Tubeway Army's main claim to fame is that Gary Webb (aka Gary Numan) first … Read Full Bio ↴Tubeway Army's main claim to fame is that Gary Webb (aka Gary Numan) first came to the public's attention here. The band was formed in London, UK in 1977 by Gary Numan and the late Paul Gardiner. What started as a British punk band would evolve into something quite different. During the recording of their self-titled first album ("Tubeway Army") in 1978, Numan came across a Minimoog synthesizer accidentally left in the studio which would end up being used in several of the album's songs. The change in sound served well for the band as their first album would go on to sell out its small initial pressing despite not charting.

The release of their second album "Replicas" in 1979 finally gave Numan the success he had been trying to achieve from the start with the single "Are Friends Electric?", the song topping the British charts for four weeks. The band's cold electronic take on minimalistic pop took a little while to catch on with the music audience at large, but proved to be of lasting influence. Combining the artistic and poetic tendencies of David Bowie (especially the Berlin years) with sequenced synthesizers along the lines of Kraftwerk presaged the whole genre of techno-pop in the 1980s.

In late 1979, after the success of "Replicas", Numan dropped Tubeway Army and went on to record as a solo artist.

It's also worthy of note that during 1979, while his band "Ultravox" were on hiatus, Billy Currie collaborated with Gary on material for both "Replicas" and Gary's first solo album "The Pleasure Principle".

The official website can be found here: www.garynuman.co.uk

Only a Downstat
Tubeway Army Lyrics

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Only a downstat
Personality problem
He would say things like 'I love you'
And cry real tears

Met him in some place
Like a home for old mothers
Where the cure is always death

But no-one ever leaves

He wore a number 7
Badge on his collar
He would show it with pride
And say 'it means I can feel'

He'd bribe the warders
To send letters to someone
Who didn't even know his name
But said she'd read them anyway

And in the evening (??)
He writes poetry for people
Who deny he's alive
And say 'I'll mention that name'

A violator of the law of no feelings
They should be put in the chair
Until their eyes come in (??)

If you have reasons
I might sell you my time
I'll leave it under the stairs
In a body of mine

Old memories are slowly fading out of me
We are the unknowns, we are all you need

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Only a Downstat" by Tubeway Army paint a vivid picture of a man who is experiencing a personality problem. This man openly expresses his emotions and has a deep capacity for love, leading him to cry real tears. The singer meets this man in a place that's like a home for old mothers, where the cure is always death, and no one ever leaves. The man wears a number 7 badge on his collar, showing it with pride and explaining that it means he can feel.

Despite living in a bleak situation, the man reaches out to people by bribing warders to send letters to someone who didn't even know his name but said she'd read them anyway. In the evenings, he writes poetry for people who deny he's alive and say they'll mention his name. His capacity for feeling makes him a violator of the law of no feelings, causing the singer to suggest they should be put in the chair until their eyes come in.

These lyrics suggest that humanity's capacity for feeling and emotion is not always welcomed or accepted in society. The man wearing the number 7 badge symbolizes how society attempts to categorize people and reduce them to something easily understandable. The lyrics also suggest how isolation and lack of human connection can push people towards expressions of emotions that are deemed unconventional by society. Overall, the song is a commentary on the human need for connection, even in the bleakest of circumstances.

Line by Line Meaning