Date: Sun, 21 Apr 96 01:00:02 CDT From: numan@cs.uwp.edu Reply-To: numan@cs.uwp.edu (Gary Numan) Subject: Gary Numan Digest V1 #220 Gary Numan Digest Sun, 21 Apr 96 Volume 1 : Issue 220 Today's Topics: A Digest Question Gary Numan Digest V1 #219 GNFC now taking credit card orders My Trip To See Gary new to the Numan list Numan Digest covers compilation project cancelled Techno Army (2 msgs) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Apr 1996 18:27:41 +0100 From: Rikki Dodds Subject: To: "'numan@cs.uwp.edu'" subscribe numan-digest ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Apr 1996 09:18:52 -0400 From: "Jeff Colaw, 224E, 7473" Subject: A Digest Question To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Greetings, I'd like to ask the advice of Digest members regarding the worth of the Beggars Banquet two-album, single-CD releases. A few years back, I purchased the single-CD, two-album reissues of The Plan/Replicas, Pleasure Principal/Warriors, Tubeway Army/Dance, and Telekon/I Assassin. I was disappointed about the elemination of several songs due to time constraints and never found (still haven't) Exhibition. The other day I found the two-album, double-CD reissues with bonus tracks at a new Best Buys in Annapolis. Now, there's really no need to keep the previous CD's. Before I give them up though, I'd like to know if the single-CD reissues are valuable collectors items. It just seemed such a bizarre way of releasing material (cutting songs so two albums fit on one CD?), it wouldn't surprise me to learn they're worth more now than when I bought them. Anyone know? Advanced thanx. Cheers, Jeff (excited to hear the bonus tracks for the first time) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Apr 96 18:55:42 GMT From: dhughes@tbass.demon.co.uk (David J. Hughes) Subject: Gary Numan Digest V1 #219 To: numan@cs.uwp.edu (Gary Numan) Dear Derek, Would you please append this message to the Numan Digest on our behalf. Troy Walters expressed some interest in our CD and we have been unable to reply to the original e-mail because the server keeps bouncing our messages. message : Would Troy Walters please contact Tranquility Bass at dhughes@tbass.demon.co.uk. Your service provider keeps bouncing our replies. Regards David J. Hughes Tranquility Bass One further question: Whatever happended to Nogbad the Bad? TIA. David J. Hughes Tranquility Bass ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Apr 1996 11:09:58 -0700 From: dlangs@sunstroke.sdsu.edu (Derek Langsford) Subject: GNFC now taking credit card orders To: numan@cs.uwp.edu This was posted to NuWORLD on April 17. ---- CREDIT CARD SERVICE ON-LINE. The long awaited, and long promised, credit card ordering facility is now on-line. No limit has been applied as to how much you can order but we have been asked to point out that all order forms must be signed by the card holder (a section has been made on each form for this) and that we are only allowed to send goods to the address given on the form which must also be the address of the registered card holder. We can accept the following cards: VISA, VISA-DELTA, MASTERCARD, SWITCH and JCB. We hope that the long wait for this service hasn't been too much of a pain and we will now do our best to get your orders to you as soon as we possibly can. Please bear in mind though the fact that the entire organisation is just Gary, Tony and Beryl so, when things get busy, we can get a little behind. ---- You will need to download the order forms and buy a membership to be able to order goods from the GNFC. Details are at NuWORLD (http://www.numan.co.uk) They cannot take credit card details via email - the credit card companies are wanting signatures on order forms in order to authorize payment. Derek -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Derek H. Langsford dlangs@sunstroke.sdsu.edu Dept. of Biology Tel. (619) 594 2885 San Diego State University Fax (619) 594 7831 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 20 Apr 96 19:27:15 MDT From: numanoid@netway.ab.ca (Joey Lindstrom) Subject: My Trip To See Gary To: numan@cs.uwp.edu I've assembled all my notes, written on-the-road thanks to Matthew Holbrook and his trusty laptop computer. However, the file is quite simply too long to post all-at-once here in the Digest - it would be longer than nearly all previous Digests have been (grin!). Well, it's over 40K anyways. So here's the deal: I'm going to post the details of just my first night here, for all to read. Anyone who wants the whole article can: 1) Access it with their web browser at http://www.netway.ab.ca/numanoid/mytrip.txt 2) Email me at numanoid@netway.ab.ca and request a copy, which I'll send back via email. The "mytrip.txt" file will eventually be converted into a web page on my World Wide Webb site - when this is completed (with photographs and everything), I'll post the address here. It will have additional information added, so you'll have a reason to come see it. Grin! And now, without further adieu: How I Spent My Vacation ======================= (Or, A Fast And Easy Way To Blow $5000CDN) Sixteen years after the first (and last) time I saw Gary Numan perform live, I find myself in the Hog's Back Hotel just outside Guildford (in the UK, doncha know), recovering from last night's incredible show at Southampton, part of the 1996 Premier Tour. Gary Numan is indeed getting better every year, both in the studio and on the road. My adventure began several months back. Several email messages back and forth between Matthew Holbrook and myself resulted in our agreeing to sign up together for the "Numanoids On Tour" coach tour. Matthew (bless his soul) handled all the arrangements in the UK and generally did all the footwork in getting it all together. My cost (apart from actually flying over and whatnot) was 320 gbps (about $720 CDN) - this gives me tickets to the final six shows on the Premier Tour, plus luxurious coach transportation between each gig, plus half of a twin hotel room (shared with Matthew), and capped off with breakfast in the morning. Considering the fact that I'm there to see Gary live, this would have been a bargain if they'd tossed us in the back of a pickup truck and dumped us in front of a hostel every night - the value-for-money ratio here is unbelievably good. The Premier Tour - Show #10 - April 2, 1996 - Southampton --------------------------------------------------------- Fast forward to April 1996. I'm in the UK and have been here for two weeks, visiting with family (ostensibly my "main" reason for coming, although you and I know better). It's Monday April 1st, and I jump off a train at Bath Spa and am met by Matthew Holbrook (who, in grand British style, greets me with a sincere "Howdy!"). He shows me the sights - both around Bath, and in his house... specifically, his very extensive Numan collection (his collection of vinyl weighs more than I do). The next day (April 2nd), we find ourselves again at Bath Spa train station, this time boarding a London-bound train. We arrive at Paddington Station nearly two hours ahead of the coach's scheduled departure, so we amuse ourselves hanging around the station (much, I'm sure, to the consternation of the ever- present security personnel), punctuated every five minutes by my asking Matthew, "how much more time do we have to kill?" (and every 15 minutes by my going outside and smoking a cigarette). At 14:40 we board the Numanoids On Tour bus, and lemme tell ya - they are NOT kidding. I'm not a very "visible" Numan fan for the most part, meaning I don't wear leather jackets with the Sacrifice logo on the back, etc. This group.... WOW! In comparison, I felt like an infidel - THESE people were fans and I was merely an admirer. Don't take the wrong impression - to date they've been the most friendly, good-natured, and ACCEPTING group of people it's ever been my privilege to know. Of course, I was helped in this by the fact that I became a bit of a celebrity myself.... "oi, 'ave you met this bloke over 'ere? 'e's flown over 'ere from Canny-da to see Gary!" :-) So off we go to Southampton. Matthew gives me some last-minute details about what to expect (of the show, of the other fans, of the hotel accomodations, etc.), but by this time I'm so fired up that it's all going in one ear and out the other. After checking in to the hotel, we head over to the venue. Myself and Matthew are accompanied by two of his friends - Jason Smith and his girlfriend Kirsten Meigh. Jason is thought by many to be "the world's biggest Gary Numan fan" - this man has totally devoted his life to Gary Numan. We're walking through the park, and Jason is COMPLETELY decked out as a Gary Numan lookalike, including hair and makeup (and Matthew himself is dressed very Numan-like as well). I'm decked out wearing a very bright red Calgary Flames (ice hockey) jersey, with the number "96" on the sleeves and back, and the name "Gary Numan" proudly displayed above the back number. Some of us were feeling rather self- conscious about our attire: Jason was heard to remark (not an exact quote): "here I am, walking through a park in Southampton next to a guy with bright flashing neon clothes, and I'm the one who feels embarrassed". We arrive at the Southampton Guildhall and head inside. In the line-up we meet up with Robert Eggleston (master of the "Are Friends Electric?" web site) and his wife Maria, turning it into a Numan-page convention. Inside the door is all the merchandise... t-shirts, sweatshirts, posters, and a tour programme (written, coincidentally, by Matthew Holbrook). To my very great surprise - and delight - one of the back pages contains a list of Numan Web Sites. Heading the list is, of course, "NuWorld", but seven other sites are also listed... including, gasp!, my own "World Wide Webb" site. This was apparently not Matthew's idea - 'twas Gary's. Obviously, I was walking on air for quite some time after discovering all this. Unfortunately, the Digest wasn't mentioned... probably an oversight and less worrisome than it might have been, since most of the listed sites mention the Digest in detail. So now we're in the hall. Matthew, Jason, and Kirsten go up front as close as they can get in order to fry their brains - they're standing about 2 millimetres from a very large, and very loud, stack of speakers. Robert, Maria, and myself hang back a ways, ostensibly to protect our ears, but in fact to better position ourselves for access to the bar. The support band, "Cubanate", then come onstage in a flurry of distortion and mangled chords. To describe this band as "bad" would be to do a great disservice to the word "bad". Instead, let's go with adjectives like "awful", "trash", "terrible", "horrific", "excruciating", "nauseating", "dreadful", "beastly", and maybe even (insert Eric Idle accent here) "appalling!". But somehow, they don't seem to adequately describe the situation. Most of the performance was lost in a squeal of distortion... except, unfortunately, the lead singer's profanity, which apparently is used to disguise the fact that he has no vocal talents whatsoever. I haven't been told to go fuck myself that many times since I tried picking up women in the local lesbian bar. After about 10 minutes of this, we can't take any more. We head upstairs to the balcony and even this is too loud, so we hang about in the corridor behind the balcony, where at least we can hear ourselves think if we shout the words. And it is here that Cary Johnston of Meridian Television found me. Cary is producing a half-hour feature on Numan and his tremendously loyal fans, to go out on Meridian Television this Thursday or Friday (April 4-5) and possibly repeated on other ITV affiliates later. He takes me downstairs to the lobby, cameraman in tow, and interviews me there. I explain on camera how far I've come, how long it's been since I've seen Numan live (nearly 16 years), why I'm a fan, and what the hell is that shirt you're wearing, Joey? After the interview, I rejoin the Egglestons and we endure the rest of the Cubanate show. At 8:40pm, we're finally granted a reprieve and this lame excuse of a band finally gets the hell off the stage. We head back downstairs, stock up on more beer, and rejoin the crowd (again, a safe distance back). At 9:05pm, my long wait ends. The lights go down, the curtain drops, and Gary emerges onstage to an incredible outpouring of enthusiasm by the fans. He starts out at the top of an elaborate stage-set, then descends a staircase, grabs the mike, and launches into "Prophecy", a song from the upcoming Exile album. If you've been hoping that Gary continues his "dark" themes to this album, you're going to be very pleasantly surprised - the new songs SURPASS Sacrifice in this respect (and, I might add, they're very very good too). The track listing on the night was something like this: Prophecy, A Question Of Faith, Noise Noise, ME! I Disconnect From You, Replicas, The Seed Of A Lie, An Alien Cure (from Exile), Are 'Friends' Electric?, Films, Bleed, Everyday I Die, Are You Real?, Dark (from Exile), Absolution & Cars. First Encore was Love And Napalm & We Are Glass, and the Second Encore was Remind Me To Smile. What immediately struck me was just how INTO the show the fans get. I'm standing in a room filled with (an estimated) 2,700 screaming Numan fans who are jumping, screaming, clapping, and dancing in time with the music, stopping only to jam their fists skyward at various musical "posts". I was absolutely overwhelmed - I've been to a lot of concerts and I've never seen anything at all like this, and I haven't even begun talking about the actual SHOW yet. The show itself was absolutely brilliant (especially after you accept the inevitable lyrical foul-ups, particularly on "A Question Of Faith"). Gone was the standing-there-staring Gary I remembered from the 1980 Teletour - here was 1996 Gary, jumping, dancing, pouting (he does that SO well), and singing - it was a very strong vocal performance. The lights were scaled down a bit from previous concerts (so I'm told), in keeping with the new image (which tends to be much "blacker" in many respects), but are still damned impressive. Gary's image is rather more difficult to describe - to see for yourself, check Matthew's and Gary's pages. It has been described as a "jack- booted funeral director from Ursa Minor" - and that does rather fit. The fans, as I said, were VERY much into the show, but they seemed to crank it up a notch on three songs in particular: "Are 'Friends' Electric?", "Love And Napalm", and (oddly, I thought) "Cars". People were dancing harder, pumping their hands in the air further, and singing so loud that at times they actually drowned out Gary's vocals. It was absolutely incredible to be a part of, and I quickly put a large dent into my film supply, snapping photographs at every opportunity (some of which, when developed, will appear on my web page and others). The show was tight, smooth, and full of energy. The two new musicians didn't seem to have any problem fitting in - David Brooks on keyboards is widely experienced, while Rob Harris on guitars brought his own understated energy to the performance. According to the Programme, Rob "turned up outside Gary's house one foggy night, all dishevelled and starving and begged for a cup of tea". I think someone is playing with our heads on this one. :-) I don't remember the trip back to the hotel that clearly - my mind was still back in the Guild Hall. But somehow I stumbled back to the room, meeting Matthew en-route. We changed and headed down to the hotel's bar and settled in for a night's partying with fellow Numanoids. Matthew had hinted (as has Gary in the Digest) that since we were staying in the same hotel as Gary and the band, there was a good chance that Gary might pop in later. And, sure enough, he did. He then immediately popped out, as did Matthew. I was a little disappointed, but about five minutes later Matthew came back, and above the din managed to beckon me to follow him. We went out to the lobby, and there was Gary, Gemma, Ade, and all the rest, enjoying pizza and chips. (Note for accuracy: Gary himself in fact does not eat pizza) Matthew then introduced me to Gary, and like a complete idiot I of course mumbled something about having waited 16 years to meet him. However, from that point on I had a fantastic time. People came and went, joining and leaving the various conversations. Gary and I (and others of course) discussed topics ranging from CGI HTML scripts to operating systems to Quebec seperationists (after all, I'm the resident expert on things Canadian). Gary in person is quite a bit different from the on-stage persona - as, I suppose, is virtually every performer. In person he's a real guy, with real opinions and real emotions. What really impressed me about the man is that he treats those around him, including guests like myself, as complete equals. I honestly didn't know what to expect, but I have to admit this took me just a little bit by surprise. Gary is friendly, personable, and engaging - the type of person and personality that usually turns up in my closest friends. After about 2 hours, Gary and company headed into the bar. Not wanting to overstay my welcome, I stayed in the lobby with several other guests and we drank, smoked, and chatted away until about 5am, at which point I headed off to bed before I collapsed from exhaustion (but taking five minutes first to phone home - Mom hadn't heard from me in over a week). It's now 6:30pm on April 3rd - in about 45 minutes we jump back on the bus and head down into Guildford for tonight's show at the Civic Hall. And I know it's going to be another great night. == cut here == (The following is from the very end of mytrip.txt) And that pretty much wraps it all up. I'd like to add, for the record, that I really owe a lot to Matthew Holbrook. As I said at the top, he handled all my organizing, he purchased the tickets, he took care of all the details, and he's been a great friend and advisor on "the world of Numan". He's put up with my incessant chattering on the differences I've noticed between the UK and Canada (and/or differences in the UK between now and my last visit in 1979), he's let me drag him into pizza restaurants and burger joints, and he's even bought me drinks and meals. Plus, and most of all, he puts up with my cigarette smoking like a real trouper (grin!). I know I would have had a good time coming over here without Matthew's help, but having that help has transformed a "good" time into an absolutely brilliant one, an experience that I most certainly will never, ever forget. Matthew, I owe you so much that I feel I can never repay my debt... but that won't stop me from trying. /--------------------------------------------------------- / Joey Lindstrom / numanoid@netway.ab.ca / http://www.netway.ab.ca/numanoid/wwwebb.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Apr 1996 22:19:48 -0400 (EDT) From: stu4052@westga.edu Subject: new to the Numan list To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Hi, My name is Robby Garner. I'm a software engineer from Rockmart, Georgia USA. I also make music under the name Flux Oersted. I've been a big Gary Numan fan since about 1981. I had heard "Cars" on the radio and went to find The Pleasure Principle. I looked at the names of the songs and was intrigued enough by that alone buy it. This was the start of a long-term addiction for me. The fat analog synths, the choice of subject matter, the aesthetics of the lyrics, the whole package excited me. I had listened to Kraftwerk, but they were sort of stiff and hypnotic, which is fine, but Gary's music used the strengths of synthesizers along with the strengths of traditional instruments in a way that was both rhythmically moving and (to me) more interesting to listen to than most pop/rock/funk/techno music. Gary's voice is also something to admire along with his choice of vocal effects or signal processing. Anyway, since I started college (1981) I've been involved in several bands playing keyboards mostly but always working up covers of Gary Numan songs - trying to get the same kind of sound with the equipment we had but really just wanting to share our passion for this music with some other people. I always wanted our band to sound more or less like the bands on Tubway Army up thru Telekon but we never really attained that level. What we did attain was something entirely different, but our covers were all very true spirited to the originals. The Flux Oersted web page is at http://www.shmooze.net/flux if you'd care to see which songs we've covered. regards, Robby Garner stu4052@westga.edu ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 20 Apr 1996 10:03:07 -0400 From: Subject: Numan Digest covers compilation project cancelled To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Due to a lack of interest, the Gary Numan covers compilation project has been cancelled. Thanks to all those who DID get in touch with me, especially Andy McHaffie. Cheers and cheerios, Tony R. Boies PS: I'm getting rid of a lot of Numan vinyl in favor of CD's. Please contact me if you are looking for something! Tony R. Boies - http://www.shentel.net/nutmusic/tony/tony.html Check out the Nut Music Home Page: http://www.shentel.net/nutmusic/nutmain.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Apr 1996 07:19:56 +0000 (GMT) From: Andy Subject: Techno Army To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Well, I bought Techno Army and couldnt believe my ears!!!! It almost makes me long for the days of Bill Sharpe, or even Radio Heart !!! It's possibly the worst Numan associated release I have ever heard. Even Gary writes what seems to be an apology in the inlay. It starts OK with a reasonable clubby AFE, and quite an interesting We Are So Fragile, and ends with a great remix of Cars (even though part of it does sound ripped off "Higher state.." by Josh Wink) but the rest is dreadful. It sounds like real bad old Prince backing but played on one of those home Yamaha keyboards (with "fill in" buttons etc !!) Well, luckily I kept my receipt, so it can go back to HMV tomorrow, and I'll keep the vouchers for Exile I think !! I'm extremely surprised Gary had anything to do with this. It's a real dissapointment after Sacrifice and two fantastic tours... ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Apr 1996 11:50:45 +0000 (GMT) From: Andy Subject: Techno Army To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Here are the liner notes from Techno Army. It sounds like an apology to me !!!! "As a songwriter, to have other musicians cover your songs is something of an honour. To have almost an entire album devoted to yuor work is extremely flattering, and so, for me, this has been a most interesting time. My original versions of these songs, recorded over the last 16 years or so, are somewhat different and so it has been fascinating to watch other musicians interpretations of them come to life. My own music has, particularly over the last 2 years, taken a much darker heavier direction and so it is highly unlikely that I personally would have reworked these songs in this style. For that reason alone, this album is somewhat disconnected from me but is, nonetheless, something that makes me enormously proud and I am very grateful to Nick and Miles for putting it together. Gary Numan ------------------------------ End of Gary Numan Digest ******************************