Gary Numan
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DiscographyNot including numerous compilations, many of which are unauthorized.
 Tubeway Army 1979(formerly known as The Blue Album)
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The man you think you know has transformed once again...
Behind the legend
The history of the man, the legend, Gary Numan:
February 10th, 1978: Beggars Banquet released Tubeway Army's That's Too Bad/Oh Didn't I Say and Gary quit his job as a driver. He was now a full time musician and the single soon out sold all of its initial 4,000 copies. Tubeway Army soon grew into a four piece band and Gary showed the world that he was about to be on top of it. Gary has admitted that felt sick just before each performance but once he'd get on stage, he would gain confidence by letting himself be taken over by the music. From early on, Gary had a stage presence few performers in his area had at the time. He would soon outgrow Tubeway Army. The last live gig for the band would end on a sour note. A fight broke out between the skinheads in the audience and Gary soon found himself in a major dilemma; should he continue playing or would stopping the performance bring too much attention to the fight? He vowed never again to be put in that position and decided there after that the next time he would be on stage would be at a much larger venue.
March 23rd, 1979: Gary's song Down in the Park was released. It was the first song he conceived solely on a synthesiser. His sound was uniquely his own and would prove to be a milestone. Gary would later say, "That must have been the only single I ever got a good review for in my life."
Video from Top of the Pops for Gary Numan vs. Rico's: "Crazier"...
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The Plan 1978
Replicas 1979
Pleasure Principle 1979
Telekon 1980
Living Ornaments '79-'80 (live recording)
Newman Numan: The Best of Gary Numan '81
Dance 1981
Living Ornaments '81
I, Assassin 1982
Warriors 1983
Berserker 1984
White Noise 1984 (live recording)
The Fury 1985
Strange Charm
Exhibition 1987(retrospective compilation)
Ghost 1987 (live)
Metal Rhythm 1988 (released in a re-sequenced edition in the US as New Anger)
The Skin Mechanic 1989 (live)
Automatic 1989 (collaboration with Bill Sharpe as Sharpe + Numan)
Outland 1991
Machine + Soul 1992
Dream Corrosion 1994 (live)
Sacrifice 1994
Dark Light 1995 (live)
Human 1995
Dawn 1997
Exile 1997
New Dreams for Old: best of Gary Numan '84-'98
Pure 2000
Exposure 2002
Scarred: Live At Brixton Academy 2003
Hybrid 2003
Live At Shepherd's Bush Empire 2004
Jagged 2006
March 13th, 2006 Gary Numan will be coming out with a new album! The album is called "JAGGED" So far the album promises to be dark and moody with hints of Gothic metal. You can preview videos and music for "JAGGED" at 
Spring 1977: Gary Webb forms his first band, Mean Street, a punk band that Gary eventually quit because the members weren't getting along so well with Gary. Rumor has it that the band was jealous of Gary, but I like to think that Gary's talent just outshone the rest of the band and it was best that he move on. Following his departure from Mean Street, Gary answered an ad in Melody Maker placed by Paul Gardiner. Later that spring, Paul's band, The Lasers, would accept Gary, only for it to break up in a similiar situation Gary experienced with his first band. Gary soon decided that in order for he and Paul to become successful, they'd have to record a demo... 
Later that summer, after departing from The Lasers, Paul and Gary created Tubeway Army. After rehearsing for awhile and playing local gigs, they recorded their demo and handed the tape to the bosses at the Earls Court branch of Beggar's Banquet (which was just a small chain of record stores in London at the time). After seeing them perform for a live audience, one of the directors decided to arrange more gigs for them and put out a trial single.
Autumn 1978: Gary's goal was to become a star and follow in the footsteps of his heroes. He put live performances aside to concentrate on writing, explore new musical territory, and decided to put his punk rock roots behind him. During this time, Gary and Paul recorded what would become The Blue Album and Gary changed his surname to Numan. The album gained them a small, growing cult of fans who identified with Gary's emotional and often times cynical views on love and life. Gary would prove to his fans that he was not out to be another marketing tool; here was a musician with the creativity and muster to not only get them dancing, but who spoke to their souls. 
Are 'Friends' Electric? would prove to be his next big hit and, without any radio play, achieved a positive position on the charts. The success of this single paved the way for Gary to release the album Replicas; an album filled with science-fiction references, android dreams, and Gary's own self reflections -- both positive and negative. Quickly, Gary Numan became a star and he wasn't quite prepared for the overwhelming pressures of being an over night sensation. Gary remarked, "because you're famous, (people) feel like they own you and that you don't have normal feelings."
Autumn 1979: By the time Replicas was climbing the charts, Gary was already hard at work on a follow-up album, The Pleasure Principle. This album was to become another milestone in rock history. By the time the single, Cars, was released, Gary dropped the band name Tubeway Army and his act became forever known thereafter as just Gary Numan. The video for Cars would soon set the pace for New Wave artists and prove Gary was ahead of his time. He began to write less and less about future worlds and more about his own personal experiences and feelings. The Pleasure Principle would soon also set Gary Numan as the major inspiration for many innovative rock stars to come and earn him the title "The Godfather of Electronic Music." 
Spring & Summer 1980: Gary goes on tour, finally playing for very large venues throughout the U.S. and Europe. He is only 22 years old and expresses his fraility and strength in the song, We Are Glass. Becoming a public figure would continue to put him in the spotlight with journalists that liked to discredit him. Gary had a thick skin with tender insides; he was defensive and defiant against the media, often egging them on. In a business full of pretense, Gary boldly spoke his peace and opinions, and was never too shy to finish a fight. With the release of his next single, I Die, You Die, in late August, Gary expressed his anger with the media openly and mockingly. A few weeks later, Gary's next studio album, Telekon would hit number one on the U.K. charts. 
April 1981: The Teletour, Gary's second major tour, featured an elaborate stage show that proved to be a favorite for his fans, but didn't do so well for his budget. Soon becoming exhausted with the pressures of fame and sick of keeping up appearances, Gary announced his retirement from touring with a series of even more complex and exhiliarating shows. His retirement did not last, but would prove to be regretable after his audience turned to discover other artists. The break, however, would provide Gary time to explore his other interests such as flying. Soon he would be competant enough to fly both single and twin engine aircraft, as well as helicopters! 
Winter 1981: Gary would return to the studio to start work on a new album, Dance, where he would experiment with jazz and funk. With the release of She's Got Claws, it was clear Gary was moving into a new direction and marked a deviation from the New Wave sound most of the world identified him with. No longer interested in producing "Robot music," for the most part during the 80's, Gary would exhibit in his music the desire for change. After the release of Dance, Gary announced his plans to fly all over the world in his Cessna Centurion.
Spring 1982: Gary flew his aircraft to the Cannes Film Festival, but on the way the plane developed a fault with the fuel gauge. It indicated that there was enough fuel to complete the journey when, in fact, the tank was empty and soon lost its hieght. Tim Webb, Gary's dad, was on board and they had to make an emergency landing. They bounced off a field and headed into heavy traffic, and just narrowly missed cars. No one was hurt, but Gary ended up being the butt of several jokes afterwards. It wouldn't be long before Gary wished to be creating music and playing live for his fans. 
The mid to late 80's: In the early to mid 80's, Gary would have to fight critics who considered him a spent talent. 1982 would start promising with the release of I, Assassin's upbeat and dancable singles. In 1983, Gary's album, Warriors, featured a brief flirtation with metal and a further departure from synth pop. The changes with musical genres and styles confused some fans. Ever the resourceful and creative Pieces, Gary departed from the Beggars Banquet label to start his own label, Numa. Gary later delved back into the synth pop music genre with Berserker but its release was eclipsed by bands of the time such as Duran Duran and Culture Club.
Inspired by performers such as Prince and Robert Palmer, Gary strayed from electronic punk and pop music even further, but this only served to alienate himself from some of his fans. However, Gary Numan is no jukebox; you can't program him to spew out catchy tunes to make everyone happy. With the album The Fury, released in 1985, Gary seemed to be making music for himself while also trying to make himself marketable again. Some of the songs featured sound clips from his favorite movie, Bladerunner, and, once again, he used music to lash out against his critics. 
With each subsequent album released on Gary's label, Numa, Gary would feature a new image for himself. He would transform from classic bleach-blonde android, to laid back leather clad anti-hero, to high class grimacing butler; seeking constantly to reinvent himself or blend in with the crowd of other performers indictative of the times. The extreme fame and success that he experienced in the late 70's seemed distant. Lack of radio play and low sales drained the fortune he earned and soon Numa folded. 
The 1990's: Resurgance By the mid 90's, Gary lived in a small semi-detached house, driving a cheap hatchback Rover, pondering his future. To pay off his debts, Gary over produced Machine + Soul and it was clear in his music that he was down on his luck, showing a lack of enthusiasm. Would he ever find the confidence, creativity, and courage he had when he was a young bloke? His wife Gemma encouraged him to give things another go and, with the release of Sacrifice in 1994, Gary would move into a more industrial, gothic rock direction. Every instrument featured on the album was played solely by himself alone. 
Gary's new darker sound invited back loyal fans who grew delighted with this turn in his career. Soon bands and artists such as Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana, and Marilyn Manson would be singing him praises. For the first time since the early 1980's, Gary was enjoying touring the U.S. and Europe again, meeting and cultivating a new generation of fans. Covers of his old songs were recorded by a diverse number of musicians; Nine Inch Nails covered the song "Metal" on their album Things Falling Apart, Fear Factory produced a cover of "Cars" (featuring a guest appearance by Numan), and Elastica covered "Are 'Friends' Electric?" 
Into the Future: In 2003, Numan enjoyed shared chart success on the single "Crazier" where he up and coming Glasgow artist, Videos
Previews of JAGGED (live performances released exclusively online)
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Now I just need to dig up all of my old Gary Numan cds and start playing them again.
~V
~Val
~V