GARY NUMAN – Announces vinyl reissues of classic albums

GARY NUMAN - RETURNS TO MANCHESTER ACADEMY FOR SPECIAL 25th ANNIVERSARY SHOW

Gary Numan is a pioneer, and his influence on so many artists is unmistakable and grand. Gary’s style connects him with fans of multiple genres… electronic, industrial, indie-rock, metal, etc. He remains an innovator, and his fan base continues to grow.

The LP versions of these albums have had scattered availability over the years, and we’re pleased to put them back in print widely again. All the albums are on standard black vinyl and have been cut from high-resolution digital files (96 khz / 24 bit transfers from the analog master tapes) by award-winning engineer John Dent at loud mastering. Replicas and The Pleasure Principle are single LPs and Telekon is a double LP.

REPLICAS is the second and final album by Gary Numan + Tubeway Army and was originally released in 1979. It was the first album in what Numan referred to as the “machine” phase of his career, which these three albums comprise. The song “Are Friends’ Electric?” was a surprise number one UK hit single and this album was a huge breakthrough. Replicas began as a concept album, based on a book that Numan never completed about a futuristic metropolis where androids with cloned human skin called “Machmen” team up with machines to keep citizens controlled under fear and force.

THE PLEASURE PRINCIPLE is Gary Numan’s third studio album (and debut under his own name) and marked the point where he became a huge international solo star, reaching the Top 10 in the US with “Cars” and Top 20 with the album itself. Given the conservative nature of the music scene in America at that time and the fact that the LP didn’t even feature any guitars, let alone conventional song structures (“Cars” doesn’t even have a chorus), this is one of those special moments in pop music when a new idea breaks through all the boundaries. The Pleasure Principle pioneered electronic pop music on a new scale, becoming a much bigger hit worldwide than Kraftwerk or anything from the Bowie/Eno Berlin trilogy. And the fact that it was so different and had such a major impact in America (crystallized when Numan performed “Cars” and “Praying To The Aliens” in front of 40 million people on Saturday Night Live) meant that there was a direct link from The Pleasure Principle to the new musical forms that were born in the USA over the next decade – namely hip hop, industrial and techno.

TELEKON was released in 1980 and was Numan’s third successive #1 album in the UK. Unlike it’s predecessor The Pleasure Principle, Telekon had plenty of guitars, along with strings and lush synthesizer textures. While it was hard to follow up the previous release, Telekon proved to be hugely influential. Trent Reznor claimed to have listened to it every day during the making of Pretty Hate Machine. Telekon was originally released as a single album but being so long, it lost some of the dynamic range. This release is over four sides of vinyl and includes bonus singles, B-sides, alternate mixes and an out-take.

 

Gary Numan also will be playing a series of concerts in the autumn in Los Angeles and London, performing these albums. See below for dates. At the shows, Gary will also be selling a show-only limited edition coloured vinyl version of these albums.

He’s been name-checked as an influence by everyone from Kanye West to Foo Fighters and Queens Of The Stone Age, and an ever-growing list of artists have covered and sampled his music. These range from Basement Jaxx to Damon Albarn; Afrika Bambaataa to RZA and GZA from the Wu-Tang Clan.

LIVE DATES:
29 Sept – Los Angeles, CA – The Teragram – performing Replicas
30 Sept – Los Angeles, CA – The Teragram – performing The Pleasure Principle
1 Oct – Los Angeles, CA – The Teragram – performing Telekon

21 Oct – London, UK – The Forum – performing Replicas
22 Oct – London, UK – The Forum – performing The Pleasure Principle
23 Oct – London, UK – The Forum – performing Telekon
24 Oct – Manchester, UK – Manchester Academy

Xsnoize Author
Mark Millar is the founder of XS Noize and looks after the daily running of the website as well as hosting interviews for the weekly XS Noize Podcast. Mark's favourite album is Achtung Baby by U2.

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