In the U.S.,
Gary Numan
is remembered as a one-hit-wonder, while back home in his native England, he continued to crank out hit after hit and became a superstar in the process. His icy space-age persona and sound may be forever associated with early-80's British new wave (
Flock of Seagulls
, early
Duran Duran
, etc.), but he was the originator, and today seems pretty darned original.
Numan
was a scholar of the
David Bowie
Ziggy Stardust
-era, and used
Bowie
's space alien approach as a starting point. While retaining his futuristic lyrics,
Gary
stripped
Ziggy
's sound free of the distorted guitar riffing and posturing, and replaced it with clinical synthesizers and a standoffish stage persona. His music also gives off a paranoid vibe at times, as evidenced on the hits
"I Die: You Die"
and
"Are 'Friends' Electric?"
But
's songs can also sedate you (
"Down in the Park"
), while other times sneak up on you (the unexpected punk rocker
"Bombers"
). And of course there's his sole U.S. hit,
"Cars,"
which sounds like a not so distant ancestor to fellow futuristic weirdos
Devo
. ~ Greg Prato