Both Numan's music and his transgressive public image are known for his sense of alien coldness and embrace of avant-garde influences. Becoming of the founding fathers of electronic-based pop music, Numan's reach extends far beyond his lone American hit, “Cars,” which still stands as one of the defining new wave singles. That seminal track helped usher in the synthpop era on both sides of the Atlantic, especially his native England, where he was a genuine pop star and consistent hit-maker during the early 80s. Even after new wave had mostly petered out, Numan’s influence continued to make itself felt. His dark, paranoid vision, theatrically icy persona, and clinical, robotic sound were echoed strongly in the work of many goth rock and (especially) industrial artists during the past several decades. For his part, Numan just kept on recording, and, by the late 90s, he’d become a hip name to drop. Prominent alternative rock bands have covered his hits, with Numan himself playing live with Nine Inch Nails briefly to much acclaim, and a goth-flavored brand of industrial-type music christened darkwave looks to him as its mentor.
Numan was born Gary Anthony James Webb on March 8, 1958, in Hammersmith, West London, U.K. A shy child, music brought him out of his shell; he began playing guitar in his early teens and played in several short-lived bands. Inspired by the amateurism of the punk movement, he joined a punk rock group called "The Lasers" in 1976. The following year, he and bassist Paul Gardiner split off to form a new group, dubbed "Tubeway Army", with drummer Bob Simmonds. They recorded a couple of singles under futuristic pseudonyms (Valerium [or Valerian], Scarlett, and Rael, respectively) that attempted to match their new interest in synthesizers. Scrapping that idea, Webb rechristened himself Gary Numan and replaced Simmonds with his uncle Jess Lidyard. Thus constituted, "Tubeway Army" cut a set of "punk-meets-Kraftwerk" demos for Beggars Banquet in early 1978. That work ended up being released several years later as 'The Plan'.
That summer, Numan sang a TV commercial jingle for jeans, and toward the end of the year the group’s debut album, 'Tubeway Army', appeared. Chiefly influenced by Kraftwerk and David Bowie’s Berlin-era collaborations with Brian Eno, the album also displayed Numan’s fascination with the electronic, experimental side of glam rock (such as in some works by Roxy Music and Ultravox) and Krautrock (such as in some works by Can). He also drew much influence from transgressive science fiction writers such as Philip K. Dick, people who challenged conventional thinking through exploring the affects of new technology.
The group’s second album, 'Replicas', was released in early 1979. Its accompanying single, “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?", was a left-field smash, topping the UK charts and sending 'Replicas' to number one on the album listings as well. The record also included “Down in the Park", an oft-covered song that stands as one of Numan’s most 'gothic' outings.
Numan had become a star overnight, despite critical distaste for any music so heavily reliant on synthesizers, and he formed a larger backing band that replaced "Tubeway Army", keeping Gardiner on bass. "The Pleasure Principle" was released in the fall of 1979 and spawned Numan’s international hit “Cars”, which reached the American Top Ten and hit number one in the UK; the album also became Numan’s second straight British number one. He put together a hugely elaborate, futuristic stage show and went on a money-losing tour, and also began to indulge his hobby as an amateur pilot with his newfound wealth.
Numan returned in the fall of 1980 with "Telekon", his third straight chart-topping album in Britain, and scored two Top Ten hits with “We Are Glass” and “I Die: You Die”; “This Wreckage” later reached the Top 20.
In 1981, Numan announced his retirement from live performance, playing several farewell concerts just prior to the release of "Dance". While "Dance" and its lead single, “She’s Got Claws”, were both climbing into the British Top Ten, Numan attempted to fly around the world, but in a bizarre twist was arrested in India on suspicion of spying and smuggling. The charges were dropped, although authorities confiscated his plane. His retirement proved short-lived, but when he returned in 1982 with "I, Assassin", some of his popularity had dissipated - perhaps because of the retirement announcement, perhaps because the charts were overflowing with synthpop, much of which was already expanding on Numan’s early innovations (which were starting to sound repetitive). "I, Assassin" was another Top Ten album, and “We Take Mystery (To Bed)” another major hit, but in general Numan’s singles were starting to slip on the charts; the title track of 1983’s "Warriors" became his last British Top Twenty hit (excluding reissues and collaborations).
Numan and Beggars Banquet subsequently parted ways, and Numan formed his own Numa label, kicking things off with "Berserker" in late 1984. Sadly, longtime collaborator "Paul Gardiner" died earlier that year from a drug overdose. 1985’s "The Fury" became the final Numan album to reach the British Top 30. Over the next few years, Numan collaborated occasionally with "Shakatak’s" Bill Sharpe, releasing four singles and one album from 1985-1989.
Following 1986’s "Strange Charm", Numan signed with IRS, but the relationship was fraught with discord from the start. IRS forced Numan to change the title of 1988’s "Metal Rhythm" to "New Anger" for his first North American release since 1981 (and also remixed several tracks), refused to release his soundtrack for the film "The Unborn", and would not fund any supporting tours for "New Anger" or 1991’s "Outland". When his contract expired, Numan returned to Numa for 1992’s "Machine + Soul".
1994 brought the release of the industrial-tinged "Sacrifice", the first glimmering of Numan’s return to critical favor and underground hipness. Over the next few years, bands like "Hole", "The Foo Fighters", and "Smashing Pumpkins" covered Numan songs in concert, and Marilyn Manson recorded “Down in the Park” for the B-side of the “Lunchbox” single; moreover, "Nine Inch Nails" cited Numan as an important influence. With his fan base refreshed and expectations raised, Numan delved deeper into gothic, metal-tinged industrial dance on 1997’s "Exile". However, he didn’t truly hit his stride in this newly adopted style until 2000’s "Pure", which was acclaimed as his best work in years and expanded his cult following into new territory.
In 2003, Numan enjoyed fleeting chart success once again with the "Gary Numan vs Rico" single “Crazier”, reaching No.13 in the U.K. chart. Rico, who is an up and coming artist from Glasgow, also worked on the remix album "Hybrid" which featured reworkings of older songs in a more contemporary industrial style. In 2004 Numan took control of his own business affairs again, launching the label Mortal Records and releasing a series of live DVDs as a precursor to his highly anticipated new studio album, "Jagged" which was released on 13 March 2006. An album launch gig took place at "The Forum, London" on 18 March 2006. Numan announced a UK tour commencing in April 2006 and plans to tour other countries, including the USA, during the year in support of the release. Numan also to launched a "Jagged" website to showcase the new album.
Numan contributed vocals to four tracks on the April 2007 release of Ade Fenton’s debut solo album "Artificial Perfect" on his new industrial/electronic label Submission, including songs “The Leather Sea”, “Slide Away”, “Recall” and the first single to be taken from the album, “Healing”. The second single to be released in the UK was “The Leather Sea” on July 30, 2007.
In 2008, he released a double CD remix album "Jagged Edge", based around 2006’s critically acclaimed "Jagged", co-produced with Ade Fenton. The pair are currently in the studio working on Numan’s 18th studio album "Splinter", due for release in 2009.
While Numan is known for his electronic music innovations, he prefers real instruments. He explained in an interview with Songfacts: "I didn't go the technology route wholeheartedly, the way Kraftwerk had done. I considered it to be a layer. I added to what we already had, and I wanted to merge that. There's plenty of things about guitar players, and bass players, and songs I really love that I didn't particularly want to get rid of. The only time I did get rid of guitars was on Pleasure Principle, and that was in fact a reaction to the press. I got a huge amount of hostility from the British press, particularly, when I first became successful. And Pleasure Principle was the first album I made after that success happened. I became successful in the early part of '79 and Pleasure Principle came out in the end of '79, in the UK, anyway. And there was a lot of talk about electronic music being cold and weak and all that sort of stuff. So I made Pleasure Principle to try to prove a point, that you could make a contemporary album that didn't have guitar in it, but still had enough power and would stand up well. That's the only reason that album didn't have guitar in it. But apart from that one album they've all had guitars - that was the blueprint."
The official website can be found here: www.garynuman.co.uk
God Only Knows
Gary Numan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I was listening to my breathing
Like a man listening to life
I was looking for fire
It could take me or leave me
It could all just burn away
The oxygen law
It remains me
I'd been surrounded for hours
By the sound of thinking metal
And I knew something was wrong
I can tell you what fear is
It is the smell of burning
And I'd been close once before
I waited a long time
How I survived God only knows
It seemed like forever
How I survived God only knows
I don't like the memory
How I survived God only knows
How I survived God only knows
I remember the feeling
I'll remember forever
How it all just came apart
I don't believe in praying
I don't believe in a God
Now I question everything
The dreamer is gone
I'm an old man
I could tell you of horror
I could show you the pieces
But I just want to forget
I'm not sure if I saw it
I'm not sure if I heard it
I just screamed 'I can't get out'
'I can't get out'
The lyrics to Gary Numan's song "God Only Knows" convey a sense of anxiety, fear and trauma. The singer of the song appears to be in the midst of some kind of personal crisis or possibly a monumental event, and he is struggling to come to terms with it. He mentions waiting for something, perhaps something catastrophic, and describes listening to his own breathing as if he is trying to ground himself in the present. He is looking for fire, and wonders whether it will consume him or not. The line "The oxygen law, it remains me" suggests that he is aware of the scientific fact that fire requires oxygen to burn, and that this knowledge is somehow relevant to his current situation.
The singer has been "surrounded for hours by the sound of thinking metal," which could refer to the sounds of machines or mechanical devices, suggesting that the crisis is technological in nature. He has experienced fear before, and he knows what it smells like: burning. He has survived something, but it is unclear what that something was or how he managed to survive it. The repetition of the phrase "How I survived God only knows" suggests that he may not entirely understand how he made it through, but he is grateful to be alive.
The singer reveals that he no longer believes in God, and that he questions everything. He describes himself as an old man, and acknowledges that he has experienced horror that he would rather forget. The line "I'm not sure if I saw it / I'm not sure if I heard it / I just screamed 'I can't get out'" suggests that whatever he went through was overwhelming and traumatizing, and that he may be struggling to make sense of it. Overall, the lyrics to "God Only Knows" evoke a sense of confusion, fear, and mental anguish, and offer a glimpse into the psyche of someone who has survived an unknown, and possibly traumatic, ordeal.
Line by Line Meaning
I was waiting for something
I was waiting for a sign or moment of clarity in my life
I was listening to my breathing
I was hyper-focused on my own existence and mortality
Like a man listening to life
Like someone trying to understand the meaning and purpose of life itself
I was looking for fire
I was searching for something that would ignite passion and purpose in me
It could take me or leave me
It didn't matter whether or not I found that passion and purpose
It could all just burn away
It could all be gone in an instant
The oxygen law
The basic principle of oxygen fueling combustion
It remains me
It reminds me of the fragility of everything
I'd been surrounded for hours
I'd been stuck in a situation I couldn't escape for an extended period of time
By the sound of thinking metal
By the sound of machines and technology that were necessary for survival, but also ominous and haunting
And I knew something was wrong
I had a sense of impending danger or disaster
I can tell you what fear is
I can describe the physical and emotional sensations of true terror
It is the smell of burning
It is the overwhelming scent of destruction and danger
And I'd been close once before
I had already experienced this type of fear and danger
I waited a long time
I was stuck in that place for what felt like an eternity
How I survived God only knows
I have no idea how I made it out alive, only a higher power could explain it
It seemed like forever
Time felt like it was barely moving, if at all
I don't like the memory
The trauma of the experience has stayed with me and is difficult to confront
I remember the feeling
I can recall the visceral emotions and sensations of the traumatic experience
I'll remember forever
This experience has left an indelible mark on my psyche
How it all just came apart
How everything I had known and relied on fell apart in an instant
I don't believe in praying
I have lost my faith in a higher power
I don't believe in a God
I don't believe in a divine entity controlling our lives
Now I question everything
This experience has made me doubt everything I once believed in
The dreamer is gone
The optimistic and hopeful version of myself has been replaced by someone scarred and weary
I'm an old man
I feel like I have aged decades after surviving such a traumatic experience
I could tell you of horror
I could describe the gruesome and terrifying details of what I experienced
I could show you the pieces
I could show you the physical evidence of the destruction and trauma
But I just want to forget
But I would rather bury the memories of this experience and move on
I'm not sure if I saw it
I am unclear whether what I experienced was a hallucination or reality
I'm not sure if I heard it
I am unsure if the sounds I heard were real or imagined
I just screamed 'I can't get out'
I was so overwhelmed with fear and panic that I could only scream for help
'I can't get out'
I felt trapped and helpless in my situation
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Gary Anthony Webb, Gary Anthony James Webb
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind