Date: Thu, 11 Jan 96 01:00:01 CST From: numan@cs.uwp.edu Reply-To: numan@cs.uwp.edu (Gary Numan) Subject: Gary Numan Digest V1 #191 Gary Numan Digest Thu, 11 Jan 96 Volume 1 : Issue 191 Today's Topics: "THE DIGEST ASKS GARY - DECEMBER 1995" (no subject) 96 Tour Availability of Berserker Availability of Berserker - Update Berserker/Sacrifice Ext/M+S Ext Berserker CD EXILE TOUR POLL Results Freebie Gary's Profile Gary Numan Digest V1 #190 Gary Numan of course! Gary tipped for Success! Long Tapes New Subscriber Info NUMAN FANS IN AUSTRALIA (2 msgs) Numan videos please remove from mailshot Question For Gary Re. West Won Support Bands T-shirt AWARDS etc. T-shirts We're the new disease ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Jan 1996 16:11:32 -0800 From: dlangs@sunstroke.sdsu.edu (Derek Langsford) Subject: "THE DIGEST ASKS GARY - DECEMBER 1995" To: numan@cs.uwp.edu THE DIGEST ASKS GARY - DECEMEBER 1995 ------------------------------------- As usual, info on how to send questions are at the end of the session. As ever, Gary responded in a very timely manner. I'd like to remind you all to please not post questions to the Digest and to state their name and location on their questions. Nice to see our subscribers in Germany taking part. How about you guys down under or in the Scandnavian countries? You outnumber the German contingent manifold (yes that is a challenge) :-) In this session, Gary reponds to your comments as well as questions. All his text is indented. I have noticed some of you are writing paragraphs ahead of your questions. Please try and restrict the tendency as Gary already spends a day answering our questions and I don't want to take even more of his time. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is Martin Wagner (hepcats@eden.com) signing on from Austin, Texas, USA: I am really looking forward to Exile (especially after downloading the .au's from NuWORLD!). One thing, though; I heard it mentioned that, in the wake of the upcoming Castle dance-mix album, you were considering signing to Castle. For all I know this may be an utterly unfounded rumor, but if not, I am concerned, mainly because I felt that what made "Sacrifice" so strong was your complete creative control over the entire project. As Castle has already made demands such as wanting the Prince cover on the remix album, it doesn't strike me that they would be willing to be the sort of label that just accepted the tapes and put your albums out the way you wanted them with no interference. I know the wider worldwide exposure a major label deal would bring would be marvellous but I'd just hate to see you fall into another IRS debacle now that your career, both musically and in the public awareness arena, seems to be in a genuine renaissance. Anyway, my long-winded point would be: one major label I think would do you justice is Trent Reznor's Nothing, which is distributed through WEA, I think. And Nine Inch Nails have reportedly recorded a cover of "Metal." Q1. I'm just curious if you WERE considering seeking a new deal with a major at all, and what you might think of my idea? What do you think of NIN and Reznor anyway? Just a thought, really. PS I'm very impressed by your willingness to talk directly to fans via the Internet and NuWORLD but please, don't let us interfere with the real work. Feel free to tell us "Piss off, I'm recording" whenever you like. A1. I am looking at trying for a deal with a major. ANY record company will interfere and so creative control becomes comprimised and you end up in a political tapdance to try to get as much of the record the way you want it as possible. It's horrible and I hate that side of the business. Signing with a smaller label CAN take away some of that interferance but also takes away the selling power that is so important, particularly for non mainstream music like mine. Don't forget that IRS was hardly a major label but they sure interefered. I don't know anything about Trent Reznor's Nothing label so I can't say whether they would be interested in me, good for me or whatever. I like Nine Inch Nails though so it would be quite exciting to be involved in that set up. ---- >From Jeff Tolva (The Machman) Elgin, Illinois, USA: Gary: Count me in for a BIG "Yes" vote for an unplugged album. I can think of many songs (i.e. Stories, Complex, etc.) that I'd like to hear acoustic versions of - I'm sure you have some favorites too. Just look at how well "Jo The Waiter" has gone over on the past two tours. Hope to see you in America in 1996!! Q2. On the "Music For Chameleons" single, the b-side contains the track "Noise Noise". What exactly did David Van Day do for the track to be credited for helpful hints? A2. He was just very funny to be around. The credit was more a thank you for his good humour than anything musical. Q3. Was there a particular reason you used the "medical symbol" as part of the Sacrifice covers, image, etc.? A3. I had no idea it was a medical symbol at the time, that all came out later. I just thought it was a good blend of shapes with religious overtones. Q4. Can you describe some of the more interesting "trinkets" that fans have throw up on stage at your concerts? What do you do with them all? A3. Bras, knickers, sanitary towels (unused), whips, handcuffs, dildo's, inflatable toys and teddy bears. Thanks again for all the music over the years! Keeping the Gary Numan discography up-to-date has been quite a task :-) Keep the music coming... ---- >From Andy Flatman , Felixstowe, Suffolk, England: Gary, Q5. Please can you tell us the latest keyboard set-up you use. Are you still using the D50 and M1? Plus What's your favourite keyboard? Thanks, Andy A5. I have a GEM S2 Turbo, Alessis Quadrasynth, Akai S1000, Roland D-550, Korg M1REX, Korg Wavestation SR and a Digitech Valve FX guitar unit. ---- >From Dan Coffey of Princeton, New Jersey, USA: Hi Gary, I wanted to thank you for your honest (and often amusing) answers. It seems to me that this interaction is a rare occurrence in the music world today (with some of the arrogance of big time artists). It's that which has made me more of a Numan fan than in the last 15 yrs of my Numanoid-ism. (forgive the word) Q6. If you remember, what is the joke in the lead-in to "My Centurion"...It's a neat way to begin the song to include that outtake of your chat with the engineer. (It's so much a part of the song to me, that if I ever covered that tune, I would include that :) ) A6. I'm not sure but I used to have an ongoing joke with Nick Smith, the engineer, along the lines of 'what disgusting, dangerous or unpleasant things would you do for a million pounds'. I think that intro to 'My Centurion' is the tale end of one of those 'Would you?' questions. I have read a dozen references or so about you over the years as being an instrumental part of the "electronic revolution" of the late 70's/early 80's. I've even heard you referred to as "the leader" of said revolution...no one knows more than you of the exaggeration(both good and bad) of the media. So, what i would like to know is, Q7. Where did you pick up all your knowledge of synthesizers? and where does this knowledge fit into the time frame of this "electronic wave" that everyone rode at that time. A7. I learnt as I went. I had no great knowledge then and don't really have a great deal now. It was more to do with how I used the technology rather than how much I knew about HOW it worked. I've always said that I arrange noises. I'm not truly a musician and I'm certainly not a technical wizard. I was one of the first to succeed with synth based music, nothing more. I have two Tubeway Army related questions I've been wondering for many years Gary. Q8. After Replicas, what was the reason for your Uncle Jess' disappearance from the Numan scene? A8. He didn't want to play in the band professionally. He had a good job and saw the security of that as a better bet than the uncertainties of the music business, especially playing a new and unusual style of music. I was a huge Paul Gardiner fan. Always found myself partial to his playing despite the amazing talent and stylings of Pino Palladino, Joe Hubbard, Andy Coughlan etc... Q9. If i may be so inclined, was there a reason for his absence from the post Telekon albums prior to his unfortunate passing?> (actually i just remembered he played a bit on 'Dance'...but other than that?) A9. The reason for Paul's absence was due to his increasing drug dependancy. I always said to Paul that every other bass player was just filling in time until Paul could get it together again and rejoin. Q10. Can you briefly describe your recording techniques? Is a lot of it done live, or layer after layer? Have you ever brought a video camera into the studio and filmed? If so, is it readily available? A11. It's all layered into the sequencer where arrangements and parts are sorted out. A version is then put to 2" tape where I then put on guide vocals. I then fiddle some more in the sequencer, come up with the final arrangement, sometimes using samples of the guide vocal, and then put it all back to 2" as a final recording. The final vocals and guitars are then added. Before mixing I have what I call a 'nitty gritty' period where I add any last minute details that I can think off and then mix it. A fair amount or re-re-arranging goes on at the mix stage as well, using hard disc editors. I've never used a video camera in a studio. Studio work is incredibly boring to watch in my opinion. I may sit at a keyboard for hour after hour playing almost the same thing again and again and again until I'm happy with every last little note and key pressure. Staring at a computer screen as I edit the parts, sometimes for an hour or so at a time. This is not good television. I have heard it said that you prefer to have yourself on the cover of your own records. I am glad to hear that because i very much enjoy the strong imagery of the characters you portray from album to album...for instance, Telekon and Pleasure Principle very much evoked the mood that you set in the albums music (maybe its because i just have associated the visuals and music for so long), but i really am intrigued... Q11. Can you give a little bit of insight as to how you come up with these images...is it just randomness or is there a meaning? (i.e.. is the guy on Telekon saying 'back off' to the media?) A11. It's quite random actually. I made 'Berserker' white because the image before had been black, simple as that. I went for the smart gangster look as a change from the leather clad style. Sometimes it was to suit the title and forthcoming stage show, as in 'Warriors', sometimes because I just found a really cool jacket that I liked. 'Replicas' was a definite concept based on a character from the stories that I'd written prior to the album. I don't have any kind of creative process or system that I go through. thanks, as always...dan ---- >From Gregor Torrence in Portland, Oregon, USA. (greg@image.com) Hello, I've been a fan since seeing the video for "she's got claws" on MTV in the US, way back when MTV was hurting for anything to show and couldn't even sell commercial time. I used to leave the TV on at work, hoping I'd get to see it again. Q12. I've always really loved the song "Bridge, what Bridge?" All my friends love it too. It's hysterically funny. But what is it about, or what was the motivation behind recording it? Is that Mick Karn or Pino Palladino on bass? A12. Mick Karn is playing the bass. It was made to show off to a girl I was interested in at the time. I had said that it was easy to write a song if you weren't too concerned about it's content so I wrote that in a few minutes, and we had it recorded in about half an hour or so. The current joke at the time was making fun of a lot of dance music that kept on having lyrics like 'take it to the bridge', which is why the song is titled 'Bridge, What Bridge?'. My friend Nicky Robson came up with a comment that made us all laugh while we were recording the vocal. Q13. Other than your music, I collect drastically different remakes of familiar songs. It is especially wonderful when I find such a remake of one of your songs, such as the Judybats version of "Cars" or Marilyn Manson's "Down in the Park." Have you heard these or any others? Do you find them amusing, flattering, or insulting? A13. I haven't heard any of them. It's quite flattering to have a song covered but if that cover is making fun of me or the song then that wouldn't be so good. I don't think that'd happened though so, at the moment, I'm very happy about the covers that are coming out. Q14. Giving _Dark Light_ a good listen, I must agree with the other digest members who think Richard Beasley is a really great drummer. I realize your studio space may be limited, but have you considered bringing him in to play just the hi-hat? That's where he really shines and samplers don't. I seem to recall you did that some on the _Strange Charm_ album. A14. No, I hadn't thought of that actually. I'll think about it. Thanks so much for your time! ---- Hello. My name is Clive Jones and I live in Slough, Berkshire, England. I am a Keyboard player. Special thanks to you for inspiring me with your early synthesizer 'machine music '. Q15. As a fellow musician I'm interested to know how you met the line up that recorded 1979's ' The Pleasure Principle' and who consequently toured with you (Ced, Rsussell, Chris, Billy Currie). I know Chris penned Visage's ' Fade to Grey ' with Billy and perhaps Midge Ure - how much do you know about this. A15. Chris and Cedric came via auditions at a rehearsal room in London. Chris was one of only two keyboard players to turn up and the only one that could play so he was easy to choose. We did get about five drummers turn up but Cedric was by far the best. One turned up in heavy hiking boots and then complained that the music was too difficult. I'd asked them to play along to 'Are Friends Electric' and 'Down In The park' which are far from difficult to a drummer that can play even moderately well. I can't remember how I met Billy Currie, probably via Pete Gilbert and Frank Drake who used to have their own punk fanzine and be something to do with Ultravox. As far as I'm concerned Chris and Billy were the driving force behind writing 'Fade To Grey'. They used to work on it during the sound checks on my '79 tour. Cedric was also heavily involved. In those days it was called 'Toot City'. Thanks Clive ---- Simon Bone <70324.1340@compuserve.com > of Berlin, Germany asks: Dear Gary, As happens quite often, several of us (Jim Benson [bensonj@wln.com], John von Seggern [100311.3143@compuserve.com], and I) recently had a long Internet discussion of some of your lyrics. But we could never come to an agreement on one thing, so I thought it might be a good idea to ask you: Q16. What does "See boys say I'm mayhem" mean? A16. A referance to my chaotic state of mind, thought processes and general instability. You once said "I don't play guitar very well." Hate to disagree, but I've always thought your guitar playing was really innovative. Don't stop! Thanks but I'm honestly not a good guitar player. Looking forward to Exile and the tour, Simon http://www.wln.com/~bensonj/sgbwrit.html ---- My name is Cory Nyberg from Des Moines, Iowa, USA. I have been a fan for 10 years now and want to tell Gary that I have yet to find any music that I love as much as yours. My question: Q17. Tell us a little about your studio: instruments, sequencers, recording equipment, etc... How do you have the whole thing hooked together? And, finally, have you changed your recording or writing style with the change in keyboards and synthesizers over the years? A17. The instruments I've already listed above but I also have a Gibson Les paul guitar. I use the E-magic Logic sequencer through a Mac Quadra 650 computer. This is linked to the instruments and to the studio via an Opcode Studio 4 interface. The studio desk is a Soundtracs Quartz (32 Channel, the little one), Quad amp and Tannoy Little Gold speakers. I have an Otari MX-80 24 track 2" tape recorder which I mix onto DAT via a Soundtools hard disc editor. (An Atari version so it will have to go soon). I wired the room myself and, surprisingly, it works quite well. I've changed my writing style a great deal. Using computer based sequencers changed everything for a lot of people I think. I use to have a clicking metronome running and then play along on piano and record it onto a cheap little cassette player until about 1987. I was quite behind the times for a while. Thanks so much for all the music over the years. I have to sign off to go pick up my copy of Berserker on CD (!!!!!) which just arrived at the store. Can't wait. ---- Rudy Ronay from Palmdale, California, USA asks: I am glad that 1996 looks very good for you (and us). Q18. If offered, would you object to a Rockumentary (a 2 hour film) about you, your music, and your life (so far)? Would you mind it being shown on the major video channels? A18. It would depend on what it focused on, how well filmed it was, the question content, the narrative content and the overall quality of the work. I would insist that the flying be part of it for example as that is such an important part of my life and that could be expensive to film. A bad Rockumentary could do as much harm as a good one could bring benefits. I would love to be the subject of a good one. ---- My name is Markus Dietrich from Nuernberg, (South) Germany. First I'd like to wish you a very happy and successful year Gary!!! My questions and thoughts are about gaining wider popularity again. While being popular or getting chart positions are normal wishes for most musicians, I am not really sure if you really work for or want to get an entry in the charts today. Rather, I believe that you now work for yourself and for us fans. Q19. Is that a reasonable assessment i.e. having had the experience of being at the top before do you not need it necessarily again? A19. I don't need it but I would like it. I work for me first and foremost, even before the fans. I can afford that indulgence because the media has turned it's back on me for so long now I have nothing to lose by abandoning my attempts to win them over. Given a choice however and I would very much like to be number 1 again, but doing what I'm doing now. Assuming you would like some chart success, I'd like to address the means of gaining a chart presence again. I have some ideas that I'd like to give you. Nowadays charting is not a question of music but of tactics and promotion. It always has been in my opinion. My suggestions are: - concentrate on just a few discs in a year due to limited fan budgets (particular in these days). - having a successful single requires concerted action in the UK, because that is where your biggest fan base resides and only a success in the UK can lead to success in other countries in Europe, and maybe in the US! - produce a video clip for this single; no single can be successful without a video clip. - Make sure as many fans as possible (Fan Club, Internet etc.) know when this single will come out and ask them to delay buying it till the 2nd week of release. That makes sure the single is widespread in the UK and can be bought en masse to improve the charting possibility!! - Make sure your distributor(s) reach the whole UK record market . Do Pinnacle do that? I realise things are harder than this might seem. Q20. Any comments on the above? A20. Yes. (Point 1) Fans have complained long and hard over the years about my lack of releases which is something we have tried to improve in recent years, the last two particularly. It's all very well saying concentrate on just a few discs a year due to limited fan budgets but what about MY budget. I only earn a living by selling records. It's a bit like me saying to you, only work two days a week because of your employers limited resources. You couldn't afford to do that and neither can I. This is my living and I have to sell records to survive. If I go down there will be no more Numan albums. EVER. This is not something I'm prepared to risk at the moment. (Point 2) Partially true, but it is not impossible to have a career take off in other countries that are currently less successful for me than the UK. Indeed for many years we had high hopes of breaking other countries and then using that success to re-launch myself in Britain. It is also a reasonable argument that small success in many countries is actually better than big success in just one, especially when the one is a relatively small market like the UK. Also having a successful single in the UK requires, almost without exception, support from Radio One which I do not have. All the concerted action in the world is for nothing without Radio One. (Point 3) Video's cost a small fortune as a rule. I've been lucky to make one or two for incredibly small amounts in the past but that advantage dissappeared along with the girlfriend that got those deals together. Most people can justify the expense of a video because the same film is used around the world, on a huge variety of programs, to sell the same record. In my case a video is normally only seen in the UK and often not even here. This gives that potential one TV appearance a cost in excess of #10,000 (Pounds) and upwards. It would be cheaper to buy TV advertising space for a day and probably more effective. Without a wider TV audience video's are out of the question unless I can get a cheap one done somehow. This is another one of the advantages of going with a major record company, they have the resources to make good videos, and the power to get them on TV all around the world. (Point 4) I'm not sure but I believe that anyone at Numa issuing instructions in any form would be considered as chart rigging and therefore illegal. This is something for the fans to organises amongst themselves as the point made is a good one. (Point 5) Pinnacle are very good but they cannot force a shop or retail chain to stock the record. It is very easy for a shop to say to a fan 'We've ordered it but Pinnacle haven't delivered it' when in fact they haven't ordered it at all. The shops make the biggest profits and take the smallest amount of risk out of all of us, artist, record company and distributor included. They are, for me, a bigger problem than radio One. You have a strong UK fan club and you have strong internet fan publicity. If fans can be coordinated, this initial push by all the UK fans might get the single in the UK chart, because it was bought in the same week, not spread over months. A decent chart placing would create interest in other people because of the magazine, radio and TV exposure a chart placing would create. Possibly, but remember I've been in the chart countless times and Radio One still refused to play the record. Chart position is far from the complete answer and one or two weeks in the chart doesn't carry that much weight anyway in our experience. We've lived through all these scenarios many times before. 'This Is Love' and 'I Can't Stop' were both well placed in the chart, as were other releases before those, but changed nothing. So I feel we have more power than ever before to make this happen. Q21. Do you feel that is so? A21. No, actually, I'm afraid I don't. I would love to think that was so but true power will always remain with the big record companies. The Internet and fan pressure can help in many ways but it will only ever be an aid, not the answer in itself. Sorry, this was not one question. (Did I forgot something important?!?). Thank You for reading! Bye Gary ... P.S to Digest readers: I would be glad to get comments in the Digest, to find out what other fans think about my suggestions! ---- Deana Homfeldt (Deena) of Chicago Illinois, USA: Hi Gary, I've been looking forward to asking you some questions. Thanks for all the wonderful music, you are a big part of my life, love ya lots. Well here goes: Q22. How long have you and Gemma been together, and how did you meet her? A22. About 3 and a half years. We have known each other for a long time as Gemma has been a fan for ever. Q23. How is John, and is he married yet? A23. John is very happy and doing well. He has just been promoted to airline Captain so that's a major achievement. He's not married yet but he is still with Maria, they have a house together in Staines, not far from our parents. Q24. When you tour the U.S. again would you come to Chicago? The last time you were in Chicago you played at the Park West. I saw that show, it was excellent. A24. Hopefully, just getting to America at all at the moment would be a dream come true for me but, when it happens, I really just go where I'm told to by the various agents and promoters that get these things together. I would have thought that Chicago was a safe bet though. Q25. Are you still into McDonald's hamburgers, and is Coke still "It"...your favorite thing to drink? A25. Absolutely. Well that's it for now, glad to hear you like Cats. P.S. My kitty is cuter than yours........just kidding. Bye Gary, love ya. Deana. ---- Sean Francis <100557.3713@compuserve.com> of South Woodham Ferrers, Essex, England asks: Q26. A while ago when 'Sacrifice' was released, you said (on the Numan Fan Club telephone update line) that the initial copies of 'Sacrifice' on vinyl had gone out without lyric sheets. Indeed, my copy has no lyric sheet. You said that you should be able to order it separately from where you bought your vinyl. Is it available? Does the lyric sheet exist ? A26. Yes, lyric sheets were made for it but a mistake at Pinnacles end meant that the albums were shipped without the lyric sheet inside. All of the pressed vinyl albums had lyric inner bags printed and we were promised that all the shops that stocked the album would be sent those inner bags. I'm hoping to be able to make these bags avaialble via the NuWORLD site sometime in the future for those people that didn't get one. I designed it, I want you all to have it. ---- Greetings Gary from Kevin Hartnell from Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. Thank you for many years of musical inspiration and memories relating to your songs. :) Q27. Can you tell me anything about your appearance on Saturday Night Live? (playing Cars & Praying To The Aliens) A27. Only that everyone, stars and crew, were incredibly nice to me. I was very nervous to begin with but by the time it went out we had gone through it so many times it almost seemed run of the mill. It remains the largest TV audience I've ever played live in front of and it had a quite phenomenal impact. I'm told it was seen by 50 million people. Q28. What are your favorite films? A28. Battle Of Britain, Bladerunner, ET, The Killing Fields, Apocalypse Now, Predator, Alien, Terminator, Waynes World and more that I can't remember. Loads, I love films and go to the cinema all the time. Derek Langsford of San Diego, California, USA asks: Q29. Listening to Babylon 5 and Human, which I enjoy very much, I can't escape the impression that "Icehouse" and "Tread Careful" pre-date the "Outland" sessions as they seem to have more in common and fit better with the "Metal Rhythm" era. Am I completely wrong? A29. They were probably written early on in the 'Outland' sessions. This is often a cross over period. Q30. To get the definitive word, is it "Big Alien" or "Big Alten" on "Human" (the former is on the back insert, the latter on the CD itself)? I understand the confusion that someone may have had transcribing titles. The "Human font" is kinda difficult to read. A30. It's Big Alien. I didn't proof read the artwork very well and let the mistake slip through. Q31. Is it some sort of UK convention to have track times for songs on the CDs themselves but not on the CD inserts? I find this a tad frustrating as I can't look at timings while the disc is in the CD player when making Numan compilation tapes to indoctrinate, I mean initiate, people with your music :-) Or is it just case of the artwork being ready before the CD is pressed and the true times being taken from the actual CD and included with the CD label side information at the factory. A31. Shame on you Derek for making ILLEGAL copies of my music onto tape:-) I think that the timings can make the sleeve artwork look a bit junky and messy which is why I don't do it. It's not a convention though as far as I'm aware. To be honest it's irritated me a bit at times for similar reasons as your own. ---- That's it, bye. Gary Numan. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE NOTE! Send your questions via email to Derek Langsford with a subject line of: Gary's Qs Include your real name and the town/city, county/province/state and country where you are located. Please follow these directions carefully and don't post your questions to the Digest. I reserve the right to delete and edit questions for content or length. Thanks to all who participate. Derek __________________________________________________________________________ Derek Langsford "Numanews" dlangs@sunstroke.sdsu.edu The Gary Numan Digest SDSU Dept of Biology email numan-request@cs.uwp.edu San Diego, CA for information or to subscribe __________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Jan 96 17:37:50 0000 From: Ian Lomas Subject: (no subject) To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Hi... I'd just like to register & see what's going on.... Thanks, Ian ------------------------------ Date: 08 Jan 96 17:54:39 EST From: Colin Edwards <100025.463@compuserve.com> Subject: 96 Tour To: Numan Digest article I will be attending the following venues on the forthcoming 96 tour London Astoria on Sunday 24th March Southampton Guildhall on Tuesday 2nd April Guidford Civic Hall on Wednesday 3rd April London Hammersmith Labatts Apollo on Sunday 7th April I am keen to meet up with as many digest members as possible at these concerts, so drop me a line, and we'll arrange to meet. Regards........Colin........the strangest living boy ------------------------------ Date: 09 Jan 96 13:37:21 EST From: Subject: Availability of Berserker To: I think this will surprise many of those looking for the CD of Berserker - but Gary says that Numa only pressed 500 copies! That's the same as the last Fan Club issue. He swears it is 500 and says he doubted they would sell more than that. But tell me this - how come there are several copies in my city - and several people have seen them in the America? 500 certainly wouldn't go very far. Anyway, Gary says they've got plenty down at the Fan Club - so send your orders there. However, wait until the first week in February as that is when the credit card facility will be available. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Matthew Holbrook http://www.county.net/machman/numan.html machman@county.net ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ------------------------------ Date: 10 Jan 96 04:19:00 EST From: Matthew Holbrook <100112.1712@compuserve.com> Subject: Availability of Berserker - Update To: Numanews WPC 2.BPZ .Courier 10cpi#|i w x 6X@ o8 ;X@ HP LaserJet IIIHPLASIII.PRS xi @ c ,\, :i X@ USUK E3 'E3 'Standard 6 & 6 &StandardSrJet III + # d 6X@ A8 zX@# 2 `bX~F`+ Courier 10cpiCourier 12cpi e?xxx, w x 6X@ o8 ;X@ s4ddd, z d 6X@ A8 ; @ :c:\numwork\numvideo.htmlEvery video - promotional and commercial.[14 Dec 95] filenumwork\numsongs.htmlAll 304 songs Numan has released - excluding edits etc.[6 Jan 2 e? # x 6X@ o8 ; wX@# Just had another communication from Gary. This is a bit more realistic. He's now saying that Numa pressed1000 copies of Berserker, followed by another 500. They are nowconsidering a further 500. Of these pressings, 100 are sittingat PO Box 14 waiting to be purchased. Gary says the main reason for shops not having Berserker in stockis simply because they don't want to stock it and they blamePinnacle if somebody actually asks for it. He says the shops sayanything they like as long as they don't look like cheapskates.He thinks this is a bigger problem than the radio play one! I think I shall make this my next area for attack in NU Zone : ) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Matthew Holbrook http://www.county.net/machman/numan.html machman@county.net ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 9 Jan 1996 12:59:56 GMT From: Simon.Wooldridge__Mr@att.com Subject: Berserker/Sacrifice Ext/M+S Ext To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Just before Christmas, after a bit of exploring on Nu-World, I sent off an order for Berserker, Sacrifice Extended & M+S Extended. They arrived on Friday and I spent the weekend listening to them all. Here are my preliminary feelings. Berserker --------- The only track off this album I had heard before was the title track which I bought as a single. The only reason I didn`t get the album was because living in Germany at the time meant I couldn`t find it. This was the easiest album to get into. Already it is overtaking Warriors as my favourite album. I have to say I prefer Garys up-tempo stuff, and Berserker is full it. I would like to compare this CD to a normal length version, but this is as near to perfection as it gets. Fav tracks are Berserker, The Hunter and This Is New Love. Sacrifice Extended ------------------ I only got Sacrifice a couple of weeks earlier and it has yet to really grow on me. Sacrifice extended is already started that process. I prefer this version to the normal length one. Again my fav tracks are up-tempo songs - A Question Of Faith (this has got to be a contender for best-ever Numan song) and Love And Napalm. Am only now beginning to appreciate the slower numbers. Machine + Soul Extended ----------------------- Probably made a mistake by listening to this one last. The weakest in the trio by far, but not that bad really. Seems to be following on from Metal Rhytm in style, not sure if it did follow MR but definately sounds like it. Can`t really remember that much about this album (guess which 2 I`ve been playing non-stop) except a killer version of U Got The Look. I have to admit I thought this might have been a poor choice of song to cover and was more than pleasantly surprised. Does anyone know why Gary chose to cover this? I am very pleased at the service I received from Beryl, twas her sig on the Compliments slip, especially considering the size of the operation and the fact that it was over a busy Christmas period. Can`t recommend them enough. ttfn, Si swooldri@mldff.mlm.att.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 7 Jan 1996 03:02:55 -0500 (EST) From: Sailor Gallifrey Subject: Berserker CD To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Hi all! I went to HMV in Toronto and picked up Berserker ($29.99) and Human ($21.99)--that's Canadian funds so it's US$22.50 and US$17.00 respectively. So what do I think? After all that wait, is Berserker worth it? Yes! Even though most songs are extended, the feel of the album isn't destroyed. I don't have the original CD release but this current one has the dynamic range. Cold Warning is a lot clearer than the vinyl copy I had. All in all, great! As Human, I loved it too. I can play it while I net. There seems to be a lot of great musical ideas that I hope Numan will use in the future--as I know he has already used some for previous albums. The atmosphere elements from Sacrifice make there appearance here, and it's quite startling. Enough rambling. Now that Berserker is finally here, I hope evryone runs out and buys it. --Omega -------------- omega@io.org small sig, eh? -------------- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 9 Jan 1996 17:08:26 -0500 From: Scorbie@aol.com Subject: EXILE TOUR POLL Results To: numan@cs.uwp.edu ____________ EXILE TOUR POLL RESULTS ________________ _________________________________________________ Hello fellow Numanoids. For those of you who took part either directly to me or through Robert Eggleston of the Are Friends Electric WWW site, here's what you asked for. 1. Crash 2. I, Assassin 3. Strange Charm 4. Telekon 5. Sleep By Windows 6. Absolution 7. Zero Bars (mr. smith) 8. My Car Slides 1+2 9. Complex 10. Tracks 11. Exhibition 12. The Image Is 13. Warriors 14. Berserker 15. Moral 16. A Subway Called 'You' 17. The Joy Circuit 18. Face To Face 19. This Is My House 20. The God Film 21. Deadliner 22. We Have A Technical 23. Engineers 24. War Songs 25. My Centurion 26. We Need It 27. I Wonder 28. Love & Napalm 29. The Seed of a Lie 30. The Aircrash Bureau _______________________________________________ For the list that's going to Gary I included an additional 10 tracks that made the top 40 so if you didn't see what you wanted above it might have made it in the 40's. If Gary take's this poll into consideration I think he'll have a kick ass tour and we'll have a kick ass double CD later in the year! Thanks to *everyone* who took part. Scorbie@aol.com (Aaron Hannum) _________________________________________________ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 09 Jan 96 15:36:29 -0800 From: Scott Lucado Subject: Freebie To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Fellow Numanoids: I was browsing one of the local Best Buy stores the other day when I came across a copy of "Outland" in the cut-out bin. Even though I have a copy of this CD, I bought another, with the following in mind: If anyone out there is just getting to know the works of Gary, and doesn't have "Outland," just drop me an Email with your name and address. Out of the goodness of my heart, and in the spirit of cultural awakenings everywhere, I will send it free of charge. (I might even FedEx it, if I'm feeling particularly generous.) This is strictly a first-come, first-served deal. Also (and please bear with me while I brag for a sec), I'm an airline employee and I plan to fly to England to catch Gary on tour. Which of the cities would be the best to catch Gary's act? I've been to England a few times, and know London, Guildford, and Birmingham fairly well. Any opinions are welcome. (Also, any single women interested in catching the tour are invited to "marry me and fly free," as we say in the airline biz.) Thankee, Scott R. Lucado ------------------------------ Date: 08 Jan 96 14:41:33 EST From: Sean Francis <100557.3713@compuserve.com> Subject: Gary's Profile To: Digest Numan Fellow Fans, I was interested to read the section from NuWorld posted by Derek in the last Digest. Whilst I hope to god Gary enjoys a huge return to mass fame and fortune in '96, I'm a little concerned about the 'profile' mentioned in the NuWorld posting. Consider the level Gary was at in, say, 1980. Huge popularity, 3 singles, 1 album, U.S. Tour, European Tour, Far East Tour, U.K Tour, another U.S. tour and the man could do no wrong. In '96 we could/should have : 'Techno Army' album (+ single ?) 'Premier Hits' album (+ single ?) 'Songs That Have Come In From The Cold' album (+ single ?) Live album from March/April Tour (+ live EP ?) "Exile" (+ single ?) Ballad album (+ single ?) 1979/1981 live albums from Beggars March/April Tour Possible tour towards the end of the year Talk about busy ! I just hope that the non-believers (which is, after all, the people who need to be impressed too) don't get sick of Numan bringing out a new album/single every five minutes. I thinks Derek's idea about issuing a Numa/IRS compilation to catch the general public up with the more recent stuff has some merit, but that would mean yet another album. What do you all think ? Gary's profile will need some skillful management this year. I hope it all works out :-) Later, Sean. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ email : sean_francis@realworld.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 8 Jan 1996 13:34:46 -0500 (EST) From: "Vincent Attard (COM)" Subject: Gary Numan Digest V1 #190 To: numan@cs.uwp.edu To Numan Fans in AUSTRALIA.. I'm a US fan from Florida and am going to be visiting Australia in March (Sydney area) and am looking to possibly link up with some people while i'm down there. If this sounds like a good idea and you live near Sydney e-mail me. Vince vattard@luna.cas.usf.edu ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 07 Jan 1996 17:50:56 -0800 From: "J.Hendry" Subject: Gary Numan of course! To: numan@cs.uwp.edu I'm another one of those LURKERS who have been hanging about for a few months.I think it is brilliant that this digest exists and even better that Gary himself gets involved. I've been a fan since '79 when I was 13. I am REALLY looking forward to the tour this year, Ive been to see Gary many times and , for me he puts on one of the most exciting shows I've seen (and I've been to a number of other gigs!). This is a very selfish question which may not be of interest to others but:- Gary, why are you playing the Pavillion in Glasgow this year? Do you not feel that the atmosphere at the Barrowlands is better? I have been to see you in both venues and whilst all the shows have been spot on Ibelieve the fact that the Barrowlands has no seats and the audience have a great time bouncing along to the live set really adds to the atmosphere! I would be interested in your opinion. Also, everytime I take my wife along she swears you stare right at her and that once when she smiled at you you even winked at her! I told her this was mince and that you probably couln't see well with the lights in your eyes. Is she just trying to make me jealous or is there a thing going there!! One day I WILL get your autograph! jo@voix.demon.co.uk ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 7 Jan 1996 14:35:42 GMT From: neil.mitchell@ukonline.co.uk Subject: Gary tipped for Success! To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Here in the UK there is a Sindicated Show on Independent Radio that is presented by Steve Wright (Ex-Radio 1). I am pleased and proud to say that I never listen to this inane drivel! However whilst at my local Newsagents this morning it was being piped in. They were discussing what will be HOt and what will Not in 1996, well they said that Gary Numan will have a major comeback in 1996!!! If an ex-Radio 1 DJ is saying that then it must come true!!! Also Cars was played in a sequence on a very sad UK show (Noel's House Party) on Saturday. Thats all from me!! Happy New Year! neil.mitchell@ukonline.co.uk ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 07 Jan 96 01:30:45 MST From: numanoid@netway.ab.ca (Joey Lindstrom) Subject: Long Tapes To: numan@cs.uwp.edu At the risk of veering sharply off-topic... I cannot comment on the videos (are they bootleg or legit?) mentioned in the last couple of Digests, but two folks mentioned that you can't get "legitimate" tapes over 2 hours (or whatever the max length of a video recorded at high speed is). I beg to differ and have, in my possession, proof. Yes, Virginia, sometimes you *CAN* buy a "legitimate" videotape that's recorded at slow speed (giving 6 hours on a 2-hour tape), and the quality's still pretty darned good! The tape in question: The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy Released by Fox Video and BBC Video Length 194 minutes (or 3 hours and 14 minutes) NTSC format Widely available (and well-worth buying) (This thing was released in 1981... and just think how much better it woulda been if they'd hired Gary to do the music... oh, wait, I forgot, this is a BBC production... ok, never mind then...) /--------------------------------------------------------- / Joey Lindstrom / numanoid@netway.ab.ca / http://www.netway.ab.ca/numanoid/wwwebb.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Jan 96 20:22:18 EST From: Rachel Williams Subject: New Subscriber Info To: numan@cs.uwp.edu I hope that I am doing this correctly! I now have the chance to do the intro thing after being away from my puter for a month (lots of digests in my mailbox upon my return). My name is Rachel and I am a 22 yr old Numan fan living in Ottawa, Ontario Canada atm. I have been listening to Numan music for the better part of my life, although at first it was forced upon me by my older brother and sister. I have been a fan for the past ten years and have had the opportunity to see him live twice in my life. I grew up in England and lived in Guildford where he makes regular concert stops so I was lucky there. I only know of one other Numan follower here so far so finding this was a God send, as well as the numerous other Numan sites I am working my way through. I am still hunting for that elusive record shop that will end my plight and provide me with the last few Numan albums which I am looking to find in the big city of Ottawa, until then I will stick to this, and listening to others that I have amassed. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rachel Williams Hog's Back High Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA!!!!! Email address: if you're getting e-mail from me....just reply. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TRUST NO-ONE....THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE....I WANT TO BELIEVE -Life, Don't talk to me about life. -Wretched isn't it? Marvin The Paranoid Android. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 9 Jan 1996 17:53:00 -0500 (EST) From: "Vincent Attard (COM)" Subject: NUMAN FANS IN AUSTRALIA To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Hey There.. I'm a fan from Florida and will be visiting Australia in the month of March and am interested if any of you out there "down under" would be interested in getting together. Please e-mail me if this sounds like an idea. Take Care Vince vattard@luna.cas.usf.edu ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 9 Jan 1996 19:16:44 -0500 (EST) From: "Vincent Attard (COM)" Subject: NUMAN FANS IN AUSTRALIA To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Hey There Numan fans down under.. I'm a fan from the US and will be visiting Australia in March and am looking possibly to get together with some fans when I go there. I will be in the Sydney area in the second week of March. e-mail me if this sounds like an idea. Vince vattard@luna.cas.usf.edu ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 7 Jan 96 20:45 PST From: dlgeer@spider.lloyd.com (dlg) Subject: Numan videos To: numan@cs.uwp.edu I would like to pose some questions to digest members regarding Numan videos,and Numan recordings on Beggers Banquet. 1.What Numan videos are currently available(VHS only)? 2.Out of the available videos which ones would be most recomended? a.Most recomended early video? b.Most recomended recent video? 3.How much of Gary's Beggers Banquet catalog is still in print?I have been converting from vinyl and cassette to CD and have found Replicas,Pleasure Principle and Warriors,but have been unable to find the rest of them. This posting is from the U.S which may have some influence as to how these questions are answered.Any input will be greatly appreciated. Fred Geer Pollock Pines Ca. David G ------------------------------ Date: 09 Jan 96 07:13:34 EST From: Jez <101326.2772@compuserve.com> Subject: please remove from mailshot To: "INTERNET:numan@cs.uwp.edu" Many thanks for the original inclusion in the Numan Mailing list, However would you kindly remove me from the list as soon as possible. Many thanks Jez Harris ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 9 Jan 1996 20:50:25 -0500 From: PaddyGav@aol.com Subject: Question For Gary To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Sorry if I sent this to the wrong address, but I have been really out of it for a long time! In Coleman's biography, Gary tells of growing up and being a big Monkees fan (perticularly Nesmith). My question is, is it possible that buried under a sofa somewhere in Gary's house there is a demo of Tubeway Army doing a crude synth version of "Gonna Buy Me a Dog" or "Last Train to Clarksville?" ------------------------------ Date: 07 Jan 96 13:57:42 EST From: Sean Francis <100557.3713@compuserve.com> Subject: Re. West Won To: Digest Numan Numanisers, In the last issue, #190, Richard asked about the link between Numan and a band called West Won. Well, West Won were the support band on the Exhibition Tour 1987. West Won were from London and back in '87 were William Colbourne (vocals), Marc Heal (keyboards), Si Rapley (guitar) and Mike Caddick-Adams (drums). Yes, guess who's just got his tour programme out from his Numan cupboard ? I thought West Won were great and certainly one of the better support bands Gary has had. I recall a chat with Gary 2 or 3 years ago now, in which he said that he'd heard that the band had split whilst the singer (William) had gone on to other solo work. Does anyone else have any more on West Won ? Later, Sean. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ email :- sean_francis@realword.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ------------------------------ Date: 07 Jan 96 13:57:40 EST From: Sean Francis <100557.3713@compuserve.com> Subject: Support Bands To: Digest Numan Fellow Supporters, Whilst we're on the subject of support bands here's my comments on those so far. Any other comments ? 1979 OMD Very good band until Paul Humphreys left. I saw the new version of OMD when Numan supported them. Did anyone else witness Andy McCluskey's arm swinging extravaganza ? It was funny. 1980 Nash the Slash Electric violins. Electric mandolins. Bandages. Wicked ! 1981 Shock Waste of time. 1982 ? Did anyone support Numan on the US tour ? 1983 Tik & Tok I never understood why anyone liked these. Good robot dancers, and, well, that's about it ! 1984 Larry Loeber Yeah right. As if ! Hohokam Despite these guys being crap to Gary, I liked their music. "King" was good. And the lead singer had a great voice and kept swinging this martial arts weapon about. Quite intimidating actually. 1985 Grey Parade Level 42 gone wrong. Very wrong. 1987 West Won Good band. Can't remember any of their songs. 1988 Paper Toys Really bad. Lead singer thought he was David Sylvian from Japan. 1989 Yen Excellent. "Escape" was so coooool ! 1991 Mr. Gilbert's Circus Not bad. Some songs were OK. Glasshouse Very samey. Just a noise really. There's a limit with what you can do with a voice, a keyboard and a drum machine. Just look at Soft Cell. Freak UK See above. 1992 Bon Booshe See above. Glasshouse It's not funny any more guys ! 1993 Creed OK actually. Guitarist was a bit of a hippy and the singer was very tall. I can only remember one of their songs ("Jennifer") and it isn't the one I really liked at the time. No offence intended to any party and my hearty congratulations to all those for getting up there and doing it. That takes guts. It has always amused me how people from the Numan camp, including Numan himself, says how much good support we always give to the support bands. I've rarely noticed this. Out of the concerts I've been to, good support was given to Nash The Slash, Tik & Tok, Hohokam, West Won, Yen and Creed. Everybody else got abuse. Has anyone else got any further comments on this ? Later, Sean. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ email :- sean_francis@realworld.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 7 Jan 96 14:50 PST From: dlgeer@spider.lloyd.com (dlg) Subject: T-shirt AWARDS etc. To: numan@cs.uwp.edu An award for"MOST SUSPICIOUS ORDER".Suspicious can be cool,it keeps people on thier toes!All kidding aside I will apologize for the backassward way that I submitted my order.Not having a checking account of my own,I had to rely on the courtesy of my brother who has one.Anyway dangerimp here is a genuine expression of thanks for all of your effort! Fred Geer Pollock Pines Ca.(U.S.A) David G ------------------------------ Date: 08 Jan 96 17:54:44 EST From: Colin Edwards <100025.463@compuserve.com> Subject: T-shirts To: Numan Digest article I would like to have a little say on the T-shirt situation as well......... Hopefully Imp is doing us all a favour with this, as it is patently obvious co-ordinating the payment and distribution of the T-shirts is proving a difficult task. I also remember Fred saying he would have 2 shirts, I keep all the digests filed away just in case I ever want to have a look at some old info. At the same time I'm sure that the (now) spare shirts will be snapped up once we all get to see them. I would really appreciate receiving mine before the tour, as I want to pose!!!!!!!! (Imp - you did receive my order didn't you? If not then you have a buyer for Fred's erroneous order) Also does anyone else have problems with NuWorld.....Mine are downloading any of the audio tracks, WAV or AU versions, I only ever get about 20% of the stated file size downloaded, and also since upgrading my Compuserve software, and trying to use Netscape, the initial screens of NuWorld will only appear after issuing a refresh, and then I get a 'Cannot find URL' message when trying to access the count of the number of accesses. Apparently this can be solved by downloading another 4MB of WinCim 2.0.1!!!!!!!, which I am loathe to do. So anyone else who encounters this problem, and has found a solution, please drop me a line. Regards......Colin........the strangest living boy ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 8 Jan 1996 18:48:22 +0000 From: "iwisman" Subject: We're the new disease To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Greetings: What I love a about Gary Numan Music: NO BULLSHIT LYRICS. Rudy "I CAN'T STOP FOR ALL YOUR STORIES" ------------------------------ End of Gary Numan Digest ******************************