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After education at Slough Grammar School, Numan rose to prominence at the tail end of the 1970s, initially recording under the band name Tubeway Army. After recording an album's worth of punky demos (released in 1984 as The Plan), he was signed by Beggars Banquet Records in 1978 and quickly released two singles, "That's Too Bad" and "Bombers," neither of which charted. A self-titled, New Wave-oriented debut album later that same year sold out its limited run and introduced Numan's fascination with dystopian science fiction and, more importantly, synthesisers. Tubeway Army's third single, the cinematic "Down in the Park" (1979) also failed to chart but it would prove to be one of Numan's most enduring and oft-covered songs. A live version of it can also be seen in the movie Urgh! A Music War. Almost from nowhere, Tubeway Army reached 1 in 1979 with the powerful single "Are 'Friends' Electric?", the parent album Replicas simultaneously climbing to1 in the album charts.A few weeks later he repeated the feat with "Cars", which became a Top 10 hit in America as well, and the 1979 album The Pleasure Principle, both released under Numan's own (assumed) name, which he had plucked from an advert in the "Yellow Pages". Topping both single and album charts simultaneously was noteworthy enough; doing so twice in the space of six months was astonishing. A sell-out tour followed. The Pleasure Principle was a rock album with no guitars; instead, Numan used synthesisers fed through guitar effects pedals to achieve a phased, metallic tone. Self-produced in a fortnight for very little money, The Pleasure Principle sounded like nothing else, and remains one of Numan's most highly regarded efforts today. A second single from the album, Complex, made it to #6 in the UK charts.
Numan was pop music's first synthesizer star. He wore costumes and make-up and openly proclaimed his influences: David Bowie, Marc Bolan and contemporary electronic acts such as John Foxx's Ultravox. On stage his persona came across as aloof, alien and androgynous; in interviews, however, his disarmingly open manner caught many by surprise. Numan's great popularity and unabashed love of wealth alienated critics and even some fellow musicians; Yes recorded a sardonic song about him, "White Car," for their 1980 album Drama, a reaction to his habit of tearing around London in the white Chevrolet Corvette given to him by Beggars Banquet. His one-time idol, David Bowie, refused to appear with Numan on an episode of The Kenny Everett Video Show on which both were scheduled to perform.
Numan bewildered the music press. He was a driven, creative, troubled 21-year-old loner who still lived with his parents. He was not punk. He was not quite New Romantic either, and retrospectives of the period tended to ignore him and his influence. Yet during this period, Numan generated an army of fans calling themselves Numanoids, enough of whom would remain loyal to carry him through the latter half of the 1980s, when his fortunes began precipitously to fall (even before this time, and throughout his commercial peak, Numan was constantly vilified and ridiculed by the UK music press).
1980s
In 1980 Numan again topped the album charts with Telekon, although the concurrent singles "We Are Glass", "I Die: You Die" and "This Wreckage" only reached 5, 6 and 20, respectively. Numan's second major tour (after 1979's The Touring Principle) was "The Teletour" in 1980, an elaborate stage show which, although successful, actually lost Numan a great deal of money because of its vast expense. By this time Numan was sick of the pressures of fame and announced his retirement from touring with a series of expensive, sell-out concerts at Wembley Arena in April 1981, supported by SHOCK: a rock/mime/burlesque/music troupe (members included Barbie Wilde, Tik and Tok and Carole Caplin). The decision to retire would be short-lived – in his autobiography he recalls walking out onto an empty stage after his final concerts and thinking, "What the fuck have I done?" – but it would have a fateful effect on his career, as Numan found the fickle pop audience quickly turned its attention to other artists.
Turning his back on electropop, Numan experimented instead with jazz, funk and lightweight pop. His career quickly nosedived, eclipsed initially by Adam Ant, and later by Duran Duran, Culture Club, and Depeche Mode. He spent the decade in a creative malaise, trying to recapture his former chart glory with undistinguished albums stylistically derivative of artists like Robert Palmer and Prince. Each album saw a new "image", none of which captured the public's imagination to nearly the same extent as the lonely android of the late 1970s. His penchant for sharp suits and hats seemed faintly ridiculous, while his later adoption of leather and shades seemed opportunistic. Numan was no longer a pioneer but a follower.
Numan had an embarrassing episode in 1981 involving his hobby of flying, which briefly put him in the UK news. Attempting a round-the-world flight in a light aircraft, Numan had to make a forced landing (reported in the press as an outright crash) in India, where he was arrested on suspicion of smuggling and espionage. Contrary to news stories at the time, Numan was not piloting the plane himself during the landing. During the late 1980s, he had his life threatened on several occasions by a mysterious stalker.
Numan's first album after his farewell concerts, the bleak, atmospheric and experimental Dance (1981), charted as high as #3 on the UK charts, but it dropped out of the charts after only eight weeks; Dance featured, among others, Mick Karn (bass, saxophone) and Rob Dean (guitar) of Japan, Roger Mason (keyboards) and Roger Taylor (drums) of Queen. The more upbeat and danceable I, Assassin (1982) fared worse than Dance: despite spawning three Top 20 singles, the album peaked at only #8 and dropped out of the charts after six weeks. Warriors (1983) further developed Numan's jazz-influenced style and it featured contributions from avant-garde musician Bill Nelson (who fell out with Numan during recording and chose to be uncredited as the album's co-producer). It peaked at #12 and, like I, Assassin, spent only six weeks in the charts. Warriors was the last album Numan recorded for Beggars Banquet Records, and was supported by a 40-date UK tour (with support from robotic mime & music duo Tik and Tok) -- Numan's first live tour in the UK since his Wembley appearances in 1981. Numan's look for the album artwork and tour was a black leather costume against a sci-fi post-apocalyptic backdrop (obviously influenced by the movie Mad Max 2) but this latest image change was scorned by the music press.
Now battling against the increasing public perception that he was a spent force, Numan issued a series of albums and singles on his own record label, Numa. The first such album, 1984’s Berserker, was also notable for being Numan's first foray into music computers/samplers, in this case the PPG Wave. The album featured harder-edged bass and drum sounds than I, Assassin and Warriors and was accompanied by a striking blue-and-white visual image, a tour and a live album and video, but it divided critics and fans and commercially was Numan’s least successful release to that date. The Fury (1985) charted slightly higher, again featuring a new image of white suit and red bow tie, but still barely grazed the UK charts.
Collaborations with Bill Sharpe of Shakatak helped little, though one single the duo recorded, "Change Your Mind", did see chart action, reaching the Top 20 in Britain. Numa Records, which had been launched in a flurry of idealistic excitement, folded after the release of Numan's Strange Charm album (1986). In addition to Numa's failure, a lack of radio play and sales drained the fortune (he estimated £4.5 million) Numan had amassed in the late 1970s. Numan signed to IRS Records and his final studio album of the 80s, the edgy, industrial-funk Metal Rhythm (1988) found favour with fans and got positive reviews in the UK music press, but it sold dismally. Metal Rhythm's sales were arguably confounded by the lack of strong promotion and inappropriate choices of singles on the part of IRS.[edit]
1990s
After Outland (1991), another critical and commercial disappointment and his second and last album with IRS, Numan reactivated Numa Records, under which he would release his next two albums. However, even Numan considers his 1992 Machine + Soul, a misguided attempt at a purely commercial release recorded solely to pay off debts, a career low point. The album sold only a few thousand copies. By 1994, Numan decided to stop attempting to crack the pop market and concentrate instead on exploring more personal interests, including his vocal atheism. His future wife Gemma encouraged him to strip away the influences of the previous years. Numan re-evaluated his career and went in a harsher, more industrial direction with his songwriting on the album Sacrifice; for the first time, he played almost all the instruments himself. The move was well-received, as Numan's harder and darker sound emerged just as Numan-influenced bands like Nine Inch Nails were enjoying their first rush of fame. The influence was two-way; Numan claimed that Nine Inch Nails' song "Closer" is his favourite hit single of all time, and influenced his music. Sacrifice was the last album Numan made before shutting down Numa Records permanently. His next two albums, Exile (1997) and Pure (2000), restored Numan's critical reputation; Numan even toured the U.S. in support of Exile, his first stateside concerts since the early 1980s.

Resurrection of career
After years of ridicule in the press, Numan found himself cited as "the godfather of electronic music" and an artist respected by his peers, with such musicians as Dave Grohl (of Foo Fighters), Trent Reznor (of Nine Inch Nails) and Marilyn Manson proclaiming his work an influence and recording cover versions of old Numan hits. The band Basement Jaxx had a huge hit in 2002 with "Where's Your Head At?", which relied on a sample of Numan's "M.E." - from The Pleasure Principle - for its hook. The band Fear Factory produced a cover of "Cars" featuring a guest appearance by Numan. Nine Inch Nails covered the song "Metal" on their album Things Falling Apart. "Cars" remains Numan's most enduring song; it was a hit again in 1987 and 1996, in the latter case thanks to an appearance in an advert for Carling beer. In 2000 DJ Armand Van Helden sampled "Cars" and mixed it up in his single "Koochy" which conquered the dancefloors. In 2002, UK pop trio Sugababes scored a #1 with "Freak Like Me" - a mash-up of Adina Howard's "Freak Like Me" and "Are Friends Electric" from Numan's Tubeway Army. Other musicians who have sung Numan's praises in recent years include Beck, Tricky, Queens of the Stone Age, and David Bowie. Afrika Bambaataa has also talked about the influence of Numan's music on the fledgling American DJ scene: "In the late 70s and early 80s Gary had the rhythms that DJs wanted to get hold of and people waited for his records on the dance floor."
In 2003, Numan enjoyed fleeting chart success once again with the Gary Numan vs Rico single "Crazier", reaching No 13 in the UK chart. Rico, 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 a critically well-received new studio album, Jagged, which was released on 13 March 2006. An album launch gig took place at The Forum, London, the following Saturday. Numan announced a UK tour commencing in April 2006 and plans to tour other countries, including the USA in July/August, in support of the release. See www.numan.co.uk for U.S. tour schedule. Numan also launched a Jagged website to showcase the new album, and is making plans to have his 1981 farewell concert (previously released as Micromusic on VHS) released on DVD by November 2006 as well as releasing the DVD version of the Album Launch gig later in 2006.
Personal life
Numan married a member of his own fan club, Gemma O'Neill. She diagnosed him as having Asperger's syndrome. She has discussed this and how they met in at least one UK women's magazine. In 2003, he and his wife Gemma had their first child, Raven. In 2005 they had their second child, Persia.
In the April 29 2001 edition of the Sunday Times Magazine, Gary Numan stated: "Polite conversation has never been one of my strong points. Just recently I actually found out that I'd got a mild form of Asperger's Syndrome which basically means I have trouble interacting with people. For years, I couldn't understand why people thought I was arrogant, but now it all makes a bit more sense."
Numan is also known for his love of flying, and has owned several aircraft. Numan was a passenger in one of these aircraft when it made an emergency landing on a main road in England, in 1981. This came shortly after successfully flying around the world, during which he was briefly imprisoned in India on suspicion of spying. His love of flying is also noted on the BBC TV series The Mighty Boosh.
Numan published his autobiography, Praying to the Aliens, in 1997 (updated edition 1998), in collaboration with Steve Malins. Malins also wrote the liner notes for most of the CD reissues of Numan's albums in the late 1990s.
Discography

Tubeway Army, Replicas, The Pleasure Principle, Telekon, Gary Numan Dance, Gary Numan I, Assassin, Gary Numan Warriors, Gary Numan The Plan, Gary Numan Berserker, Gary Numan The Fury, Gary Numan Strange Charm, Gary Numan Metal Rhythm, Gary Numan Outland, Gary Numan Machine and Soul, Gary Numan Sacrifice, Gary Numan Exile, Gary Numan Pure, Gary Numan Jagged, Gary Numan Music, Gary Numan CD, Gary Numan LP, Gary Numan News, Gary Numan Links, Gary Numan Tubeway Army, Gary Numan Forum, Gary Numan Fan, Gary Numan Fans, Gary Numan Shop, Gary Numan Home, Gary Numan Home site, Gary Numan NuWorld, Gary Numan Official Web Site, Gary Numan Fan Sites, Gary Numan Live, Gary Numan Live News, Gary Numan Beggars Banquet Records, Gary Numan Beggars Banquet, Gary Numan Discography, Gary Numan Singles, Gary Numan Albums, Gary Numan the godfather of electronic music, Gary Numan godfather of electronic, Gary Numan That's Too Bad, Gary Numan Bombers, Gary Numan Down In The Park, Gary Numan Are 'Friends' Electric?, Gary Numan Cars, Gary Numan Complex, Gary Numan We Are Glass, Gary Numan I Die: You Die, Gary Numan This Wreckage, Gary Numan Stormtrooper in Drag, Gary Numan She's Got Claws, Gary Numan Paul Gardiner, Gary Numan Dramatis, Gary Numan Love Needs No Disguise, Gary Numan Tik And Tok, Gary Numan Music for Chameleons, Gary Numan We Take Mystery, Gary Numan White Boys and Heroes, Gary Numan Warriors, Gary Numan Sister Surprise, Gary Numan Berserker, Gary Numan My Dying Machine, Gary Numan Change Your Mind, Gary Numan The Live EP, Gary Numan Your Fascination, Gary Numan Call out the Dogs, Gary Numan Miracles, Gary Numan This Is Love, Gary Numan I Can't Stop, Gary Numan Sharpe and Numan, Gary Numan Bill Sharpe, Gary Numan New Thing from London Town, Gary Numan I Still Remember, Gary Numan Radio Heart, Gary Numan London Times, Gary Numan All Across the Nation, Gary Numan No More Lies, Gary Numan New Anger, Gary Numan America, Gary Numan I'm on Automatic, Gary Numan Heart, Gary Numan My World Storm, Gary Numan Emotion, Gary Numan The Skin Game, Gary Numan Machine + Soul, Gary Numan Like a Refugee, Gary Numan A Question of Faith, Gary Numan Absolution, Gary Numan Dark Light, Gary Numan Dominion Day, Gary Numan RIP, Gary Numan Crazier, Gary Numan Compilations, Gary Numan Dadadang, Gary Numan Michael R Smith, Gary Numan BBC radio sessions, Gary Numan Remix, Gary Numan Lyrics, Gary Numan Songs, Gary Numan New Wave groups, Gary Numan Peel Sessions, Gary Numan British songwriters, Gary Numan Interview, Gary Numan Interviews, Gary Numan Born Gary Anthony James Webb on March 8 1958, Gary Numan British singer, Gary Numan Songwriter, Gary Numan Musician, Gary Numan Composer, Gary Numan Electropop pioneer, Gary Numan Numa, Gary Numan Numa Records, Gary Numan Web Site, Gary Numan Links, Gary Numan DVD, Gary Numan CDR, Gary Numan VHS, Gary Numan Synthesisers, Gary Numan Metal, Gary Numan Numanme, Gary Numan AFE, Gary Numan Gemma, Gary Numan Nine Inch Nails, Gary Numan Cover Bands, Gary Numan Top 40, Gary Numan UK Charts, Gary Numan 1980s, Gary Numan 80s,

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