Song:Cars
Album:Premier Hits
Here in North America, Gary Numan is a one hit wonder for his 1979 top ten hit Cars. he's a much bigger deal in his native England. He is perceived as an innovator of electropop and one of the guys who launched the MTV era. He was born Gary Webb Mar. 8, 1958 in Hammersmith, England. he got into music as a teen after his dad bought him a guitar. He was in various bands in the 70s until he formed Tubeway Army with his uncle Jess Lidyard and Paul Gardiner. he got the name Numan from the Yellow Pages. They signed with Beggars Banquet Records and the single Are Friends Electric? topped the British charts in 1979. Numan's main influence was German electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk and his stage personality was influenced by science fiction. That's why he seems like an android. It was deliberate. Numan's solo album debut The Pleasure Principle was released in England as the Tubeway Army album Replicas. When Atco Records picked up the album in the US, Numan was convinced to turn it into a solo album. Cars reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the video was a big hit in the early days of MTV. He never had another hit in the US but he was very successful in England. He had six top ten hits in England in the early 80s. This comp covers that period. As Numan faded in the mid-80s, he got more into jazz and worked frequently with veteran sax player Dick Morrissey. Numan has owned his own label Numa since the mid-80s. He continues to record and tour today. Numan straddles the line between electronic music innovator and kitschy novelty act. Here's the video for Cars by Gary Numan.
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