Gary Numan Digest Thu, 12 Mar 98 Volume 1 : Issue 415 Today's Topics: ( ) 100% male? [Fwd: Introduction of T Miller] Birthday Blues Boxed set? cleopatra compilation cd convention etc Fear Factory First Impressions - addendum Gary's singing style Gary Numan Digest V1 #414 Gary Numan interview in FWR#13 GN top 10 My Top 10--Er, 15--Er--and other stuff-- my top 20 New Member Intoduction. Numan Convention 1998 NUMAN ON VH1 QUIZ SHOW!!! NumanWilson NUMAN WREAKS HAVOC IN VENEZUELA! Photograph Random 2, First impressions Random 2 review (2 msgs) Vox ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: Mon, 09 Mar 1998 11:41:27 EST From: stevie@uk.ibm.com Subject: ( ) To: numan@cs.uwp.edu To Michael Day........ Michael, It saddens me that you won't listen to Exile due to the lyrical content of the songs. This is simply an isolated example of why many people including Numan and myself have examined our spiritual feelings deeply and come out on the Anti-God/Religion side. In general, this "refusal to listen" to the ideals and thoughts of another being, because of colour, creed, sex, disability or disagreement is a trait common to almost every major religion on the planet. These religous differences have caused the deaths of millions of people throughout history and this simply cannot be reconciled with the ideals of peace and love which all these religions are supposedly founded. This idea of inherent conflict between good and evil has been developed stunningly by Numan and has resulted in, for me, a staggering, thought provoking piece of work. It has had this effect on you and you don't want to think about it. Maybe you do have doubts but do not want to examine them further at this time or are scared of what you might become to understand. Exile is not an evil work and does not promote evil acts. Indeed, Numan and many other non-beleivers are, like many religeous people, capable of all the things that religion promotes and being a non-beleiver can be every bit as comforting. You are cofortable with your beleif in God, but I am comfortable in the knowledge that there is no God and that I will rot, ie not go to Heaven or Hell. Exile may be more challenging to you than to the rest of us, but to dismiss it as such is a crime and I urge you to be more tolerant of what is ultimately an entertainment and artistic product. Art and entertainment have historically challenged the long held establishment views and been proved correct, Exile is no different. I wish you peace, happiness, and a deeper understanding. I hope also that through listening to Exile you may either re-affirm your belief or challenge your views radically, whatever the future may hold, may it all be positive. Regards Stevie EXT. 25661 , MP 17R , E-MAIL stevie@uk.ibm.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 9 Mar 1998 21:56:11 -0500 From: brezniakdavid@webtv.net (David Brezniak) Subject: 100% male? To: numan@cs.uwp.edu who, me?? Well...as some of you know, nope. :-) As a matter of fact...I'm only 80% male.. the rest of me is a 'happy male'. (Please replace happy with the awful 'g' word that is mis-used so often... BTW...Thanx for the flowers (you know who) :-) 'Berserkled'..:-) Dave ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 09 Mar 1998 10:07:08 -0800 From: Dusty Miller Subject: [Fwd: Introduction of T Miller] To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Message-ID: <35042A5E.2580@coastnet.com> Date: Mon, 09 Mar 1998 09:51:31 -0800 From: Dusty Miller Reply-To: manxman@coastnet.com X-Mailer: Mozilla 3.0-C-AICK1-2 (Macintosh; U; PPC) MIME-Version: 1.0 To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Subject: Introduction of T Miller Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi As a new subscriber to Numan Digest here are few lines about myself and my history as a Numan fan. My name is Tracey and I have been a fan of Gary's for many years. I have seen him in concert 16 times between 1983 and 1990 but since moving to Canada in 1990 I have found it difficult (until now) to get information on new releases, concerts, etc. We (my husband and myself) have only just made it on to the Net and I now see that I am not the only one in North America to have heard of Gary!!!! I really don't know what else to say! I have most of Gary's recordings (most on vinyl and CD) and look forward to hearing from other fans soon. Tracey ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 8 Mar 1998 14:02:07 EST From: Hopey77 Subject: Birthday Blues To: numan@cs.uwp.edu I'm still stuck on crutches, alas (THREE WEEKS NOW- ugh). Saw DARK CITY -= good=0Aflick until the last 15 minutes I thought. Too bad DARK wasn't us= ed in the=0Afilm, woulda been perfect. I mentioned to a friend that today= was Numan's 40th=0Aand she said "WOW! It's a national holiday for you!!!= !". Glad to see the=0Abirthday card site was full of well wishes, and gla= d to see my tattoo got on=0Athere! I got REPLICAS/THE PLAN on CD arriving in the mail next week=85 something= to=0Alook forward to while I take a few days off from work. Too bad Numan's tour starts in May (for me anyway). I don't think I can t= ake=0Atime off and follow the man. I'll try though! I may switch jobs at = that time=0Aand it would be perfect to take a week off. A good excuse any= way... If he=0Atours around Boston/NYC us Numanoids in the East oughta ge= t together! Let's=0Aplan... A Hopeful Hopey=0A ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Mar 1998 21:52:17 -0800 From: Derek Langsford Subject: Boxed set? To: numan@cs.uwp.edu In Digest #414 "James Chapman" posted: > Does anybody know if the box set will include the live albums, and >not just studio albums? If not can I still get copies of Ghost and >White Noise? (I have Dream Corrosion and Dark Light is in the shops). >Will there be a live album released from the Exile tour? > What about B-sides on the boxed set? While Gary hasn't detailed the precise tracks listings here's what I can pass along about the boxed set. 5 CDs - Berserker, The Fury, Strange Charm, Machine and Soul, Sacrifice. All CDs will have the original versions on them - no extended mixes (the very first time for this version of Berserker on CD, and the first time since 1985 for The Fury). CDs will contain appropriate b-sides but not alternative mixes of album tracks. All the material is being remastered by Hatch Farm - the place that mastered Exile. Additional artwork for all the CDs will be included. Release date in the UK - May 3rd. Numa CDs are officially deleted so get the live stuff while you can. There won't be any more going into shops after current stock sells. Exile Extended mixes due for UK release April 13. Derek ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Derek H. Langsford "Numanews" San Diego, California, USA The Gary Numan Digest email numan-request@cs.uwp.edu to subscribe ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Mar 1998 17:42:06 -0800 From: theartdept@att.net (rod) Subject: cleopatra compilation cd To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Hello. I am doing a 2 cd retrospective of the Numa material for Cleopatra. I am having a real hard time deciding which tracks to use!! How can you whittle five studio albums and four double live albums down to two 75 minute cds!! The pressure is enormous!! Here are the tracks I am considering. Please let me know if you have an opinion. I am admittedly weak with the live material (as I am not a fan of it), and with the Machine and Soul album as I do not consider most of that material consistent with the quality of his other albums. The track order will change and is not final by any means... My Dying Machine (Berserker) 9.40 Berserker (Berserker) 6.40 Cold Warning (Berserker) Call out the Dogs (The Fury) 4.42 Your Fascination (Fury) 4.46 New Thing from London Town (Strange Charm) 5.56 My Breathing (Strange Charm) 6.39 In a Glass House (Machine and Soul) 4.12 Deadliner (Sacrifice) 4.29 Love and Napalm (Sacrifice) 5.07 Pray (Sacrifice) 3.57 A Question of Faith (Sacrifice) 4.52 Are Friends Electric (Ghost) I Die You Die (Dark Light) My Shadow in Vain (Ghost) Praying to the Aliens (Dark Light) Metal (Ghost) That's Too Bad (Dream Corrosion) You are in my Vision (Dream Corrosion) We Are Glass (Ghost) Cars (Ghost) Me I Disconnect from You (Ghost) Down in the Park (Ghost) Every Day I Die (Dark Light) Stormtrooper in Drag (Dark Light) Do You Need the Service (Dark Light) Music for Chameleons (Dark Light) We Are so Fragile (Dream Corrosion) I want to keep the studio tracks separate from the live tracks but am not sure that will be the final result. The cd will either be called "Remodulation" or "Chronicles" and will be a 2 cd set that may be released as separate cds. Watch for my first project with Cleopatra which should be released April 14 (subject to change) called "The Mix". Cleopatra will also be releasing the White Noise cd and one other double live cd (possibly Dark Light) in the next few months. The packaging will be different from the original UK versions. They will not be remastered. Feel free to send me your suggestions! Best wishes, Rod Los Angeles PS I got the Beggars Banquet 'Random 2' cd yesterday. They have 'remixed' the songs to the point of unrecognizability. I do not like it at all... Nice packaging though!! ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 09 Mar 1998 08:52:16 GMT From: tfreeman@celltech.co.uk Subject: convention etc To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Hi :) Just a quick note to say I loved the convention , could do perhaps with a bit more in the afternoon but hey ...... Dig were ok , perhaps not quite my style although Ade did do a great version of "creep" and as for Gary himself ! what can I say brilliant as always ..... I do wonder tho why after all this time he still needs to read the words to Jo the Waiter. Awesome bit of the night , the sound check ,good job I love "Friends" Met some great people there ( you know who u are ) Peter Gilbert ! what a man :) Finally anybody thinking about buying Random 2 , unless you're one of these who collects any vaguely Numan related stuff or you love rave / techno don't bother , was a huge disappointed for me I can tell you . Tina Freeman ( LADY ) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 9 Mar 1998 22:49:56 -0800 From: Danny Burrell Subject: Fear Factory To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Hi there, Danny here from Berkshire. I just read in Nuworld that Gary was going to do some work with Fear Factory in The States this week. I did a search on Fear Factory and mailed them to see how it went. Basically Gary went last week to record vocals on their version of cars. They replied and are chuffed to say the least, he also did an intro for another track of theirs. So watch out for their album coming soon . They are also massive Numan fans. Thanks for the info on the Stockholm gig being transmitted, looking forward to that, the only problem is that I have a gig in London with my own band on that night........GUTTED!! See ya. P.S Dis anyone go to the convention ?? if so, how was it ? ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Mar 1998 13:23:00 -0000 From: "MARSH, Phil" Subject: First Impressions - addendum To: "'Numan Digest'" ok, in my rush to give you all the benefit of my opinions (ahem...), I completely missed off We Are Glass, so... We Are Glass: More "boink boink boink boink" drum track, with a few changes in percussion sounds now and again. There may be a bit of sampled Gary in there, but its a very brief sample looped to buggery, so its hard to tell for sure. Really bloody dull. The Iceman Comes has now been listened to, as well. Uses a fair amount of the original vocal and is quite a moody, atmospheric piece - noodly noises, skip beats here and there, "new age" background samples. Different from most of the stuff on the album and makes a nice closer. One last thing - the album lasts for almost 70 mins. Ah well, that'll teach me not to be so hasty next time.... :-) ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Mar 1998 12:31 -0700 (MST) From: "Stephen.Austra-beck" Subject: Gary's singing style To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Just a passing thought I may have mentioned a few years ago. What has most intrigued me about Gary's music is his singing style sounds very fluid, it reminds me of liquid. It's very stylized, yes, and interesting. Best to you all. /// Stephen Austra-Beck ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 09 Mar 98 10:35 From: JCHOM@hampco.com (Choma, James D.) Subject: Gary Numan Digest V1 #414 To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Top Ten in no particular order 1. Angel Wars 2. Bleed 3. A Child With The Ghost 4. Call Out The Dogs 5. I Die: You Die 6. The Secret 7. This is New Love 8. Skin Game 9. Seed of a Lie 10. This is My House ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 09 Mar 1998 19:06:45 -0500 From: Robby Garner Subject: Gary Numan interview in FWR#13 To: David Datta This interview appears in FringeWare Review issue #13 available now. see http://www.fringeware.com/ for more information. Here are the questions I asked Gary by email. RG: Here in the states, you are probably most famous for your hit single 'Cars', but I also remember your appearance on Saturday Night Live when you also performed 'Praying to the Aliens.' Did you enjoy that appearance or were you guys really as pissed off as you looked? GN: No-one was pissed off but we were told that the audience figures for that show were in excess of 50 million people so we were probably terrified. We played live and it went out live so the embarrassment factor for making a mistake was huge. RG: 'Praying to the Aliens' always struck me as relevant to UFO's or to whatever are the powers that be. Do you believe in UFO's? What about intelligent life? (here or elsewheres :) GN: I believe that intelligent life exists in a billion places, at least, other than Earth. I believe absolutely that UFO's exist but it does strike me as strange that we have yet to get one single irrefutable photograph to back up that belief. RG: Your earlier music involved a lot of science fiction themes. Many of your albums from 'REPLICAS' up through 'TELEKON' (and maybe ' I ASSASSIN') originally appealed to me because of my own tastes in science fiction and I found that aspect very interesting. But your music has always seemed rather introspective and perhaps philosophical about the human experience as well. what kind of themes are you interested in now, and what kind of music are you interested in at the moment? GN: Musically I like a lot of things but, most of all at the moment, Gravity Kills, Nine Inch Nails, Radio Iodine and stuff in that vein. Musically my own stuff leans a litle towards those bands but only a little. The themes of the forthcoming 'EXile' album look at the idea that God and the Devil are one and the same, that Heaven and hell are the same place. It then goes back and looks at certain accepted understandings of religious teaching or imagery and reinterprets them. For example, in a song called 'Dead Heaven', Mary is raped by the three wise men. GN: No it wasn't ever intended to be a double album although the extra songs you mention do form part of the overall, and very vague, idea I had for the storyline behind the album. The storyline, unclear and unfinished as it was, was along the lines of machines rule the place, machines realise that the weak link in an orderly society is man and so comes up with schemes to eliminate man in such a way that man doesn't notice until it's too late. A quota test was introduced in the guise of finding the less intelligent in society and re-educating them. In reality these people were killed off. Each month the cut off point for re-education was raised slightly under the guise of improving standards. Greymen carried out the tsts. Machmen were the police force and were Terminator type things strangely enough, machines with a cloned skin. There is a lot more but that was the basis behind the short stories that I was writing which I eventually turned into the 'Replicas' songs. RG: How does your most recent music compare to your albums like 'METAL RHYTHM' and 'BERSERKER'? Or to the earlier albums? (like 'REPLICAS') GN: Hard to answer really as I'm too close to all of them to be truly obective. I would say that my more recent music is darker than anything I've ever done before, lyrically and musically although it is also the most aggressive, groove orientated and powerful. Dark music does not have to be ponderous or depressing and I've worked hard on trying to create very rhythmic music that will work well in a live situation. It's all geared towards taking it on stage. RG: I'd love to hear you perform live, your live recordings are excellent. What is the best source for your current releases? I know Frank Zappa preferred being self produced for some time - can we get CD's directly from your company? GN: Things are changing all the time. Yesterday we were hoping to set up licencing deals around the world and, failing that, the best bet would have been via the web site at http://www.numan.co.uk/ but this morning we had an extremely good record deal offered to me so we now wait to see what happens with that. If the deal comes together I will be back on an international label so it should become a lot easier to get Numan stuff anywhere in the world. RG: Robert Palmer covered your song "I Dream of Wires" on one of his albums. Did you collaborate with him on this or did he take it all on himself? GN: He took that song and worked on it mainly without me although I was there for the early sessions. We did work together on two other songs at that time called 'Style Kills' and 'Found You Now'. RG: The 2 CD compilation "Random" features a myriad of artists covering your songs. How does it feel to be such an influence on other musicians? Are you always flattered when someone wants to cover your songs or do you sometimes find it annoying? GN: I'm always flattered, yes. As a songwriter to have other artists want to cover your songs is a great honour and is obviously a very satisfying endorsment of my songwriting abilities. It makes me very proud, always. RG: Bands like Nine Inch Nails use sequencers extensively to make their music, but I've heard they use tape decks when performing live to keep things simple. I'm also aware that Reznor, like myself, is a Gary Numan fan. Do you listen to Nine Inch Nails ? :) GN: Yes, I'm a big Nine Inch Nails fan. I'm hoping that maybe I can do something with Trent Reznor one day in the future. I know that he produced Marilyn Mansons version of my 'Down In The Park' song a while ago. RG: Do you use computers in the making of your music now? If so, does that include sequencing? And what are your thoughts about using sequencers during live performances? GN: I've been using computers and sequencing for years, 14 or 15 years at least. I think the decision to use sequencers live or not is down to how reliable the individual artist believes his system to be. I can't get my computer to sequence properly in the studio for more than 10 minutes at a time so I've never wanted to take a sequencer on the road. If I have songs that require a large number of small parts to be played I put them onto tape and let the machine play them. I leave the main parts for the musicians. If you accept that machines are necessary in a live situation with some modern music, and I do, then the best machines to use to play those parts are those that are the most reliable. I don't have any faith in the reliability of computers, even though I use them for almost everything outside of stage work. RG: I know you get questions all the time about your extensive use of analog synthesizers. Do the new digital synthesizers and samplers stand up? Are you all digital now or do you still keep some analog synths around? GN: I actually don't have any allegiance whatsoever to analogue snths. I use whatever I think sounds best. Much of this harping back to analogue is done by people that didn't have to use them when they were all we had. It's almost a fashion statement. I like digital, I think they have helped to create some of the most amazing sounds and textures. Once in a while I wheel out my old Oberheim OBXa though and that still has a lot to offer. I think people should care less about the type of synthesis they use and worry more about the quality of sound they're getting out of whatever equipment they're using. RG: Do you still play guitar much? What instruments do you use for writing? GN: I play guitar more now than I have for years. I played nearly all the guitar on my last album 'Sacrifice' and the new 'Exile' album. I use guitar, keybaords, normally on a piano pre-set, and samplers to write with. Quite often I start with drum grooves and then layer melody on top. I'm thinking about writing the next album entirely on guitar to see if I can still do it. RG: A lot of people listen to music while driving a car. Do you? and if so what do you listen to? Also, as a licensed pilot, do you ever listen to music while flying a plane? GN: I rarely listen to music at all, even my favourite bands only get a few plays per month. I listen to stuff that I'm working in the car as I find it easier to come up with extra ideas for the songs outside the studio. In the studio I put too much pressure on myself and often come up with very little, I go for a drive and come up with all kinds of things. GN: I have seen one thing but it wasn't while flying around the world. I was driving home from the studio at about 2 o'clock in the morning with Michelle, my girlfriend at that time. It was very dark and a little damp as it had been raining and the cloud cover was quite low. The road that we were on was a small country road which, at one point took us alongside a major motorway junction where the M3 and M25 motorways interconnect. As the junction came into view a light shone down out of the clouds. The strange thing about the beam is that it appeared to be the shape of an upside down pyramid. The point of the beam appeared to just touch the surface of the road. At the point at which it came through the cloud it was perfectly square, and very large. It didn't move and there was no sound that I could make out. I stopped the car and, quite frightened to be honest, we watched this thing for several seconds. From my local knowledge I could tell that the cloud base was only about 400 feet up at best and that the width of the beam at is came through the cloud was at least that if not more. This ruled out helicopters, as did the lack of noise, and any other flying vehicle that I'm aware of. Things can hover I know but they are from silent machines. The light vanished as quickly as it came, like flicking off a switch. RG: Your website at http://www.numan.co.uk/ is a very comprehensive coverage of your activities and recordings. Are you actively involved in the design of that site or the authoring? GN: I'm the one and only person involved in its design and upkeep. I learnt the html by viewing as source pages that I liked and then slowly put my own site together. I try to completely redesign it once a year. I have a scanner at home and various pieces of design software so the design isn't that hard. Finding the time to keep it regularly updated is becoming increasingly difficult though. Robby Garner Staff Roboticist FringeWare Inc. http://www.fringeware.com/~robitron/ robitron@fringeware.com + ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 09 Mar 1998 08:13:40 -0500 From: Terrence Thoman Subject: GN top 10 To: Gary Numan Digest Any song's inclusion and order is subject to my frame of mind at a given moment, but here's the list as I cudgel the question today: 1. Metal 2. Moral 3. Slowcar to China 4. Down In The Park 5. Heart 6. Whisper 7. We Take Mystery to Bed 8. Seed of A Lie 9. Bombers 10. Dark Terrence. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 8 Mar 1998 23:28:04 -0800 From: Pythoness Subject: My Top 10--Er, 15--Er--and other stuff-- To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Ten years ago today I was celebrating my first annual Day of Despond, which I had decided to honor on the occasion of Mr. Webb's 30th birthday, since his turning 30 and whatnot seemed very well, at that time, to symbolize lost innocence and direction to me. Before anyone gets upset ;-), let me add that since then I've never celebrated the same thing twice, but I do set the day aside (and, when possible, take the day off work), listen to Numan, and celebrate something that needs celebrating. Today I celebrated my renewal of innocence, in fact, and Gary's 40th with marriages and new musical directions worked very well for that, too. Like the true intellectual artiste I am, I work as a cashier and line cook in a Greyhound bus stop diner and I politely but firmly told my boss that I was simply going to play Numan all day, which I proceeded to do. I patiently waited for someone to ask me who I was listening to, and, when I ran out of patience, I told a few selected people (naturally, being the true intellectual artiste I am, I am also the Weird Lady Who Works at the Bus Stop Diner and, witn a reputation as A Character, can say whatever the hell I want to). Getting to the point (be patient with me: I'm long-winded but I don't post often these days), I scribbled a tentative Top Ten-Give-Or-Take-A-Few list, and here it is, with comments where I couldn't help it. You Are In My Vision: Fell in love with YAIMV when I read the lyrics my first boyfriend showed me. First song I learned on guitar and bass. These days I'm thinking about trying to arrange Down in the Park on a Celtic harp.) My Shadow in Vain: Any version. It Must Have Been Years: A total rouser and I love the sultry guitar solo. Aircrash Bureau: I'm not crazy about Telekon, which to me still marks the place Numan began to sound a bit less sure of himself and never totally recovered his original momentum, but this one is an entire movie of a song, fog machines and all. Tracks: my absolute favorite from PP. Metal: don't like it as much as I did at 16, but liked it so much then it carries over. We Have A Technical: inspired a short story (not plagiaristic a-tall) Jo the Waiter Cry the Clock Said: his most successful ballad, if you want MHO Crime of Passion: anyone else like this one? We Sleep By Windows My Breathing: lifts a beautiful, leonine head above an otherwise very iffy album The Skin Game: ditto. M & S--enh, but Skin Game is incredible. Question of Faith Creatures Child With the Ghost My Dying Machine Cold Warning: ...and most of the rest of Berserker (save Pump it Up, which I skip) CW is also a great bellydance tune 1930's Rust: love where the vocals dip down. OK, going to stop now. Best wishes, y'all. zg Ziggy's House O' Vermin zigi@teleport.com --------------------------- "Come, apple-sweet murmurer! Come, four-angled frame of harmony! Come Summer! Come Winter, from the mouths of harps and bags and pipes!" --The Dagda invoking his harp (four-angled?) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 09 Mar 1998 10:46:04 +0000 From: N6022881 Subject: my top 20 To: numan@cs.uwp.edu for the all time poll, here is my top 20 (in chronological order) Me! I Disconnect From You Are Friends Electric? Airlane I Die:You Die I'm An Agent (Dream corrosion) Crash White Boys and Heroes We Take Mystery Sister Surprise (long album version,not the single) Berserker My Dying Machine Cold Warning Pump it Up Call Out the Dogs Tricks My Breathing Strange Charm Hunger Machine and Soul Dominion Day ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Mar 1998 01:23:18 -0000 From: "PAUL SANDS" Subject: New Member Intoduction. To: This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0004_01BD4C8C.45DEBE80 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hello All at the Numan Digest. Let me introduce myself, my name is Paul Sands and I'm 29 years of age = living in the Brighton area of England. about sixty miles south of = London. I'm brand new to the web and pretty much the only reason I got = hooked up in the first place was to find out if I could get in touch = with other like minded Numan fans, I've got to say it's just about the = best bloody thing I've done in long time, I just can't believe that = there are so amny of you out there. I was getting sick and tired of = people scoffing at my chosen passion. I don't what the attitude is across the water but here in Britain Gary is looked upon as some kind of joke, tried to be made a fool of unless the media have something to get out of = it and quite frankly I've had enough of it ! The fact remains that Gary is one of the UK's most successful solo artists of the last two decades and it is about time that he was = recognised for his massive contribution to modern music. My god, hark = at me, I'm in the company of ' Friends' here and preaching to the = converted. I'm so looking forward to chatting to you all and getting = all this off my chest, I'm still astounded that our support is so strong. My other favourite artists include the magnificent Bowie, John Foxx, Nine Inch Nails, Visage and much of the British Indie music that is = currently getting a very good airing on both sides of the Atlantic. I've been a fan of Gary's since, well, pretty much most of my life, but = mainly from 81/82 onwards. He simply is the best thing since sliced = bread as they say. I would class myself as a truly devoted fan, not = least for the fact that I have him tattoed on my arm to look at = everyday. I've seen him live six times but have never actually met him = unfortunately, although I live close to Shoreham Airport where he flies occassionaly as I understand ( if your'e listening Gary, give me the = nod). Well, must go now, got to get up for work tommorrow. I hope this little note tells you all something about me and I look forward to speaking = with you all again soon. Bye for now, Paul. ------=_NextPart_000_0004_01BD4C8C.45DEBE80 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hello All at the Numan Digest. Let me introduce myself, my name is Paul = Sands and I'm=20 29 years of age living in the Brighton area of England. about sixty = miles south=20 of London. I'm brand new to the web and pretty much the only reason I = got hooked=20 up in the first place was to find out if I could get in touch with other = like=20 minded Numan fans, I've got to say it's just about the best bloody thing = I've=20 done in long time, I just can't believe that there are so amny of you = out=20 there. I was getting sick and tired of people scoffing at my chosen passion. I don't = what the=20 attitude is across the water but here in Britain Gary is looked upon = as some=20 kind of joke, tried to be made a fool of unless the media = have=20 something to get out of it and quite frankly I've had enough of it=20 ! The fact remains that Gary is one of the UK's = most=20 successful solo artists of the last two decades and it is = about time=20 that he was recognised for his massive contribution to modern = music. My=20 god, hark at me, I'm in the company of ' Friends' here and preaching to = the=20 converted. I'm so looking forward to chatting to you all and = getting=20 all this off my chest, I'm still astounded that = our support=20 is so strong. My other favourite artists include the = magnificent=20 Bowie, John Foxx, Nine Inch Nails, Visage and much of the = British Indie=20 music that is currently getting a very good airing on both sides of the=20 Atlantic. I've been a fan of Gary's since, well, = pretty much=20 most of my life, but mainly from 81/82 onwards. He simply is the = best=20 thing since sliced bread as they say. I would class myself as a = truly=20 devoted fan, not least for the fact that I have him tattoed on my arm to = look at=20 everyday. I've seen him live six times but have = never actually=20 met him unfortunately, although I live close to Shoreham Airport where = he=20 flies occassionaly as I understand ( if your'e = listening=20 Gary, give me the nod). Well, must go now, got to get up for work = tommorrow. I=20 hope this little note tells you all something about me and = I look=20 forward to speaking with you all again soon. Bye for now, Paul. ------=_NextPart_000_0004_01BD4C8C.45DEBE80-- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Mar 1998 10:04:22 -0000 From: "Craig Land" Subject: Numan Convention 1998 To: "Kraftwerk Mailing List" , This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0068_01BD4C0B.E6023EE0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Well I can report that I was there, the 1998 Numan Convention marking 20 = years in the business for Gary Numan. This was a really good event. = This event was held in the Post House Hotel in Milton Keynes, England. = The main lounge areas were totally set aside for this convention, with = stalls selling Numan related items surrounding the stage where 'Dig', = Numan's support band were scheduled to play. I purchased the new 'Random 2' project, this is Techno remixes of = Numan's material. It is excellent! In another room a projection TV was setup to show Numan video's and = copies of TV appearances he has made recently. Great for all those who = don't get to see daytime cable TV shows! I must say that this whole experience was even more pleasurable for me = as my Internet Pal, Miss Marlene came over from California, USA, for = this event. It was the first time she has ever seen Numan in the 20 = years she has been a fan. Miss Marlene is lovely, she is a great fan, = not as she would say, a 'Dork', but even more important a great person = to be with. As for Numan's appearance, he actually came on with his support band = 'Dig' and played backing guitar and keyboards for 'Dig's' own songs, = then performed a few tracks himself. Most notable is the new version of = the Tubeway Army record, 'Friends'. He also managed to perform a word = perfect version of 'Jo the Waiter', even though he had the words written = on a piece of card!!! Agreat event, of which I can say that I was there and bought the = t-shirt! There was one person I made a point of greeting, he wore a grey cycling = style t-shirt with the text. www.kraftwerk.com on! Unfortunately my = Kraftwerk shirt was in the wash, but I wore my limited edition Numan = Convention shirt instead. That's all for now. Craig. ------=_NextPart_000_0068_01BD4C0B.E6023EE0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Well I can report that I was there, = the 1998=20 Numan Convention marking 20 years in the business for Gary Numan. = This was=20 a really good event. This event was held in the Post House Hotel = in Milton=20 Keynes, England. The main lounge areas were totally set aside for = this=20 convention, with stalls selling Numan related items surrounding the = stage where=20 'Dig', Numan's support band were scheduled to play. I purchased the new 'Random 2' = project, this is=20 Techno remixes of Numan's material. It is excellent! In another room a projection TV was = setup to=20 show Numan video's and copies of TV appearances he has made = recently.=20 Great for all those who don't get to see daytime cable TV = shows! I must say that this whole = experience was even=20 more pleasurable for me as my Internet Pal, Miss Marlene came over from=20 California, USA, for this event. It was the first time she has = ever seen=20 Numan in the 20 years she has been a fan. Miss Marlene is lovely, = she is a=20 great fan, not as she would say, a 'Dork', but even more important a = great=20 person to be with. As for Numan's appearance, he = actually came on=20 with his support band 'Dig' and played backing guitar and keyboards for = 'Dig's'=20 own songs, then performed a few tracks himself. Most notable is = the new=20 version of the Tubeway Army record, 'Friends'. He also managed to = perform=20 a word perfect version of 'Jo the Waiter', even though he had the words = written=20 on a piece of card!!! Agreat event, of which I can say = that I was=20 there and bought the t-shirt! There was one person I made a point of greeting, he = wore a=20 grey cycling style t-shirt with the text. www.kraftwerk.com on! = Unfortunately my=20 Kraftwerk shirt was in the wash, but I wore my limited edition Numan = Convention=20 shirt instead. That's all for now. Craig. ------=_NextPart_000_0068_01BD4C0B.E6023EE0-- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Mar 1998 21:33:58 PST From: "Jenny Beck" Subject: NUMAN ON VH1 QUIZ SHOW!!! To: numan@cs.uwp.edu My friend who is not a numan fan, but who knows that I am.. was watching Vh1 and said they have some new game show on... i guess you have to name the artist.. and they showed a clip form the viedo cars.. and the person guessed right!!!! It made me happy to hear about this. Anyhing I hear about GAry Numan being on TV today makes me happy... even if it's old stuff.. on a new show.. at least it's better than no numan at all. I like when people recognize him like Tricky and Conan O' Brein did. *story so far* -jenny.( a friend called 5) ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 08 Mar 1998 17:15:14 -0800 From: alexander way Subject: NumanWilson To: numan@cs.uwp.edu In response to Mr. Silvey's response to my bit about the Martin in Numan's life, maybe Dave Essex, too? Their version of "On Broadway" live, during blue hair the pre-"Berserker" period. It was very hammy, very Lewis, Martin and even Sammy. I think he's also right about the beginning drumbeat in "Do It Again" as well as the other track mentioned from "20/20," "I Went To Sleep," being "Cry The" similar. I wonder what Numan thinks/thought of the Beach Boys. There most have been some osmosis going on, if nothing else. There's also the classic "oh-woah" Numan vocalising that can be found on Wilson tracks such as "Friends" (very, VERY Numan-sounding) and "Wild Honey" also sounds very "Numanesque" in its theramin playing. There really is a Wilson/Numan connection, much more than a Neil Young/Numan connection or a Frank Zappa/Numan connection. For Numan enthusiasts who haven't experienced Wilson, there's a lot there. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 08 Mar 1998 06:25:46 -0500 From: "Troy L. Walters" Subject: NUMAN WREAKS HAVOC IN VENEZUELA! To: Gary Numan Excellent Peter! I think I saw a piece of this news fottage on CNN? ;) Gary would surely be proud! -- Troy L. Walters Indiana, USA tlwalter@accs.net http://www.accs.net/users/tlwalter/numan/scar.htm -- Beware of the IDGAF Syndrome... ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 09 Mar 1998 18:43:40 -0800 From: Gregor Torrence Subject: Photograph To: numan@cs.uwp.edu (Gary Numan) As I recall from looking at a friend's copy years ago, it's an illegal Australian 'best-of' collection. Some record company released it without getting all the permissions and it was yanked from shelves. It has no unique tracks on it. The other trivia is that the photo on the cover is printed reversed, although what detail gives it away escapes me. -- In short it's only worth 100UKP to a really gonzo collector. Greg. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Gregor Torrence | "It's like terror long dangler mailto:torrence@teleport.com | buddies on a scoop rack... It's http://www.teleport.com/~torrence | a big binge loaf" - Buckethead ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Mar 1998 11:39:00 -0000 From: "MARSH, Phil" Subject: Random 2, First impressions To: "'Numan Digest'" I dare say others have posted their thoughts on this, but I thought I'd add mine too. First, let me say straight off - if you don't like club music at all, and you're not a fan of "boink boink boink boink" four on the floor bass drums, then...don't expect to be that enamoured! Track by Track - Metal: Starts promisingly with the main Metal "riff" heavily filtered, adds drums, takes away the filter...and doesn't go anywhere for the rest of it. Just repeats of the riff, changing the drum pattern (seemingly at random), turning the filter on the riff up and down....doesn't really develop or go anywhere except round in circles. Said all it had to say in the first 90 seconds. Dans Le Parc: Wooden, staccato drum patterns mixed with a noodling, meandering cheesy synth line (which may or may not have been taken from the original track) which vaguely approximates the Down In The Park "tune", while someone with a scarf over their mouth occasionally mumbles over the top in French. Really. I Die:You Die: A bit more lively - drum pattern is a little less "boink boink" and has a bit of variation - in fact it changes a fair bit here and there to keep the interest, and uses the odd snippet of the original vocal (Gary's 1st vocal appearance on the cd). It also uses occasionally synths for other than bass lines. Best track so far. Cars: Jeez...Synth riff (which doesn't appear to be related at all to Cars) repeats while pitch shifted "Voice of Satan" repeats "Here In My Car" a lot. Again, no....bloody....variation....no....bloody....point. Cars: Another go from Dave Clarke (after Random 1). Uses elements of the original track (synths, bass gtr and vocals) and mixes them about - more like a homage to the original rather than a "here's an old dance track I did, let's adapt this and call it Cars" like the preceding one. Warriors: Has some sampled Gary vocals (from the chorus) really radically used...sounds like they're played backwards! Gosh! The rest of it has already disappeared from my memory. Are Friends Electric:the last 2 notes of the riff appear with odd snatches of treated vocal. I listened to this on the tube (subway!) this morning and was convinced that the driver was announcing something over the train's speaker system...until I realised he was saying "Its Cold Outside"...nice effect on the voice anyway! :-) I like this version quite a lot - puts in enough changes here and there to make you want to listen to it more than once. Remember I Was Vapour: Another track with little linking it to the original...ho hum... Films: Much better than the version on Random 1. Uses samples of the original vocal over a modern dance track to mainly good effect. And it doesn't have some twat "toasting" all over it like on Random 1... Good stereo panning effects on the sampled vocals. The Iceman Comes...: Can't comment yet as I got to work before I could listen to this. Sooo...the better tracks are the ones that use elements of the original in an imaginative way to create something danceable and listenable. Too many though seem to have been created by taking some sample loops and sticking them together...and (if they've had a bit longer to think about it) repeating a short Numan lyric over the top. Disappointing overall - too many of the tracks sound the same. Then again if clubbing and nodding your head repetitively (before nodding out) is your thing, then get aboard (ummm...I mean...buy a copy!). No wonder Gary's not appeared too keen on this one... Bye for now Phil pmarsh@tpmde.ac.uk ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 8 Mar 1998 09:37:44 -0500 From: Matthew Roberts Subject: Random 2 review To: Gary Numan The following review appeared on Teletext this week: VARIOUS / GARY NUMAN - Random 2 "A follow-up from last year's album of covers, this collection comprises = 11 remixes of cult synth rock pioneer Gary's early 80's material. Oddly, none of the mixmen on board have reworked tracks from the I, Assassin LP (arguably Gaz's most dance-oriented work) but, less surprisingly, there are two different takes on the classic Cars. Dave Clarke's Cars and Greenhaus' I Die:You Die retain vague traces of Numan's originals, but overall this will appeal more to techno fans than Numanoids. 2.5 out of 5?" ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 9 Mar 1998 16:39:02 -0000 From: "Barry Lynch" Subject: Random 2 review To: "Numan" It was with trepidation that I picked up the Random 2 CD from Beggars Banquet in Putney SW, London, as I thought the Random CD a bit of a disappointment. At 10.99 for a single CD it was reasonably priced, so I took it home and gave it a spin, hoping that this one wouldn't sound like it was recorded in 3 minutes by people who were trying to make the songs unrecognisable without worrying about retaining the quality of the originals. 1) METAL : ROBERT ARMANI OK drum beat plus the original lead synth with a filter effect. Thats it!. No vocals, melody, etc. Sounds like an unfinished backing track. 2) DANS LE PARC : D.J. HELL Still a bit sparse. Drum machine up front, bass lead synth and the plinky plonky bits way in the background, and occasional bloke droning on in distorted monotone french...FOR SEVEN AND A HALF MINUTES. Boy does he sound bored..so would I if I was French! 3) I DIE, YOU DIE : GREENHAUS At last some Numan vocals..well at least a few odd samples. Real 'Techno Techno Techno' drumbeat and some nice synth sounds. This track would go down well at a rave. Some 'meaty' sounds at the five minute mark. I think I quite like this one. 4) CARS : MIKE DEARBORN The first of two 'Cars' remixes. U N R E C O G N I Z E A B L E !. Catchy beat and some bloke with a deep distorted voice saying "In My Tar" every bar (no typo- thats what it sounds like!). Re-mix? there's none of the original, or even the melody, in this one. Still, its quite hypnotic. Not bad. 5) CARS : DAVE CLARKE Now this really is what I would expect a re-mix to be: The original track with the levels of all the instruments radically changed. A new drum beat has been added that I think compliments the song quite well. Paul Gardiner's bass is brought right up to the front. Not bad at all. 6) WARRIORS : DAVE ANGEL I was glad to see this one on the track listing, as the original is one of my favourites. A constant repeating of the word 'control' and some other Numan vocals played backwards. CRAP! 7) ARE 'FRIENDS' ELECTRIC? : LIBERATOR D.J.'S A 'latin meets techno' beat and the last two notes of the original riff, and someone hurriedly saying "scold outside" and "I hate to ask, are friends electric". 8) REMEMBER I WAS VAPOUR : STEVE STOLL Again just a drum beat, and some bloke using his own voice to say "There's nothing here but us". A boring bag of shite! This one also sounds like an unfinished backing track. After five minutes I had to forward to the next track. 9) WE ARE GLASS : CLAUDE YOUNG Strange synth playing arpeggio. Some unidentifiable sample saying "give up". A bit repetitpetipetipetipetitive! FF> time again. 10) FILMS : ALEX HAZZARD Hi-hat beat and a repeating "put it all down" preceding that old techno beat, the 'donk...donk...donk...donk'. This one actually lets Gary sing one of his verses (in the background with lost of echo) but that is the only recognisable bit. 11) THE ICEMAN COMES : PETER LAZONBY The intro sounds very Kraftwerky. Some of the original sounds are mixed quite nicely into the background. This is probably the best produced of the tracks, with the sound layered at various levels, instead of just background and foreground. The vocals (what little there are of them) are up-front and unaffected (except a wavering slur effect that makes it sound as if Gary couldn't hold the note, but thankfully this only used twice). Some nice strings in there too. VERDICT: The problem with both 'Randoms 1&2' is that the majority of the tracks bear little, if any, resemblance to the originals. If these were supposed to be a tribute to Gary, then why do they have very few of his vocals, melodies, sounds, lyrics, etc.? What is it with all of these people that when they re-make or re-mix a song, that they have to remove all that made the songs great, and replace it with crap from their own ego-stuffed heads. Do they really believe that their efforts are an improvement? If so then that explains why we haven't heard of them previously, and probably won't hear of them again. Anyway, I'm sure all of the completists will buy this one, but I would rather have had re-mixes where they started with the original, adjusted the levels, changed one or two of the sounds, improved the beat, AND LEFT THE VOCALS WELL ALONE! Perhaps an idea for Random 3? AND FINALLY.... Are there any Numanoids out there in London who want to meet up? Barry Lynch Streatham, London. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Mar 1998 13:38:47 -0500 From: Matthew Roberts Subject: Vox To: Gary Numan Vox magazine in the UK have given Random 2 a good (if brief) review. The text can be found on Robert Egglestone's excellent web site - Are Friends= Electric. In the same issue, a review of a Blur remix album contains the following lines: "The results are maddeningly hit and miss. William Orbit's spin on Movin'= On is Gary Numan punk-rock blitzkrieg......" I don't know whether that means 'hit' or 'miss' but it's good that Gary seems to be getting more and more recognition in the UK press. ------------------------------ End of Gary Numan Digest ******************************