I may have misunderstood the assignment. I wrote a whole essay. 😅
The Pleasure Principle: A Brief Historical Analysis and Review
Although I identify as a music nerd with a huge heart for the history of electronic (dance) music, there are still holes in my collection. Gary Numan’s The Pleasure Principle somehow eluded me. I was only familiar with the single Cars as it cropped up in popular culture. The success of songs that sampled tracks like M.E. had also caught my attention, but I never looked deeper into Numan’s work.
In this text, I review my listening process and how I approached two major listening sessions. Next, I provide a context for Gary Numan’s musical style. This primarily comprises research into the historical context surrounding the album's creation and release. It also features a brief discussion about my thoughts on Numan’s sound design. I then analyze each track in order as they appeared on the original album release. I note my positive and negative observations, as well as my interpretation of the lyrics where applicable. Finally, I share my thoughts and research regarding the impact of this album on other musical artists.
My research for this project has made it clear to me just how much Numan has influenced multiple generations of listeners and artists alike. I am glad I have given this album its due.
Methodology
My general approach was two primary listening sessions: one passive, and another active. I choose to only listen to the ten tracks found on the original release of the album, ignoring any bonus material featured on deluxe, reissues, or other versions.
As a passive listening experience, the album served as a soundtrack as I completed chores and ran errands. This process allowed for moments of interest to jump out to me. These are often smaller musical events, such as a piece of sound design or a catchy riff. Anything I found peculiar or interesting would be a more raw reaction as it interrupted whatever mundane task I was engaged in. I made a few mental notes to address in a track-by-track breakdown.
In my active listening session, I focused on following along with lyric sheets. I often find that lyrics escape me, especially the first few times I listen to a new piece of music. There were also multiple tracks on this album where I had difficulty understanding what Gary Numan was singing and I required a transcription to clarify his words.
I note that, prior to my active listening session, I played through the entirety of SOMA for the first time. A chance conversation with my partner inspired me to play the game. We waxed philosophic about topics like Artificial Intelligence and what makes up sentient or sapient life. SOMA primarily explores the concept of continuity, as well as our relationships to robots and machines. I will admit it coloured my listening experience after completing the game. Across multiple tracks, I found the lyrics of The Pleasure Principle explored adjacent, futuristic themes, with some songs told from the perspective of an Android.
I also find it interesting to research and understand the context surrounding an album’s production. Using documentaries, interviews, biographies, as well as articles that discussed the state of Britain in the late 70s, I investigated the lasting impact of this album. Namely, I sought the lens of artists directly inspired by the work, and/or sought to sample/interpolate the material. I have found the stories surrounding the creation of this album just as fascinating as the ones that have resulted from its impact over the years.
Gary Numan's Musical Style
Historical Context
I’d argue that the decade leading up to this album’s release had a major influence on its style and direction. As Paul Tinline (2019) documented, the end of the 70s was culminating in a fraught and tense cultural climate:
Britain was in an extreme frame of mind, in those last months before Margaret Thatcher won the May 1979 election. The government struggled with inflation, strikes and, increasingly, unemployment. Well-qualified professionals had been fleeing to America, while migrants from the Commonwealth had been arriving, to widespread hostility. Vandalism, football hooliganism and squatting were commonplace. Britain was a nation on the edge. And to some, extremism – of left or right – seemed the only answer.
Both prior to (and coinciding with) his solo work with The Pleasure Principle, Numan was the lead singer and guitarist for the punk band Tubeway Army. Their first singles are distinctly punk, with the only semblance of electronic influence being a fluctuating synth on the single Bombers. Their 1978 self-titled album takes a stark turn into embracing electronic sounds. Replicas released earlier the same year as The Pleasure Principle, with singles from both projects entering the charts. As Numan tells it in his interview with John Paul Titlow (2016), the shift to a deeply more electronic sound began as an accidental discovery:
I went to a studio called Spaceward in Cambridge in 1978 to record a punk album. It was going to be our debut album [with Tubeway Army]. I get to the studio and my mates are unloading the guitars and the drums and I went in to say hello [to] the man that was managing the studio. There was a Minimoog D in the corner. I had never seen a real one before and I hadn’t even been that interested in electronic music, to be honest. I had heard a couple things I had liked, but a whole lot of stuff that I hadn’t. But I’m quite geeky so the fact that it had switches and dials was fascinating. So I said, “Can I have a go?” I fired it up and pressed the key. I had no idea how to set them up. But luckily, it [had] been left on that now famous, growly Moog sound. It was just unbelievable! The whole room shook. I was totally sold.
He also revealed that this fated moment was all the more subject to chance:
…the people that had it before me, left it on that sound. It could have been left on any number of other sounds… it’s quite capable of making a huge amount of really shit ones as well… all that sort of horrible stuff… so it could have been… that I pressed a key… and I’d [have] thought ‘that’s rubbish'… and I wouldn’t have thought about it again - just gone into the studio, carried on making my punk album and thought no more about it. But it didn’t. It made this amazing sound. (Alexander & Read, 2016)
Considering the violence that occurred at punk shows in the late 1970s, Numan concluded that the Tubeway Army could only exist as a studio project (Leschka, 2022). He eventually put an end to the 'inappropriate' title after discovering synthesizers, although The Pleasure Principle featured the same musicians as Replicas (Leschka, 2022).
Written and released amid a period of political and social unrest, I’d argue that Numan's lyrics and sound reflect the cultural climate of the time. The growling, mechanical, artificial sounds of his synthesizers paint an image with bright contrast. Higher synth tones across many of the tracks feel curious, contemplative, and reflective. The lower synths, married to acoustic drums and electric bass guitar, can create a paradoxically gloomy and groovy aesthetic. Plodding rhythms evoke imagery of a modernizing, industrialized nation. I can envision Numan’s world where machines are moving society forward, but the concept of ‘progress’ still feels aloof.
The 70s had also marked science fiction as having a major presence in pop-culture, namely cinema. Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey was released at the end of the 60s, while Superman, Alien and Moonraker all debuted within the same year as The Pleasure Principle (Leschka, 2022). With so many futurist themes occupying the zeitgeist, it's no wonder Numan’s work explores ideas around the potentials of technology and how they intersect with our definitions of ‘self’. Multiple songs take the perspective of an Android coming to terms with their sense of being in the world. They often define their place and identity in relation to ‘you,’ which could either refer to the listener, the Android’s creator, or a love interest. Themes of loneliness, isolation and the struggle to connect with others are prominent throughout. These arguably reflect Gary Numan’s lived experience with Aspergers (Newman, 2017). I think Andy McCluskey of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) supports this in part via his theories on Numan’s choice to adopt an Android persona:
Possibly one of the reasons why Gary hooked onto the kind of Are Friends Electric?, robotic angle for music was that it allowed him to present himself in a way where he didn’t have to have a direct kind of star/fan interaction. He could play the robot man. (Parsons, 2011)
Although often considered one of the earliest examples of electronic music, Gary Numan wasn’t even the first artist to broach the idea of prioritizing synthesized sounds. Kraftwerk’s Autobahn released in 1974, and Jean-Michel Jarre released Oxygène in 1976 (Leschka, 2022). However, the commercial success of The Pleasure Principle has arguably had a more significant influence in breaking synthesizers into the wider world of Pop music (Alexander & Read, 2016). To this, Numan’s former manager and official biographer Steve Malins notes “it was in the air [that] electronic music was exciting and new, but Gary’s success took everyone completely by surprise” (Alexander & Read, 2016).
Sound Design
One approach Numan took towards sound design on this album was converting guitar parts and ideas to be played on synthesizers, namely a Minimoog and Polymoog (Alexander & Read, 2016). I think this technique works well across the album, giving the drive and bite one might expect from a punk-influenced composition, while exploring (for the time) a whole new dimension of sound. The big, bold, growling notes on tracks like M.E. could easily have been a distorted electric guitar. However, the use of a synthesizer allows for a more weighty bottom end, and creates a vibe more in line with the thematic content of Numan’s vocals.
Across numerous tracks, Numan plays higher, sustained notes on a synthesizer. While this usually complements his other sound choices, I ended up finding them exhausting over the course of the entire album. As they prominently cut through the mix, they can sometimes feel harsh and drain the energy out of the more grooving, supportive instrumentation.
Ironically, I found that the acoustic elements to be some of my favorite sounds on the album. I have a soft spot for the recording equipment, processes and methods of the era. Cedric Sharpley’s drums and Paul Gardiner’s bass have such presence and play off each other so well. It is no wonder artists have repeatedly sampled tracks like Films over the years.
Track Analysis
1. "Airlane" – 3:18
The choice to open the album with an instrumental surprised me. Considering that this was decidedly not a themed album (compared to the intentional use of theme across the album Replicas) I initially interpreted this as more setup/story-telling piece that would set the tone for the rest of the album. The melody played on synth feels very in line with the kinds of theme songs one might hear for science fiction television and film. I adore the hi-hats on this track, with their runs of 16th notes giving the song an invigorating energy. These are backed by the driving, 8th note rhythms of the synths, which immediately and clearly evoke the composition one would expect for guitar.
2. "Metal" – 3:32
This track opens with a familiar structure, having heard the single Cars for years. Much like the previous track, I can hear the guitar-oriented mentality behind the synth performance. There’s a distinct use of synth as sound-effect through a sweeping, looping, artificial windy swell. At around the 0:32 mark you can hear the part that was sampled in Planet Funk’s 2002 single, Who Said (Stuck in the UK).
Numan’s vocals are certainly unlike anything else I’ve encountered before. There are aspects to his rhythm and delivery that remind me a little of David Byrne, but other than that his voice is unique to my ears. His vocal range occupies a mid-to-high spectrum that sits just under his synth melodies. There’s almost a call-and-response between these elements. The curious, almost alien vocal delivery suits the lyrics. The perspective of an Android immediately struck me. Themes of birth or beginnings occupy the first verse. There is a core idea of an android coming to life, learning to emulate the human creator. The second verse seems to be more about exploring and questioning the Android's purpose. There is a challenge posed by the Android towards their creator, questioning if humans must undergo the same procedures and perform the same tasks as machines. I interpret this to be an attempt to relate through a shared desire to break free from an oppressive system. In the final chorus, the lyrics seem to retreat to the safety of the Android's home. It describes a kind of safety and security provided by “metal”, never having to worry about death. In the end, the Android is still struggling to learn, “confusing love with need”.
3. "Complex" – 3:12
After a solid introduction of more up tempo Synth-Pop, we get something more akin to a ballad. From the onset, I noticed a heavy rock styling and influence as made standard by both British and American acts of the 1970s.
I wasn’t expecting Billy Currie’s violin work (and Chris Payne’s viola). Paired against synthesizers, it can be hit or miss. Occasionally, the textures layer together pleasantly. However, there are brief moments when either element becomes grating. This could be anything from a slightly detuned note, to a harsh resonance. Either way, it is enough to limit how often I would want to return to this song. It surprised me to learn that it charted as high as No. 6 in the UK (The Official UK Charts Company, n.d.).
I wasn’t able to solidify my interpretation of the lyrics. If Numan is continuing with the perspective of an Android, one could interpret it as wanting to hide. Perhaps making reference or taking inspiration from a character like Frankenstein’s monster. It could also be a reference to Numan’s struggles with socialization and connecting with others.
4. "Films" – 4:09
While I enjoy this track in isolation, four tracks deep into The Pleasure Principle, the long, ghostly notes of synth melodies felt repetitive and exhausting. That said, I loved the combination of electric bass tone, drums, and lower synth lines. They distinctly reminded me of Rush, and are the kinds of sounds I think you would find on albums like Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures. Considering both released in 1980 and 1981 respectively, I would be curious if Numan may have had an influence on the band.
The lyrics start out playing with contradiction. At face value, Numan claims to dislike a/the film, but then instructs to “play it all back”. He seems to prefer elements such as the actors and the “show” over the visual elements of the film (e.g., the scenery, the set). The back half of lyrics involve themes of fear and wanting to remain hidden. This continues ideas brought up in the previous two songs, although I could not determine more precise meanings or interpretations for myself.
This song had a lasting impact in Hip-Hop as a sample source. I find it particularly interesting that Robert Fitzgerald Diggs (better known as RZA) sampled this song back in 1991 for his single Deadly Venoms (Vocals Up) under his former pseudonym Prince Rakeem. 17 years later, he would use the sample again for GZA’s Life Is a Movie. Other notable songs that sampled this track include:
- Sound of the Zeekers @#ˆ**?! by Leaders of the New School feat. Rumpletilskinz (1991)
- MindRelease by DBL (1992)
- Feel Like a Ghost by El-P (2004)
- DigitalB-Boy by P Brothers feat. Milano (2008)
- Self Centered Youniverse by Esh the Monolith (2008)
- Air 'Em Out by Czarface (2013)
5. "M.E." – 5:37
It’s impossible for me to hear this track without immediately thinking about Basement Jaxx’s 2001 hit, Where’s Your Head At. Having attended the Wireless 2009 festival in Hyde Park, their encore performance of this song lives in my memory. That, and the unforgettable music video involving face-swapped monkeys. While researching other tracks that sampled M.E., I discovered the song Party Boys by Foxy. To the best of my knowledge they released it a couple of months after The Pleasure Principle, and feature a notable interpolation of the iconic descending synth line. Other notable songs that sampled this track include:
- Big Business by Swizz Beatz feat. Jadakiss and Ron Isley (2002)
- Whatever We Want by Havana Brown (2014)
The 1:04 mark introduces an instrument that I haven’t been able to identify. It has a sharp attack and a bright tone, like that of a plucked nylon string. However, there’s a slight hollowness to the sound that evokes something like a slapaphone made of PVC pipes. I’m convinced it is an acoustic instrument, but given the deliberate decision not to include guitars on this album I’m at a bit of a loss what it could be.
Short for “Mechanical Engineering” (Numan, 2020), the lyrics of M.E. tell a story of an Android "outliving" humanity and fading into nothingness. Again, Numan is leaning into themes of isolation, possibly commenting on the hubris of developing technology that will outlive humanity. I’d argue that the Android character in this song was (partially) responsible for becoming the last "living" thing.
6. "Tracks" – 2:51
The opening featuring an acoustic piano and electric bass surprised me. I thought it was going to be another ballad like the track Complex, but we get a driving rhythm from both the lower synthesizer and hi-hats. I enjoyed the modulation and phasing effects on the pad synth. Numan’s use of these and other effects like flanging help keep the sound evolving. I found they served the songs best when they sit more towards the back of the mix.
The lyrics feel like a direct continuation of ideas presented in the track M.E. Namely, the feelings of isolation that come with outliving others. I found the lyrics suggested a relationship where the Android character is in the process of outliving their human partner. It begins with a desire for order and a set path, or determination. It then shifts to comments about their aging partner. Finally, we get a willingness and desire from the Android to trade their immortality for the mortality of their partner. There’s a suggestion that they each want what the other has - the human to extend their lifespan, and the Android to feel human through the process of aging and death.
7. "Observer" – 2:53
The drum arrangement and programming, combined with the electric bass and layers of synthesizers feel the closest to what I first heard with Cars. The groove is top-notch. I can’t tell if there’s a slap-back delay on the drums, or just a technique of Cedric Sharpley employing ghost-notes. Either way, they are some of my favorite drums on the album.
The lyrics offer another commentary on Androids. This one can live as an immortal being who finds their observations of humanity fascinating. I found it curious that it does not present the time increments mentioned in either ascending or descending order. Instead, Numan goes from "days", to "hours", and then to "lifetime". Perhaps this is a deliberate choice to imply how a machine would find the concept of time more meaningless than humans.
8. "Conversation" – 7:36
Something about the opening section’s main groove reminded me of Nelly Furtado's 2006 single Maneater. I think every second bar’s synth notes align with a similar shape found in her vocal melody. Conversation is still groovy, but the slower tempo compared to Observer results in a drop in energy. The higher synth melody lines are getting more exhausting at this point. The acoustic sting elements are still a surprise, and used much more sparingly compared to Complex, save for the ending where the layering against synths gets a little too dissonant for my taste.
The lyrics speak of an Android recognizing themselves as being made in the image of man. However, they recognize they are distinctly not human. The line "we are only boys" could refer to the ongoing struggle to grow, understand, and achieve "humanity" as a machine. Various lines emphasize the flaws and feebleness of humanity, while references to others as "pictures" and "mirrors" continue to reinforce the separation between Androids and humans. By the end, we get a much increased questioning of the "self" with the line "not my tears / not my reflection".
9. "Cars" – 3:58
Finally, we get to the big single. Cars still hits differently for me because of my past listening experiences, mainly its ongoing radio play decades after its release. You can hear so many musical ideas explored in the preceding tracks that glue together successfully here. The groove remains timeless. A tambourine panned to the hard-right helps maintain energy as the vocals finish and more quirky synths take over the melody. The timbre of the higher synth pads, with notes held across longer phrases, are much more complementary to the other instrumentation (when compared to the previous songs).
Even though I haven’t engaged with mashups in years (save for very brief flings with Dropmix and Fuser), something rhythmically about this song has fused it inside my brain with Ciara’s 1, 2 Step. I will also note that the DJ Hero blend of Cars with Daft Punk’s Technologic is still a banger.
I found it interesting how in numerous instances this track was featured, licensed, sampled or was otherwise used in other media to celebrate aspects of "car culture". Upon reviewing the lyrics, my big takeaways were much more about finding joy and peace in solitude, while recognizing the inevitable need for connection with others. The “car” component feels very much secondary to the point of this song, and more of a framework to explore more introspective ideas. I was also shocked by how few lyrics there are with only two verses (or two choruses depending how you look at it) front-loading the track.
One thing that caught my ear is how Numan runs together the words “way to live” at the end of his first set of lyrics. His delivery of this triplet is quite smooth, but I stumble to recall its exact flow whenever I’ve tried to sing it to myself in the past. I’ve found that others who’ve covered this song tend to either ignore it (sticking to straight 8th notes) or end up flubbing this flourish (either by starting the triplet on the wrong word, or just rushing the timing and delivery). I’m partial to Fear Factory’s cover of this song, and I think it shows how Numan’s synth parts successfully translate back to electric guitars.
Notable tracks that have sampled or interpolated this song include:
- Just Rock by The Fearless Four (1983)
- Cars by Randi Rann (1988)
- Rippin' by Sir Mix-a-Lot and Kid Sensation (1988)
- Cars by Kool G Rap & DJ Polo (1989)
- Quiddity(First Visit) by Max 404 (1995)
- Put Ya Back Into It by Tre Black (1995)
- MTV Downtown Theme by Kimson Albert (1999)
- Koochy by Armand Van Helden (2000)
- Hot Wheels by Jim Crow (2002)
- Wild Work by Workidz (2004)
- Hiding All the Stars by Chicane (2009)
- Trucks by J Dilla (2013)
10. "Engineers" – 4:01
The final track of the (original) album is disappointing, but fits thematically with all the ideas Numan’s been playing with across the other nine tracks. The “march” aesthetic is a little gimmicky for me, but serves the lyrical content. Numan speaks as a collective "we" as engineers. This could be read as a commentary on the working class. The engineers as literal train or transit engineers, as well as all the kinds of laborers that keep the "heartbeat" of urban society running. They enable night-life, public transport, and plenty of infrastructure that gets taken for granted. In the series of lines that begin with “we are your”, “voice” could refer to the common people, “blood flow” as the means of keeping things running and operational, and “eyes” like a kind of spy network - vast and everywhere, witnesses to all that happens in society.
The last passage is an alteration of the first, with the line "all that you need to be" becoming "all that you'd love to be". We could interpret this as a callback to Metal, to come to terms with “need” verses “love”. I haven’t quite understood the alteration of the line "all that we know is you and machinery" to "all that we know is hate and machinery". It could be the hate that the group endures from others, or hate that they have learned and adopted. Either or both ideas would reflect the sociopolitical developments happening in Britain heading into 1979.
Impact on Later Musicians
Thanks to the success of The Pleasure Principle, the Synth-Pop scene was thriving in the early '80s (Leschka, 2022). Yamaha DX-7s and E-Mu II synthesizers could be found on stages and in studios alike (Leschka, 2022). Yet, as time went on, new wave and new romantic acts became increasingly darker and edgier, leading to the emergence of bands like Depeche Mode and Nine Inch Nails who created a sound that deftly blended punk, goth and electronic music into something unique: Industrial (Leschka, 2022). Gary Numan particularly influenced Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails:
It was music that I’d never heard before, because… it had a darkness and iciness to it. I was almost afraid to like it… Looking back now at the stuff that he did, at the peak of… commercial success… I’d never heard anything like that… it really resonated with me… with the hindsight now to being able to look back I can see… it was… a real crossroads for me…. It really changed the way I was headed musically… I was always impressed by the way he found his voice, and it’s unusual… but it’s unmistakably him… and boldly him. I see me doing what I’ve learned from him. (Parsons, 2011)
The 90s were a time of musical ingenuity, with a variety of artists—from Techno to Rock to Hip-Hop—citing Numan as a major influence (Parsons, 2011). Besides the various tracks I’ve highlighted for having sampled Numan’s work, cover versions of his songs have been noteworthy. In 1998, industrial metal band Fear Factory covered Cars, inviting Numan to lay down new vocals and prominently feature in the music video (Parsons, 2011). Once more, Numan made a huge impact on the American music charts with Cars, introducing his sound to many new listeners (Parsons, 2011). Additional covers of his songs by Beck, the Foo Fighters, Smashing Pumpkins, and Marilyn Manson only further showed Numan’s prowess in the United States (Parsons, 2011). The cover album Random, with renditions by Blur, Moloko, and Saint Etienne among others, saw similar success in the UK (Parsons, 2011). The iconic Afrika Bambaataa, who, having covered Metal himself, revealed that Numan’s success in the United States had a massive impact on the development of Hip-Hop (Parsons, 2011).
I would agree with Bob Stanley of The Guardian, who argues that Numan’s melodic timbre has often been divisive (Stanley, 2010). That said, Numan’s candidness (which earned him ridicule in the past) has since helped him to acquire recognition and admiration from the likes of artists like Little Boots (Stanley, 2010). Victoria Hesketh’s (Little Boots) impressions of Numan’s work resonate with me, where she states that “there’s something unsettling in it that I really like… that makes it… a bit intrigued and [a] bit confused… that makes you feel on edge but in a really good way (Parsons, 2011).
Numan’s own thoughts about the influence of his work are documented:
Quite often I think when influence is used well, you wouldn’t necessarily see it anyway. Influence used properly, really ignites your own ideas… An influence is like a spark. It goes in and it ignites your own imagination and all your own ideas pour out, but you wouldn’t have opened that door to that part of your imagination without that spark… So yes, the influence is important, but you often won’t hear it. The music that you make because of the influence will often be [unrecognizable] to the influence that ignited it. (De Luca-Tao, 2021)
Conclusion
Despite having listened to it for the first time in its entirety, I can easily see how The Pleasure Principle has had an incredible impact on music since its release in 1979. It pushed the boundaries of electronic music into the Pop scene, which influenced the likes of many musicians. The album's sound and style has been emulated, interpolated, and directly sampled over the years, and I’d agree with the argument that it continues to be a huge influence in music today. While I found some elements exhausting from track to track, its philosophical, futurist lyrics, and forward-thinking production still makes it a standout album. I think it's fair to say that The Pleasure Principle proves Gary Numan was a musical pioneer and innovator.
References
Alexander, R., & Read, S. (Directors). (2016, August 26). Gary Numan: Android in La La Land (O. Huddleston, Ed.). Machine Music & Faction Films.
Biggs, E. (2019, September 5). CLASSIC ’70s: Gary Numan - “The Pleasure Principle.” The Student Playlist. https://www.thestudentplaylist.com/gary-numan-the-pleasure-principle/
De Luca-Tao, A. (2021, June 18). Gary Numan on influencing artists like Kanye West, “It’s very flattering, but I don’t chase it.” Tone Deaf. https://tonedeaf.thebrag.com/gary-numan-influencing-artists-kanye-west/
Leschka, T. (2022, April 9). Gloomy Synths & Science Fiction: Gary Numan’s The Pleasure Principle. Furio Magazine. https://www.furiomagazine.com/gary-numan-the-pleasure-principle/
Newman, C. (2017, September 16). Gary Numan: My Asperger’s “wasn’t understood.” Channel 4 News. https://www.channel4.com/news/gary-numan-my-aspergers-wasnt-understood
Numan, G. (2020). (R)evolution: The Autobiography. Constable.
Parsons, J. (2011, April 1). Gary Numan: Reinvention [TV Movie Documentary]. Sky Arts. https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x12fo46
Stanley, B. (2010, July 15). Pop’s undersung heroes: artists with big influence but small reputation. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/jul/15/unsung-influential-pop-heroes
The Official UK Charts Company. (n.d.). Gary Numan | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company. Www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved January 24, 2023, from https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/17942/gary-numan/
Tinline, P. (2019, April). 1979: Britain in meltdown. BBC History Magazine, 30–34.
Titlow, J. P. (2016, May 27). Gary Numan Thinks The Music Industry’s Collapse Is A Beautiful Thing. Fast Company. https://www.fastcompany.com/3060236/gary-numan-thinks-the-music-industrys-collapse-is-a-beautiful-thing
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