Anyone that knows me will know that I am a huge Gary Numan fan and I have been since 1979. Now this may not have anything to do with Shakermaker as such BUT with many bands around today being influenced by Gary Numan among others I thought I would put up some information and images etc of the early days of Gary Numan and Tubeway army because I think you should take a listen to some of the stuff. I think you will be pleasantly surprised if you listen to the likes of Tubeway Army, The Plan, Replicas and The Pleasure Principle. I'm not saying go out and buy them all, listen to some of the tunes online or use the file sharing programs and search for Gary Numan or Tubeway army. A lot of people think that Gary Numan just released 'Are 'friends' electric?' and 'Cars' and that's it...It's not!!

 

Read on below and at the end of the page check out some recommendations.

Tubeway army were fronted by Gary Numan. They released 4 singles under the name Tubeway army and it was the 4th release 'Are 'friends' electric?' in 1979 that really put them in the limelight hitting the number 1 spot in the UK top 40 singles chart. This single was not included on their debut self titled album but was on the second album 'Replicas'. Tubeway army were a 4-piece from London and concentrated on the punk scene purely to get a record deal. The debut album known to fans as the 'Blue' album because it was initially released with a different cover (above) and on very limited blue vinyl, was a mix of punk and electronic. This appealed to the punks but also to people that wanted to hear something different. It was purely by chance that synthesizers appeared on the album as when the band were in the studio, Gary noticed that a synthesizer had been left behind by a hire company so decided to see what it could do. He had never used one before but liked the way it sounded. Up until then the synth sound had been dominated by the likes of Kraftwerk and had been used for sound effects on tv and in film. When 'Are 'friends' electric?' worked it's way up the chart and finally hit the number 1 spot, the new sound had everybody confused but also interested. People were getting bored with punk and with the Tubeway army sound and 'Are'friends' electric?' in particular, they had something new and exciting to latch on to. The press were not impressed with it. Front man Gary Numan (real name Gary Webb) was attacked verbally at any opportunity with the hacks calling him a 'Bowie Clone' and claiming that it wouldn't last.

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There is also an album titled 'The Plan' which is full of early, previously unreleased tracks. This was'nt actually going to be released and was put out in 1984 as something extra for the fans. As Gary says himself, the album was full of tracks that were recorded with the sole intention of getting a record deal. In 1976/77/78 when punk was THE exciting music genre to be in, it was easy enough to get noticed and Gary's plan was to get the deal and then do what HE wanted to do. A clever move.

When the second album 'Replicas' was released in 1979 the synthesizers were more prominent. It was obvious that this was the direction that Tubeway army were going in and it was a good move because as a result of this, Replicas also hit the Number 1 spot in the UK. 'Replicas' was originally an idea for a book by Gary Numan but he decided to use his stories as songs. The cover artwork and the layout of the tracks is awesome and makes it my favourite album of all time. I won't go into too much detail because you can find out more information if you really want to for yourself. The album is all Sci-fi and how Numan's idea of the future looked. This is definitely one album that you must listen to. You will see just how much it has influenced some of the bands of today as the tracks unfold.

'The Pleasure Principle', released in 1979 was unique. It featured the electronic stormer 'Cars' which also went to Number 1 in the UK and the first electronic ballad 'Complex' which sat nicely in the uk Top 10 in 1980. The whole of 'The Pleasure Principle' was purely synthesizers and was huge. It also went to number 1 in the uk and turned Gary Numan into a superstar. The album and now the singles were all credited as Gary Numan as the Tubeway army name was dropped. The album featured 10 tracks with one word titles. This is another album that has heavily influenced a lot of the bands of today and that's why this page has been made.

That's not all Gary Numan has done. The next album 'Telekon' also went to Number 1 and is known amongst many Numan fans as the best Gary Numan ever. Yes, it's a brilliant album and once again it has also influenced some of the bands of today with people like Beck, Blur and Nine Inch Nails to name a few, saying that they are fans but the idea of adding this page to my site is to recommend the early stuff. If you want to explore further...go for it!

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For obvious copyright reasons I am unable to add any MP3's but if you are interested do a search for any of the tracks below and take a listen.

Tubeway army

The whole first album but in particular tracks like 'Steel and You', 'Listen to the sirens', 'Are you real?'

The Plan

'That's too bad', 'Bombers', 'Check it', 'Oh! Did'nt I say?'......it's all good.

Replicas

Stunning album but standout tracks are 'Down in the park', 'Are 'friends' electric?', 'The Machman' and 'Me, I Disconnect from you'

The Pleasure Principle

Another stunner. Download the whole album!!! Standout tracks 'Airlane', 'Metal', 'M.E', 'Cars' and 'Films'

**** I would like to thank Gary Hough (one of the originals!) for his scans of the early Tubeway Army gig posters ****

All merchandise images have come from my own collection. All images apart from the early Tubeway Army posters are also from my own collection.

::::::::::: If you would like to find out more on Tubeway Army / Gary Numan OR you make your own electronic music, please check out the links below ::::::::::

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