hair and makeup including black fingernails. He is in an empty room and is stood under a lightbulb looking out of a window. The reflection in the window is different and it has Numan staring back with arms crossed. Outside is 'The Park' and outside the park is a figure of a guy in a long coat. This all becomes relevant and clear when you know the story of Replicas. It has been said by Gary Numan himself that the Replicas album was actually a book of short stories that he had been writing. Those stories turned into songs. Every Numan fan has their own ideas on different aspects of this album and to me, it's really quite clever. Numan had been reading a lot of books by Sci-fi writers at the time and notes Philip K Dick and William Burroughs as major influences. These become clear, especially on the Replicas album and it's also quite apparent that Philip K Dick's book 'Do androids dream of electric sheep?' (later made into the film 'Blade Runner') was very, very influential. The thing I like, well....love, about Replicas is the whole package. The cover, the image, the tracks and the order in which they run. My nan got me the Replicas album from the local market's music stall. I couldn't believe it when I actually had it in my hands and could play it on my own record player in my own room. I was actually a bit annoyed at the time though as my copy was a bit different to my friend's copy as it had a green label rather than the standard red one. I found out later down the line as I became a collector that the label was actually dutch and I had an import version.

The opening synth line on first track 'Me, I disconnect from you' got me straight away. I hadn't heard anything like it before and it was / is a fine mix of synthesisers and guitars. It has a catchy riff and isn't that long but the song means a lot to me as it was the first song on the first album that I had owned myself. Just playing it still gives me the shivers and transports me back to 1979, sitting in my bedroom as an 11 year old. The track that follows is the single 'Are 'friends' electric? and having heard it so many times already, I would often pick up the needle arm on the record player and skip to the next track which is called 'The Machman'. A nice little rocky guitar riff starts the song which then goes into a story telling you more or less what 'The Machman' is. The picture on the front of Replicas is actually Numan dressed as 'The Machman', half machine, half man but with real human skin. The only way you can tell a Machman from a real person is the black bar across their pupil. This is shown on the back cover of the album where the image is magnified. 'Praying to the Aliens' features more synthesisers and is more electronic than 'The Machman' and I took to this song straight away. I think it was because it the synths were more prominent and that's what got me hooked in the first place because they were different. At the time some people were moaning about the use of synthesisers in music but not me, I loved them and later on down the line I was influenced so much that I purchased a number of them myself. The last track on side one of Replicas is the song called 'Down in the park'. This song is noted by fans as possibly the best thing that Numan has ever written. I would tend to agree with that although my favourite Numan track ever is on the album Telekon and we'll come to that later on this page. 'Down in the park' tells the story of what goes on in the park and gives you a clear idea of where Numan is coming from. It's a down tempo song with dark, eery synth strings and was / is also a live favourite among fans

Flipping the record over and then playing side 2 was a different experience for me. I wasn't as keen on side 2 as I was on side 1 because it featured a couple of instrumental tracks in the likes of 'When the machines rock' and 'I nearly married a human'. To me, these 2 tracks were just album fillers and although they were full on synthesised songs, they didn't have the effect on me that I was hoping for and I would often find myself skipping them. Side 2 starts off with a great song called 'You are in my vision' and this is where the guitars come back into the front of the mix. A simple synth line is effective and it's a catchy song. There are definite influences from William Burroughs in there. The title track 'Replicas' follows and I have to admit that when I first heard this I wasn't impressed. Once again, it's a down tempo song laden with synths and guitars but it is a grower of a track and one that Numan sings almost emotionally. I remember thinking all those years ago when I heard him sing the line "and they said it was me, so I just walked away", that he was almost gulping for air or he was choked up singing it. That's the main reason I like this song. The last vocal track on the album before the previously mentioned instrumentals is called 'It must have been years' and this is the most rocky song on the whole album. The song is upbeat and stripped of synthesisers. I got the impression at the time that Numan was broadcasting to the world that he experimented sexually as a couple of lines in the song give that impression. It didn't matter to me, still doesn't. So, even though there are 2 tracks on this album that I wasn't, and still aren't keen on, Replicas still remains my favourite Numan album ever. Whenever I play it, it's like a time machine and takes me back to my youth and I remember everything good and bad from those days in 1979. As I mentioned earlier, it's the complete package. The artwork, the ideas etc were all so different to what was happening at the time that it changed my life completely and made me the person that I am today. I am 110% positive that if I hadn't of heard 'Are 'friends' electric? or if I had heard it and didn't like it, I would have gone off on a totally different trek and be a totally different person today. In my opinion, Replicas is an awesome album. When it was released Gary Numan was 21. I guess he wrote it a lot earlier but it was recorded in less than a week yet it is a masterpiece and something to be very proud of. If I had to recommend any Numan album to a non fan, it would be this one.

When the next album 'The Pleasure Principle' was released, it was credited to Gary Numan. The name Tubeway Army was dropped yet Numan was backed by a full on band this time round. This was an album that I eagerly awaited just like 1000's of others and I wasn't to be disappointed. In the space of 2 years the Numan fan was treated some quality material. I called myself a fan then and my bedroom was rapidly becoming a homage to the man, much to the disgust of my brother. I had my ear pierced in the same ear as Gary Numan and got lots of abuse for it at school, both mentally and physically. I couldn't see what the problem was at the time and even when I found out that it supposedly meant I was gay, I still didn't change it. I always thought, even at a young age, that people could think what they liked about me. I was me and I wasn't changing for anyone. I didn't want to be run of the mill 'normal' like everyone else (whatever normal is) and I thought it was boring. I liked to be different. I had something, someone to focus on. School just got in the way if I am honest. I hated it there and as soon as the bell went to say that the day had finished, that's when my fun would begin. I didn't roam the streets with everyone else looking for stuff to do, I wasn't interested. I had my music, I had my Gary Numan music and although my collection was pretty feeble at the time, there was nothing I liked more than getting in from school, getting changed, taking my dinner to my room and eating it alone whilst listening to my music. You could say I was a bit of a loner but the thing is, I preferred my own company. I hardly ever sat down with my family to eat because I would take my food to my room. The only time I would sit with them would be for the sunday roast and even then, as soon as I finished it I would run up the stairs to my room. When I first saw the cover to The Pleasure Principle I thought it was a different person. Gone was the white hair and black clothes from 'Replicas'. Even the black hair from the Top of the Pops appearences had gone and it had been replaced by a natural mousey brown colour. It looked ok, I was happy because I had the same horrible mousey brown hair at the time. Gary was sat at a desk with a glowing pyramid. He was dressed in a suit and looking at the pyramid. On the back cover he had the pyramid covering his face. I have read interviews with him over the years in which he states that his obsession with pyramids at the time was because he thought that they were stable, the most stable object ever. He also mentioned that these would be on every corner glowing in his world. He even used pyramids in his stage set when playing live. The pose on the front cover of The Pleasure Principle was based on a painting by the artist Magritte. Great picture but a bit too arty farty for me at the time.

I actually went and purchased the Pleasure Principle myself. I got a free poster with it at the time as I got one of the first copies. Looking back now, I should have kept it in pristine condition as it's worth a lot of money but I didn't. I added it to my homage to Numan and the walls in my bedroom were almost covered completely now with newspaper cuttings and posters of the man, again to my brothers disgust, so much in fact that one day after accidentally throwing a dart in his foot whilst playing about, he decided to tear down a lot of the posters in a fit of anger. My Pleasure Principle poster was the main target and lasted all of a week on my wall before falling to it's death. Obviously I wasn't happy.

As with the previous album 'Replicas', this one was also a number 1 album. Numan was taking off big time and for a new guy on the scene to release 2 number 1 albums in the same year was a great achievement. Lots of people took to Numan but for every 1 person that loved him, there would be another 10 that loathed him and they would not hold back from telling you so either, whether it was the kids at school or the media. The Pleasure Principle was another landmark in the future of electronic music in my view. I didn't know what to expect when I put it on the record player for the first time. The cover art did not reflect what was actually on the vinyl. I expected more of the same as before with a mixture of guitars and synthesisers but I didn't get what I expected and was more than pleasantly surprised. This album has influenced many people over the years. It gets more and more people praising it as the years go on and it's easy to see why. When Gary Numan released this album he was the main man. Yes, he was still the relatively new kid on the block but he was top of the tree, he was the future and this album was going to represent the future of music. Did he have that in mind when he wrote it? I reckon he did, I think it was all part of 'The Plan' and looking back you have to say that 'The Plan' worked! The Pleasure Principle gained Numan 1000's of fans and once again 1000's of enemies too. The media ripped it to shreds because they were scared of it. In my opinion, they didn't like it because it was different and they hadn't found it. Here was a guy that had come from almost out of nowhere and they couldn't do anything about it so what they did do was have a go at him and the fans and the whole scene because they couldn't control it. Ok, it wasn't Beatlemania but it was getting there. It wasn't worldwide just yet but in the UK it was huge. I am pretty sure that lots of fans felt the same as me when they heard The Pleasure Principle for the first time.

The album starts off with an instrumental track called 'Airlane'. This was and still is one of my favourite Numan tracks even though it is an instrumental. It is a full on synth fest with bags of energy and used to be a live favourite on the tours. As always, back then when I used to listen to the records I used to analyse the cover and the lyrics and I noticed whilst reading the notes that all the song titles were one word and that there was not a guitar in sight. There were string instruments such as viola's and violin's but no guitars. To me, this was confirmation that Gary Numan was making the point that you could make an album without using guitars. He did this and what an album it is. Second track 'Metal' is hypnotising with the kind of riff that would have and should have seen it sit right at the top of the singles chart. Sadly it wasn't a single and it's a common thought among fans that should it had been released as single instead of the gorgeous ballad 'Complex' (also featured on this album), then it would have surely been Numan's 3rd number 1 single. 'Complex' follows and takes the album down a different route. To start your second album with an instrumental, then an upbeat track and then follow it with a ballad was pretty courageous in my view yet it is done perfectly with 'Complex'. It's been said that this track was the first synthesised ballad. It went Top 10 like the other singles before it yet it was a wierd choice for a single. It's mainly instrumental with synths and strings and has hardly any lyrics yet it is one of the best things Numan has ever written in my opinion. I think it is more of an album track than a single though. The track 'Films' follows and starts off with a dark and eery synth drone which is followed by a drum loop that has been noted by Hip Hop artists as one of the best breaks ever. Cedric Sharpley who was drumming at the time came up with a gem on this track. Once again Numan didn't go over the top with his vocals on this track. In fact, he doesn't do much singing at all on this album but it works. The final track on side 1 is called 'M.E.' and sees Numan at his best. As with the track 'Replicas' on the previous album, his vocals are heartfelt and when he sings the line "Now there's only me" you almost feel for him. The track builds up into an awesome feast of synths and strings and is a perfect finish to the first part of the album. It is powerful both on vinyl, CD and live. I must admit that it wasn't one of my favourites at first but has grown into one of my favourite Numan tracks of all time. Side 2 starts with a simple piano riff in the guise of 'Tracks'. This song used to be a great encore on the tours and guitars were added. On the album though it is purely synths and once again it's another infectious offering that has become a fan favourite. This is another song that could have easily been a top selling single yet it was never released. The song 'Observer' follows and I have always thought that this song, along with 'Engineers', the album's last track, is another filler. It's simple but effective but there really isn't much to it. I always guessed that it may have been a result of a jam session in the studio which ended up as a song that Numan added to the album there and then. Of course, I am probably talking rubbish as usual but 'Observer' always gave me that impression. 'Conversation' follows and this was another song that I used to skip. (a) Because it was too long and repetitive and didn't go anywhere, and (b) Because I wanted to go straight to the next track, 'Cars'. 'Conversation' used to always appear on the early tours and to be honest, I always got a bit bored with it. I do appreciate it now as it is actually a good song but it is probably 2 minutes longer than it should be. The number 1 single and track that everyone associates Numan with, 'Cars' is next and it needs no introduction whatsoever. It's a classic piece of electronic pop music and in my opinion, it doesn't get the recognition it deserves. Yes it is cited as being up there with the best of them but is 'Don't you want me?' by the Human League really better than 'Cars'? I don't think so!! Last track on the album is a song called 'Engineers' and as I mentioned, I think it's really a album filler. It doesn't do much for me, didn't back then in 1979 and still doesn't now. It has some great synths and drums in it but it still doesn't do it for me. 'The Pleasure Principle' album was very different to 'Replicas' with it being full on electronica. It's in my top 3 Numan albums, that's the point of this page afterall.

In 1980 Gary Numan gave us 'Telekon', another number 1 album which was once again different to the previous one. This time it was as if Numan had matured musically leaps and bounds. When you think that this masterpiece was the work of a 22 year old then all you can do is sit back and applaud. I remember when Telekon released. It was as if all of the music retailers had finally got the jist that he was a 'unit shifter' (as they say in the trade). There were window displays advertising the album to the public and there were press adverts too. For me, Telekon is simply breathtaking. That may sound a bit over the top but listening to it has me lost for words every time. I was a year older and had matured a lot in the space of a year. I hadn't opened my ears to other music as yet and was still focused on Gary Numan. I had tunnel vision I suppose and in hindsight that isn't a good thing but back then I loved everything Numan did. It seems very wierd to me though that with the promotion, huge tour and exposure that Numan was getting at the time, the record company went about the whole thing the wrong way. I'll go into it in a bit more detail shortly but firstly, the choice of single was definitely wrong and to release the album without including the 2 top 10 singles was also a big mistake. I think it was these decisions that possibly put Numan's career on the downward spiral. Numan could have been a huge worldwide star is the Telekon album was all done properly in my opinion but it wasn't. To not include the singles 'We are Glass' and 'I Die;You Die' was a mistake. Ok, it could have been argued that it was value for money and giving the public more new material, not milking them in the same way as say Michael Jackson's record company did with his 'Thriller' album but it could also be argued that the 2 singles both went Top 10 and may have made the 'Telekon' album more attractive to 'Joe Public' if they had been included. Another mistake was the release of the first track on the album titled 'This Wreckage'. Yes, as I said, it seems appropriate that Beggars Banquet released 'This Wreckage' as I think it was the song which wrecked Numan's career. It was slow, droning and even though it made the Top 20, which was a surprise, it was exactly a great advert or representation of the rest of the album. Once again, 'Joe Public' sitting at home watching Top of the Pops could easily have thought that the dirge he or she was listening to would be just like the rest of the album. That could have been so different if the track 'Remind me to smile' had been released instead. This was more upbeat, catchy and a perfect choice as a follow up to 'I Die;You Die', still it's easy to look back and say "If only" isn't it. I remember going to town on the monday morning as I was off school at the time. I went to the local WH Smiths where they had a huge display for the album. I queued up at the till with my copy in my hand. On the front of the album it had a sticker which said that there was a free 7" single included. I was stood behind a guy a lot older than me who had a couple of copies under his arm. He turned round and looked down at little old me and said something like "I can't wait to hear this can you?" I just nodded if I remember rightly.

I also remember getting to the till and asking where the free single was and the person on the till telling me that it should be inside. I checked and it wasn't so I got out of the queue and went back to the racks to see if I could find a copy that did have a single inside. I was lucky, I found one that had a free single plus a poster too. I still don't know how I managed to get both as later on down the years I heard that the first issues had free singles and then the second issues had free posters. This was release day yet I got both, lucky sod. This time though the poster didn't go on the wall, it stayed well away from my brother's dirty paws and remained folded inside the album cover, in fact it's still there to this day. Once I got home I put it on the record player and sat back on my day off school and listened to it. I am not sure why but on hearing the album in full for the first time, I wasn't impressed at all. I think at the time, it sounded a bit too 'grown up' for me. As I said, Numan seemed like he had matured a lot musically and this album was more intricate. The production was excellent but it just didn't grab me straight away. Even after the second and third listens I still wasn't hooked but the track that stood out for me at the time was 'Remind me to smile', probably because it was more commercial? Later on down the years I grew to appreciate the album for what it was and it featured my favourite Numan track ever, 'The Aircrash Bureau'.

As with all Numan albums, a new image followed too. The cover art for 'Telekon' was black and red. Apparently, Numan got the idea for the red stripes whilst on tour and saw an advertisement in Germany. These red lines would appear on all the singles released from the album along with the tour merchandise and even Numan's image. He had a red stripe in his hair which the fans, including me, copied. The image was a black leather jumpsuit with a couple of red leather belts over the shoulder and around the waist which were added by his mum, Beryl. This image is one of the favourites of the fans and it wasn't until a few years ago that Numan stated that the chrome tubing in which he holds on the back cover and also the singles was in fact off his mum's hoover (or so I'm told). Numan had also been on a huge world tour and when he was in Japan he found a new love for the country. This also influenced some of his image, especially in the 'I Die;You Die' video, the coolest video he has ever done, again in my opinion. Both 'Telekon' and the 'I Die;You Die' single were released on a number of different coloured vinyls via the 'Stemra' label in Holland. I won't go through all of the colours as there are many of both and no'one really knows just how many colours were released because there has never been an official, definitive list. There are a few one off's but many fans check out eachother's copies and go by that really. I never collected the colours at the time but later on down the years I spent a fair bit of money collecting them and had most, if not all the colours that I knew existed. Sadly, like anyone else who needs the money, I sold them when I was a bit brassic and yes, I regret that now. They were worth a lot of money and I did get a fair bit for them at the time.

So, 'Telekon' opened up on side 1 with the abysmal choice for a single called 'This Wreckage'. I hated the track at the time although saying that, on tour it was a brilliant set opener with it's synth opener and deep bass stabs and was a much better song played live than it was on vinyl. I still can't believe that it was released as a single. What follows next is, in my view, the greatest piece of music that Gary Numan has ever written. Again, it's not a single but what it is, is a great album track. Of course, I talk of 'The Aircrash Bureau' , a song written about an old pilot who has died who comes back to warn others. Ok, it's a bit more intricate than that but...well, there you go. It's full of synths, strings and percussion and Numan once again sings it from the heart. It's the type of song that was made to send shivers down your spine and I can honestly say that every time I hear it, it still does it. A couple of years ago I was very fortunate to sing on a cover version of this track and I treasure it, it means a lot to me. (Thanks Shaun). In 1981 at Wembley Arena, Numan played the track live and it was brilliant. Yes, there were probably...ok...definitely, backing tapes used but it was awesome and I still remember it as if it was yesterday, it's a very fond memory from the best gig of my life. The title track 'Telekon' follows and yet again, as always seemed / seems the case, it's another filler. I never really liked this track as it was just a drone of dark synths and piano to me with Numan seeming like he couldn't be bothered to sing the lyrics but over the years I have grown to like it. That's what a good album does to you! 'Remind me to smile' is the next track and as previously mentioned, this should have followed 'I Die;You Die' as the next single. Sadly this didn't happen and it's a shame. I could imagine people listening to the radio at home or at work thinking "This is good" and then be surprised when they heard it was Gary Numan because it was so catchy yet they would've gone out and brought it. It could have all been so different. The last track on side 1 is the ghostly chilled out track 'Sleep by windows'. It's one of those tunes that I thought would build up into a big finish but it doesn't. It stays chilled and at the same pace throughout the song and is rammed full of lovely synths. It's a great song to chill out too.

Side 2 begins with a rockier track called 'I'm an agent'. If 'Sleep by windows' chilled you out in the best possible way then 'I'm an agent' creeps up behind you and says "Boo!!" as loud as it can in your ear to wake you up. Chunky guitars follow the synths with Numan almost screaming the vocals. I still wonder how he managed to get that high and thought that it was the wonders of technology in the studio but he managed to pull it off live too. This track works better live than it does on vinyl in my opinion and wasn't one of the standout tracks to me at the time. The same can't be said for 'I Dream of wires' which follows it. This track was an instant favourite for me at the time. It starts off nicely with a simple synth line and vocals and then goes all out with guitars and synths. Again, it was brilliant live and became a favourite and standout track both on the Teletour and at Wembley. The thing with 'Telekon' was / is that it's a bit stop / start / stop / start throughout the album. One minute it chills you out and lulls you into a false sense of security by chilling you out and bringing you down and then the next, it slaps you in the face, wakes you up and rocks out before givng you a breather and chilling you out again. This happens on 'Remember I was vapour', a track that is full of mellow synths wrapped in cotton wool following a simple electronic beat overlapped with percussion. The song is a statement from Numan and is also featured on the free single but in live form. At Wembley and on the Teletour, it was speeded up and there was a lot of ad libbing which worked really well. Gary Numan has written some great ballads in his time but top of the lot must be the beautiful track that follows 'Remember I was vapour' in the shape of 'Please push no more'. If you expected the next track to up the tempo again then you would be sadly mistaken as Numan treats us to more of the chiiled out vibe with some ghostly piano and what must simply be described as gorgeous synths. Numan sings it from the heart again and it grabs you. It gets me every time without fail. I won't even mention the effect it had on me and 1000's of others when it was performed at Wembley Arena. If you went then you will know exactly what I mean. 'Please push no more' is another Numan masterpiece and right up there in the top 10 Numan songs of all time. The last track on the album is a song called 'The Joy Circuit' and it is a great way to finish a great album. Violins start the track as it builds and builds. Guitars and synths rock out as it builds even more and by the end of the track it is a mass of noise that you can imagine would be great live. In fact, it is a great track live.

'Telekon' is to me, on par with 'The Pleasure Principle'. Both are awesome albums in their own way. Both have a couple of tracks that I am not to keen on and yes, the same can be said for 'Replicas' but the reason why I list 'Replicas' as my favourite Numan album ever is the fact that it has absolutely everything and not just that, it takes me back to my youth. Yes, I remember certain things when I play all of these albums but nothing can take me back to my youth like 'Replicas' can. I hope you have enjoyed reading my (rather long) thoughts on these albums. When I was younger I thought that music was just music, it didn't mean anything really and wasn't that important but over the years I have realised that with certain music you can get a lot from it. Certain albums, like the ones listed above, can take you back and remind you of your youth and the things that happened around that time, both good and bad. A good album is an album that you can go back to and listen to and enjoy just as much as you did when you originally brought it. Gary Numan has released many albums over the years but it's these 3 albums that I continually go back to and enjoy. If I want to reminisce the old times I will play 'Replicas'. If I want to chill out and absorb everything, I will listen to 'Telekon' in the dark and on low volume or headphones. If I want a synth fest then I will play 'The Pleasure Principle' and it will take me back to when Gary Numan really was 'The Man'. If you got this far, thank you for sparing some time to read this, maybe you feel the same? I hope so - Cheers Gary

3 Classic Numan Albums A Personal View on each album