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
Nameless and Forgotten
Gary Numan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Say we are new
We are strong we know how you feel
We are good
We have the answers
How does that sound to you
Boysssss
We are nothing
Were every bad dream you ever had
This is the face
This is the question
If you can play you lose
Something is here something is wrong
I can feel it
Something is here something is wrong
I can feel it
This is the place
This is nothing
Here we have nothing to lose
Were unseeking
Nudge in the nosebleed
All the holes I live in
Love is a sex mail
Love is an old god
Love is a hole in the wall
Hero whispers
Hero fights
Here Love is hard to find
Something is here something is wrong
I can feel it
Something is here something is wrong
I can feel it
Something is here something is wrong
I can feel it
Something is here something is wrong
I can feel it
Picture a man when the heartbeat stops
Picture a man when the heartbeat stops
Picture a man when the heartbeat stops
Picture a man when the heartbeat stops
O no
The song "Nameless and Forgotten" by Gary Numan is a haunting and enigmatic track that explores the themes of isolation, despair, and hopelessness. The lyrics are cryptic and open to interpretation, but they convey a sense of darkness and foreboding. The song starts with the line "This is worst day, say we are new", which sets the tone for the rest of the track. The lyrics suggest that something is wrong and that the world is a painful and difficult place to exist in. The chorus, "Something is here something is wrong, I can feel it", reinforces the feeling of unease and suggests that there is a looming threat or danger that the singer is aware of.
The song includes references to love, heroism, and death. The line "Love is a sex mail, love is an old god, love is a hole in the wall" seems to suggest that love is elusive and unattainable. The reference to heroism in the line "Hero whispers, hero fights, here love is hard to find" suggests that the singer is seeking a hero or savior, but is unable to find one. The repeated line "Picture a man when the heartbeat stops" creates a sense of finality and suggests that death is imminent.
Overall, "Nameless and Forgotten" is a powerful and haunting track that explores the darkest corners of the human psyche. The lyrics are open to interpretation, but they convey a sense of hopelessness, despair, and isolation.
Line by Line Meaning
This is worst day
Today is the worst day I've ever had
Say we are new
We claim to be something new and different
We are strong we know how you feel
We are confident and empathetic towards your troubles
We are good
We are competent and successful
We have the answers
We know the solutions to your problems
How does that sound to you
What do you think of our proposals?
Boysssss
An expression of arrogance and superiority
Well we are poison
We are toxic and harmful
We are nothing
We are insignificant and meaningless
Were every bad dream you ever had
We are the embodiment of all your worst nightmares
This is the face
This is the true nature of our identity
This is the question
This is the fundamental issue that we present for you
If you can play you lose
Even if you engage with us, you will inevitably suffer consequences
Something is here something is wrong
There is a sense of looming danger or unease in this environment
I can feel it
My intuition tells me that something is not right
This is the place
This is a barren and desolate location
This is nothing
This is a meaningless and empty existence
Here we have nothing to lose
We are willing to take extreme risks because we have nothing of value to lose
Were unseeking
We are not actively seeking anything in particular
Nudge in the nosebleed
We are in a precarious and dangerous situation
All the holes I live in
I have been forced to inhabit dark and secluded spaces
Love is a sex mail
Romantic love is reduced to a mere transactional exchange
Love is an old god
The idea of love is an ancient and outdated concept
Love is a hole in the wall
Romantic love is a fleeting and obscure experience
Hero whispers
Even heroic figures cannot offer salvation or protection
Hero fights
Attempts to fight against oppressive forces are futile
Here Love is hard to find
It is nearly impossible to find love in this environment
Picture a man when the heartbeat stops
Imagine a lifeless and motionless human body
O no
An expression of dread and despair
Contributed by Addison N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.