Gary Numan Digest Sun, 22 Dec 96 Volume 1 : Issue 290 Today's Topics: A few thoughts New Anger in a Film New mail Id Photograph LP Radioheart Radio Heart material Sound Bites Tribal and Wonder Eye Year Summary ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: 19 Dec 96 19:06:21 EST From: Michel Lafontaine <102162.2077@CompuServe.COM> Subject: A few thoughts To: Gary Numan I`d like to reflect on the last few months about what`s been said on the digest and to add my own view on a few things.I will not link back to past digests but will simply adress each subject matter. Numan vs contemporary music : From the beginning Gary has been branded as a copycat by the press. If so how come his music is so totally different than what`s out there today? He`s not unaware of other people`s output,he just does HIS music his way. I can`t believe he`s unable to do the same if he`d wish,but then he`d probably get dumped on with people saying ``that`s not Numan``.You can`t have it both ways: look at how most view the IRS years; too dancy,too(insert your favourite label here).Or how about covers(they`re so few anyways)or collaborations? Me,I just see it as another side of an artist I like a hell of a lot,most times. Typos and mistakes: They bother me too,especially since English is not my first language.I try to do my best...Gary is clearly overworked in that deparment! He`s got too many things to look after, I`d do his spellchecking for free of course,like most of us I think , just for the fun of it ; ) Sleeve design : While I don`t think they`re all bad (I rather like Dark Light ) some others are awful looking.Machine & Soul makes him seem tired,Ghost and Dream Corrosion are just plain ugly.last year I asked Gary why he didn`t use artwork instead of photos. His answer was that he basically preferred it that way...But maybe he could get in touch with graduates from some photography school or something?It shouldn`t cost too much and maybe he`d get a fresh point of view? Sound quality : Touchy subject here.What more can we say or do?Everyone knows including Gary himself.Maybe the matter will be resolved eventually but t he`s not the only one with that problem...but hey.... remember I was vinyl?So it`s not all bad or do we go back to pops,scratches and hiss? Gary`s answers: He`s gracious enough to read our questions,we should be thankful.Sometimes I find his answers whimsical,painfully direct,funny,enlightening, take your pick.Could there be a difference if he answers as Gary Numan or as Gary Webb ???I get that feeling sometimes, am I the only one? And now my wish list for 1997: Gary signs with a US label, Exile is well received, wich allows him to promote the album in the States and Canada, thereby making me spend less money than last year (even if it was worth it) to see him on stage again.UK critics bite their tongues while US critics say ``we knew it all along,why did he stop making music for so long?`` Kinsmen opens to good reviews and guess what? Gary`s not bad at all.Years of dealing with audiences comes in handy.That look when he sneers at.....but I wont spoil it for you, go see the film.!! Have a merry Christmas everyone and here`s to 1997, the year where all our dreams can come true... Michel ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1996 23:09:32 +0100 (MET) From: na468@fen.baynet.de (Markus Dietrich) Subject: New Anger in a Film To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Hello Numanoids, what happend half an our ago? I saw the film "Hit Back" at a german tv channel. The orginal US title was "Conflict Of Interest". It was an action film which I normally don't like! But it was destiny that I had not switch the channel before this has comin: The scene plays in a disco and in the background NEW ANGER was been played! People were taking while almost the whole song was played. I am sure that the background music and noises will always taken from the original, although the voices have been synchronized. (also because of the people in the disco syncronously danced with the rythm of New Anger!!!) GREAT!!! Here short info to the film: Orig.Title: Conflict Of Interest USA 1992 Direction: Gary Davis Actors: Dey Young,Christopher McDonald, Alyssa Milano Bytheway, it could be possible that my home- page NUWAYS will soon be unavailable. My Server- Org. has trouble with the germ. Telekom so I up to now waiting for the cancelation. Maybe this is only for a month we will see ... By, Markus By, Markus -- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Dec 1996 15:13 -0700 (MST) From: "Rodney Valdez" Subject: New mail Id To: Pagan l , Gary Numan , Hello All, I have converted to Innermail and my new mail Id is Rodney.Valdez@mci.com. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Dec 1996 11:58:03 +0000 From: Tom Gorham Subject: Photograph LP To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Just seen the silly prices being offered for the Photograph LP. I have a copy of this album available for sale and its only fault is that I think there's a scratch on 'This Wreckage' ( or at least there was last time I listened to it about ten years ago). I'm not looking for UKP 90 for it; I'd rather it go to a fan who really wants it. So bid what you like - or what you can afford. You might get it. It is Christmas after all. Regards, Tom Gorham 30 Fettes Row, Edinburgh EH3 6RH 0131 557 9781 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1996 08:02:20 -0800 From: Chris Turner Subject: Radioheart To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Hello there I saw on the mail that someone has managed to get "Radio Heart" on CD. This song is one of my biggest all time favourites. If anyone knows how I can get this CD, I would really appreciate it if you let me know. I have this one on lp, and I have to admit that apart from the ones with Gary's vocals on, its not up to much. Something I seem to find quite odd, is that people frequently mention on the digest that they battle to get Numan CD's in the States. When I was over there in August this year, I was practically able to complete my Numan collection. I went to Tower Records in San Francisco and they had stacks of Numan CD's. Here in South Africa we battle to get Gary's stuff unless you import, which makes it very expensive. Hence, whenever I go overseas, I always come back with any Gary CD's I can't get my hands on. I just hope I'll be able to get EXILE when it is finally released!!! At least one can order stuff now on the net and stick it on the credit card. Cheers then, all the best to everyone on the Digest, have a great Xmas and a festive 1997. Chris -- Chris Turner Email: cturner@cash.co.za ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1996 09:21:13 -0800 From: dlangs@sunstroke.sdsu.edu (Derek Langsford) Subject: Radio Heart material To: numan@cs.uwp.edu "S.B.Davenport" said: >the only other bits to be scrounged out of this era are the Numan >penned b-side tracks which are okay. Mistasax 2 though was only ever >available on the 12-inch of Radio Heart with the blue (as >opposed to black) sleeve, which makes it a bit difficult to get hold >of. 'Mistasax 2' was actually put on one of Gary's Babylon CD EPs that are available from his NuWORLD site or via the UK Fan Club. I understand Numa confused "Mistasax 1" and 2 and they are swapped on Volumes 2 and 4 from what is listed on the discs. "Rumour" as well as "River", two other Numan-penned Radio Heart b-sides, are also on Babylon CDs. Go to http://www.numan.co.uk/gnuworld/gsalvation.html to see the track listings for the Babylon CDs. Derek -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Derek H. Langsford Ph.D. dlangs@sunstroke.sdsu.edu Dept. of Biology Tel. (619) 594 2885 San Diego State University Fax (619) 594 7831 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1996 09:35:35 +0800 (SST) From: Mark Winn Subject: Sound Bites To: numan@cs.uwp.edu To add to the comments recently about Numan CD sound quality ... I recently bought a new amp which has very crisp reproduction compared to my old amp (which was no slouch) The good news is that Gary's albums Sacrifice and Machine + Soul are now quite listenable The bad news is that it cost me around US$800 to be able to hear the fabulous Sacrifice and the comparitively poor Machine + Soul The problem is that both albums sound like they were recorded with equipment housed in cardboard boxes ! Apparently this is due to poor mastering - bastards! I guess the rest of us will have to sit around and wait and get re-issues in the far future or wait for Asylum 4, 5, 6, 7... On a different point I am now waiting for Radial Pair, Babylons and Strange Charm to arrive at my abode here in Singapore .. FOR THE RECORD MY FAV SONG IS "THE 1930'S RUST" SO STICK THAT IN YOUR PIPE AND SMOKE IT ! Cheers, Mark Winn "Hey pig. Yeah you. Hey pig-piggy-pig-pig-pig. What the hell's got into you." ############################################ # Name: Mark Winn # # Position: Principal Systems Analyst # # Company: SWi Pte Ltd, Singapore # # E-mail: mark@SWi.com.sg # # WWW: http://www.SWi.com.sg/~mark/ # ############################################ Please, won't somebody tell me what diddie-wa-diddie means? ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1996 19:28:55 -0800 From: "Rudolph Ronay" Subject: Tribal and Wonder Eye To: Hi: It seems to me that the early versions of Gary's songs sound like pure NUMAN. Tribal, Wonder Eye, We take Mystery to Bed, I'm a Poser etc. Shame on Me Rudy ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1996 10:55:14 -0800 From: dlangs@sunstroke.sdsu.edu (Derek Langsford) Subject: Year Summary To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Another year is almost over. It's been a whirlwind in so many ways. It started off with high hopes but perhaps those hopes have not been fully realized. After Babylon 7 slipped out of Numan HQ, it looked like Gary was going to come back to the fore with Polygram TV picking up "Premier Hits" and a new album to follow. While "Premier Hits" made the UK Top 30 album chart, faltering at 21 and plummeting soon thereafter, was unexpectedly disappointing for what should have been a must-purchase for many in the UK who grew up in the late 70s and 80s. The limited success of "Premier Hits" again suggested that Gary's Beggars Banquet material has reached most of the people it will ever reach and that there are limitations to how many more times it can be repackaged and reissued. It's time to put "Cars' to bed for at least a decade. These events tell me Gary needs to concentrate on his more recent and new material if he is going to expand his fan base and sales. His reluctance to put together a 1984-96 singles collection therefore baffles me as well as lets other, less than collectible budget compilations partially fill the gap. Those compilations "The Story So Far" boxed set, "Archive" and "Best of Gary Numan 1984-96" are all redundant rehashes of dubious quality. They may help people segue from the Beggars Banquet years to his Numa years but I'd rather see a definitive new singles compilation with the IRS singles too adn no live material. Gary successfully played his first festival shows this summer and reached a potentially wider audience but while auditioning several songs from the new album, no one has seen sight nor sound of it. We are now in the longest ever drought between Numan albums - more than 2 years. And it is frustrating to fans knowing that "Exile" has been pretty near complete for many months now. Gary's pitch to UK companies seems to have fallen flat so he is looking to the US, perhaps an even tougher nut to crack as he was never a household name here like he was in the UK in the early 80s. Maybe that will be an advantage, I don't know. It's be weird for Gary's albums to have to be imported to the UK for release. At least we saw the reissue of two increasingly rare Numan albums on CD. Fans were able to by "The Fury" and "Strange Charm" again on CD for the first time in 10 years. "The Fury" was even in it's extended form making the original CD release still very collectible. But what happened to the "Isolate Tour" album, Gary has promised; the "Living Ornaments '79/Wembley '81" set BB have been proininsing for more than a year? The '96 tour album and video have been delayed till after "Exile" is released. "Babylon 8" is forming but tracks details are still not clear. While bands are doing covers of Numan songs, left and right, the BB tribute album appears in jeopardy according to rumours. This is worrisome as it would have been one way to introduce a new generation of music listeners to Gary. If this project gets shelved it will be a serious blow to any future success. So while Gary's career has received recognition it seems that the follow-up has been less than positive. Record companies are not overly interested, Gary seems to be very, perhaps overly, cautious, and much of the momentum that was felt last spring has been lost. Remember the UK music media were saying everyone would hear a lot about Gary Numan in 1996? Didn't quite pan out did it? Pardon my despondancy, perhaps I am stressing over not finding work immediately after completing my doctorate. I just feel things could have gone better in 1996 for Gary and his music but several opportunities were missed or not follwed-up. Maybe these things are above my head. One can always second guess. Lets hope 1997 will be better and go further to meet our expectations. Happy holidays, Derek -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Derek H. Langsford Ph.D. dlangs@sunstroke.sdsu.edu Dept. of Biology Tel. (619) 594 2885 San Diego State University Fax (619) 594 7831 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ End of Gary Numan Digest ******************************