Tubeway Army
Encyclopedia
Tubeway Army were a London-based punk rock
and new wave
band led by lead singer Gary Numan
. They were the first band of the post-punk
era to have a synthesizer
-based hit, with their single
Are 'Friends' Electric?
and its parent album Replicas
both topping the UK Album Chart in mid-1979.
Other musicians included:
Numan was the driving force of the band, writing the material and producing the recordings. Subsequent albums were issued under his own name once the album Replicas became successful. Gardiner, Sharpley, and Payne continued as his backing band for some years. Gardiner died from a drug overdose in February 1984. Numan's personal tribute to his former cohort was the song "A Child with the Ghost", on the album Berserker (1984).
Webb was a prolific song-writer and ambitious for commercial success. The band began playing gigs on the punk scene in London and managed to secure a record deal with the independent Beggars Banquet
label. They released two guitar-heavy, punk-style singles in the first half of 1978 ("That's Too Bad
"/"Oh! Didn't I Say", and "Bombers"/"Blue Eyes"/"OD Receiver"). These failed to chart.
Soon afterwards, the Tubeway Army
album was released on blue vinyl, at which point Webb adopted the name "Gary Numan". Allegedly, Numan actually took his new pseudonym from a local Yellow Pages where a plumber called "Arthur Neumann" was listed, the singer abandoning the German spelling, to become Numan. Whilst still largely guitar/bass/drums-based, the album saw his first tentative use of the Minimoog
synthesizer, which he had come across by accident in the recording studio during the album sessions. Lyrically the record touched on dystopian and sci-fi themes similar to those employed by authors such as Philip K. Dick
, of whom Numan was a fan (the opening lines of the song "Listen to the Sirens" are a direct lift from the title of Dick's book Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said
). Whilst the album's modest initial pressing (which included a large batch of warped editions) sold out, it did not enter the album charts at that time, and no singles were lifted from it. By this time Tubeway Army had decided to abandon live shows – Numan was unhappy with pub-venue gigs on the often violent London punk scene (the only known recording of a Tubeway Army concert – a London show from February 1978 – was released as a bootleg album in the early 1980s. It was later officially included under the title Living Ornaments '78 as bonus tracks on the 1998 CD re-release of the Tubeway Army album).
Following swiftly on in early 1979, excited by the possibilities of synthesizers, Numan took Tubeway Army back into the studio to record a follow-up album, Replicas
. The result was more synth and science fiction orientated than the last album. The first single from the album, the bleak, slow-paced keyboard-driven song "Down in the Park
", failed to chart. However, the next single, "Are 'Friends' Electric?
" was more successful. A special picture-disc helped boost sales but what particularly grabbed the British public's imagination was Tubeway Army's appearance on the BBC
show The Old Grey Whistle Test
, followed soon after by a slot on Top of the Pops
. The band appeared all dressed in black and near-motionless, Numan in particular giving a performance often referred to as being "like an android" (a style that was later reported to have been a means of covering stage nerves but which then became his trademark). The single climbed steadily to stay at number one in the UK charts for 4 weeks, with Replicas following suit in the album charts. With Tubeway Army still avoiding live shows, Numan recruited some additional musicians to make these television appearances (see above).
Numan became the first synth-based artist in Britain to break through into major commercial success. At this point, he dropped the Tubeway Army name and subsequent releases were made under the artist name Gary Numan.
1 The demos were recorded in 1978 but not released until 1984. Beggars Banquet have re-released and re-mastered these recordings numerous times. Current CD editions supplement the original album tracks with all single A- and B-sides, 12" bonus tracks, studio out-takes, and recovered bootleg live material.
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
and new wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
band led by lead singer Gary Numan
Gary Numan
Gary Numan is an English singer, composer, and musician, most widely known for his chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars". His signature sound consisted of heavy synthesizer hooks fed through guitar effects pedals.Numan is considered a pioneer of commercial electronic music...
. They were the first band of the post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
era to have a synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
-based hit, with their single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
Are 'Friends' Electric?
Are 'Friends' Electric?
"Are 'Friends' Electric?" is a 1979 song written by Gary Numan, released under the name of his then-band Tubeway Army as a single and on the album Replicas...
and its parent album Replicas
Replicas (album)
Replicas is an album by Tubeway Army, released in 1979. It was the second and final Tubeway Army LP, following a self-titled debut the previous year...
both topping the UK Album Chart in mid-1979.
Line-up
The only constant members were:- Gary NumanGary NumanGary Numan is an English singer, composer, and musician, most widely known for his chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars". His signature sound consisted of heavy synthesizer hooks fed through guitar effects pedals.Numan is considered a pioneer of commercial electronic music...
(also known as "Valerian"; birth name Gary Anthony James Webb) – vocals, guitar, keyboards/synthesizers - Paul GardinerPaul GardinerPaul Gardiner was a British musician who played bass guitar with Gary Numan and Tubeway Army as well as material under his own name.-Biography:...
(also known as "Scarlett") – bass guitar, occasional backing vocals
Other musicians included:
- Jess LidyardJess LidyardJess Lidyard is the former drummer of Tubeway Army. He is bandleader Gary Numan's uncle, and played on the band's self-titled debut album and on the highly successful Replicas, which featured the hit "Are 'Friends' Electric?"...
(also known as "Rael"; Webb's uncle) – drums (part-time 1976, and 1978/1979, including "That's Too BadThat's Too Bad"That's Too Bad" is the debut single by Tubeway Army, the band which provided the initial musical vehicle for Gary Numan. It was released in February 1978 by independent London record label Beggars Banquet...
" single, Tubeway ArmyTubeway Army (album)Tubeway Army is the debut album by Gary Numan and his band Tubeway Army, released in 1978. Its initial limited-edition run of 5000 sold out but did not chart...
and ReplicasReplicas (album)Replicas is an album by Tubeway Army, released in 1979. It was the second and final Tubeway Army LP, following a self-titled debut the previous year...
sessions) - Bob Simmonds – drums (late-1977/early-1978)
- Barry Benn – drums (mid-1978, including "Bombers" single)
- Sean Burke – guitar (mid-1978, including "Bombers" single)
- Chris Payne – synthesizers (1979 Old Grey Whistle TestOld Grey Whistle TestThe Old Grey Whistle Test was an influential BBC2 television music show that ran from 1971 to 1987. It took over the BBC2 late night slot from "Disco Two", which had been running since January 1970, while continuing to feature non-chart music. It was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers...
and Top of the PopsTop of the PopsTop of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
performances) - Billy CurrieBilly CurrieBilly Currie is an English violist, violinist, pianist, keyboardist, and songwriter...
(of UltravoxUltravoxUltravox is a British New Wave rock band. They were one of the primary exponents of the British electronic pop music movement of the late 1970s/early 1980s. The band was particularly associated with the New Romantic and New Wave movements....
) – synthesizers (1979 Old Grey Whistle Test and Top of the Pops performances) - Cedric Sharpley – drums (1979 Old Grey Whistle Test and Top of the Pops performances)
- Trevor Grant – guitar (1979 Old Grey Whistle Test and Top of the Pops performances)
Numan was the driving force of the band, writing the material and producing the recordings. Subsequent albums were issued under his own name once the album Replicas became successful. Gardiner, Sharpley, and Payne continued as his backing band for some years. Gardiner died from a drug overdose in February 1984. Numan's personal tribute to his former cohort was the song "A Child with the Ghost", on the album Berserker (1984).
History
Aged 19 years, Gary Webb had fronted London band Mean Street in 1976 (their song "Bunch of Stiffs" appeared on the Live at the Vortex compilation, and was the B-side of the Vortex 7"). Leaving this band acrimoniously, he auditioned as lead guitarist for another band called The Lasers, where he met bass-player Paul Gardiner. The pair left The Lasers soon after and formed Tubeway Army, initially with Webb's uncle Jess Lidyard on drums. Webb rechristened himself "Valerian", Gardiner "Scarlett" and Lidyard "Rael".Webb was a prolific song-writer and ambitious for commercial success. The band began playing gigs on the punk scene in London and managed to secure a record deal with the independent Beggars Banquet
Beggars Banquet Records
Beggars Banquet is an English independent record label that began as a chain of record shops owned by Martin Mills and Nick Austin, and is part of the Beggars Group of labels...
label. They released two guitar-heavy, punk-style singles in the first half of 1978 ("That's Too Bad
That's Too Bad
"That's Too Bad" is the debut single by Tubeway Army, the band which provided the initial musical vehicle for Gary Numan. It was released in February 1978 by independent London record label Beggars Banquet...
"/"Oh! Didn't I Say", and "Bombers"/"Blue Eyes"/"OD Receiver"). These failed to chart.
Soon afterwards, the Tubeway Army
Tubeway Army (album)
Tubeway Army is the debut album by Gary Numan and his band Tubeway Army, released in 1978. Its initial limited-edition run of 5000 sold out but did not chart...
album was released on blue vinyl, at which point Webb adopted the name "Gary Numan". Allegedly, Numan actually took his new pseudonym from a local Yellow Pages where a plumber called "Arthur Neumann" was listed, the singer abandoning the German spelling, to become Numan. Whilst still largely guitar/bass/drums-based, the album saw his first tentative use of the Minimoog
Minimoog
The Minimoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer, invented by Bill Hemsath and Robert Moog. It was released in 1970 by R.A. Moog Inc. , and production was stopped in 1981. It was re-designed by Robert Moog in 2002 and released as Minimoog Voyager.The Minimoog was designed in response to the use of...
synthesizer, which he had come across by accident in the recording studio during the album sessions. Lyrically the record touched on dystopian and sci-fi themes similar to those employed by authors such as Philip K. Dick
Philip K. Dick
Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
, of whom Numan was a fan (the opening lines of the song "Listen to the Sirens" are a direct lift from the title of Dick's book Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said
Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said
Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said is a 1974 science fiction novel by Philip K. Dick about a genetically enhanced pop singer and television star who loses his identity overnight. The story is set in a futuristic dystopia, where America has become a police state after a Second Civil War. The novel...
). Whilst the album's modest initial pressing (which included a large batch of warped editions) sold out, it did not enter the album charts at that time, and no singles were lifted from it. By this time Tubeway Army had decided to abandon live shows – Numan was unhappy with pub-venue gigs on the often violent London punk scene (the only known recording of a Tubeway Army concert – a London show from February 1978 – was released as a bootleg album in the early 1980s. It was later officially included under the title Living Ornaments '78 as bonus tracks on the 1998 CD re-release of the Tubeway Army album).
Following swiftly on in early 1979, excited by the possibilities of synthesizers, Numan took Tubeway Army back into the studio to record a follow-up album, Replicas
Replicas (album)
Replicas is an album by Tubeway Army, released in 1979. It was the second and final Tubeway Army LP, following a self-titled debut the previous year...
. The result was more synth and science fiction orientated than the last album. The first single from the album, the bleak, slow-paced keyboard-driven song "Down in the Park
Down in the Park
"Down in the Park" is a 1979 single written and recorded by Gary Numan with his band Tubeway Army. The first cut from the album Replicas, it was not a hit when released but has long been a critical and fan favourite and for many years was described by Numan as his best composition.-Style:Like the...
", failed to chart. However, the next single, "Are 'Friends' Electric?
Are 'Friends' Electric?
"Are 'Friends' Electric?" is a 1979 song written by Gary Numan, released under the name of his then-band Tubeway Army as a single and on the album Replicas...
" was more successful. A special picture-disc helped boost sales but what particularly grabbed the British public's imagination was Tubeway Army's appearance on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
show The Old Grey Whistle Test
Old Grey Whistle Test
The Old Grey Whistle Test was an influential BBC2 television music show that ran from 1971 to 1987. It took over the BBC2 late night slot from "Disco Two", which had been running since January 1970, while continuing to feature non-chart music. It was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers...
, followed soon after by a slot on Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
. The band appeared all dressed in black and near-motionless, Numan in particular giving a performance often referred to as being "like an android" (a style that was later reported to have been a means of covering stage nerves but which then became his trademark). The single climbed steadily to stay at number one in the UK charts for 4 weeks, with Replicas following suit in the album charts. With Tubeway Army still avoiding live shows, Numan recruited some additional musicians to make these television appearances (see above).
Numan became the first synth-based artist in Britain to break through into major commercial success. At this point, he dropped the Tubeway Army name and subsequent releases were made under the artist name Gary Numan.
Albums
| Year | Details | Peak chart positions | Certifications Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... (sales thresholds) |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
NZL |
SWE Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... |
US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
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| 1978 | Tubeway Army Tubeway Army (album) Tubeway Army is the debut album by Gary Numan and his band Tubeway Army, released in 1978. Its initial limited-edition run of 5000 sold out but did not chart...
|
14 | — | — | — | |
| 1979 | Replicas Replicas (album) Replicas is an album by Tubeway Army, released in 1979. It was the second and final Tubeway Army LP, following a self-titled debut the previous year... Atco Records ATCO Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, currently operating through WMG's Rhino Entertainment.-Beginnings:Atco Records was founded in 1955 as a division of Atlantic Records. It was devised as an outlet for productions by one of Atlantic's founders, Herb Abramson, who... |
1 | 8 | 37 | 124 |
British Phonographic Industry The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies... : Silver |
| 19841 | The Plan The Plan (Tubeway Army album) The Plan is a retrospective album of early demo recordings by Tubeway Army released in 1984.The demos were originally recorded in 1978... |
29 | — | — | — | |
1 The demos were recorded in 1978 but not released until 1984. Beggars Banquet have re-released and re-mastered these recordings numerous times. Current CD editions supplement the original album tracks with all single A- and B-sides, 12" bonus tracks, studio out-takes, and recovered bootleg live material.
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certifications Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... (sales thresholds) |
Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
AUT |
GER Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
IRE Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
NED Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
NZL |
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| 1978 | "That's Too Bad That's Too Bad "That's Too Bad" is the debut single by Tubeway Army, the band which provided the initial musical vehicle for Gary Numan. It was released in February 1978 by independent London record label Beggars Banquet... " |
— | — | — | — | — | — | Tubeway Army | ||||||
| "Bombers Bombers (Gary Numan song) "Bombers" is the second single by Tubeway Army, released in 1978. The song is in a somewhat more conventional rock style than their punk-oriented debut, "That's Too Bad", and features sound effects simulating air raid sirens, dive bombers, and machine gun fire. Like its predecessor, the single... " |
— | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 1979 | "Down in the Park Down in the Park "Down in the Park" is a 1979 single written and recorded by Gary Numan with his band Tubeway Army. The first cut from the album Replicas, it was not a hit when released but has long been a critical and fan favourite and for many years was described by Numan as his best composition.-Style:Like the... " |
198 | — | — | — | — | — | Replicas | ||||||
| "Are 'Friends' Electric? Are 'Friends' Electric? "Are 'Friends' Electric?" is a 1979 song written by Gary Numan, released under the name of his then-band Tubeway Army as a single and on the album Replicas... " |
1 | 12 | 23 | 3 | 9 | 8 | UK: Gold | |||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||||||||||
Further reading
- Goodwin, Paul (2004) Electric Pioneer: An Armchair Guide To Gary Numan