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80-468: ATCO Records was devised as an outlet for productions by one of Atlantic Records' founders, Herb Abramson , who had returned to the company from military service. The label was also intended as a home for acts that did not fit the format of the main Atlantic brand, which was releasing blues , jazz , rhythm and blues and soul . The planned name for the label was Atlas. But it was changed to ATCO when it

160-422: A Blade Runner -influenced image for Strange Charm . A prolific songwriter, Numan has as of 2021 written about 400 songs. His starting point is usually a piano to work out melodies and chord structures. Most of the songs on his early albums were written on a piano his parents had bought him: later in his career he has used a piano preset on the computer as a starting point. However, his biggest hit " Cars "

240-546: A tribute album dedicated to Numan, Random . Random was released shortly before Exile and featured artists, such as Damon Albarn and Jesus Jones , who had been influenced by Numan. Numan toured the US in support of Exile , his first stateside concerts since the early 1980s. In 2002, Numan enjoyed chart success once again with the single "Rip", reaching No. 29 on the UK Singles Chart, and again in 2003 with

320-460: A Broken Mind) , was released on 14 October 2013. It reached the UK Top 20, his first album to do so for 30 years. It was promoted by an extensive US, Canada, UK and Ireland tour which continued in 2014 to include Israel, New Zealand, Australia and Europe. A further US leg took place in late 2014. In June 2014, Numan collaborated with Jayce Lewis on the track "Redesign" which originally featured on

400-516: A US solo deal with Atlantic. This release differs from the UK release with a different structure/edit (the break comes in after the first verse vs. second), a substitute lyric ("I try walking forward but my feet walk back" in place of "I look all white but my dad was black"). During the 1970s, Atlantic Records began to broaden the range of its own roster, causing ATCO to become deemphasized as many of its acts would eventually have their material released under

480-452: A career low point, released primarily to pay off debt. After the poor reception of the album, Numan considered leaving the music industry entirely. In 1993, he released a single "Cars ('93 Sprint)", a techno remix of "Cars". That same year, he supported Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (who had opened for him in 1979) on their concert tour. By 1994, Numan decided to stop attempting to crack

560-539: A collaboration with Bill Nelson , guitarist in Bebop Deluxe , which was another of Numan's favourite bands in the 1970s. Adopting a heavier, more aggressive sound, the production of his 1984 album Berserker took influence from Trevor Horn 's production of Frankie Goes to Hollywood . Wanting to broaden his musical output, Numan's mid- to late 1980's releases featured a jazz-funk style, blending an industrial edge with funk and synth-pop sensibilities. Following

640-569: A live version of the song appeared in the British concert film Urgh! A Music War (1982). Following exposure in a television advertisement for Lee Cooper jeans with the jingle "Don't Be a Dummy", Tubeway Army released the single " Are 'Friends' Electric? " in May 1979. After a modest start at the lower reaches of the UK Singles Chart at No. 71, it steadily climbed to No. 1 at

720-477: A more introspective and partly ambient sound, David Bowie's collaborations with Brian Eno , the band Japan and Lou Reed 's Berlin album has been cited as some of the influences that informed Numan's 1981 album Dance . At this point, jazz and funk influences became prominent in Numan's music, as on the single " She's Got Claws " and his 1982 album I, Assassin . His 1983 album Warriors started as

800-561: A new way in smaller, intimate settings. Locations included Wylam Brewery , Newcastle, Manchester Cathedral , and Hackney Church in London. In February 2024, Numan announced a UK tour to celebrate the 45th anniversary of his 1979 albums Replicas and The Pleasure Principle . Including shows in Norwich, Sheffield, Glasgow, Newcastle, Manchester, London, Bristol, Cardiff, Bournemouth, Birmingham and Nottingham between May 19 and June 1. In

880-403: A pregnant girlfriend who became his second wife. Ahmet Ertegun and Abramson formed Atco Records in 1955 as a division of Atlantic. Abramson ran the label on his own. He found success with The Coasters but was unable to get a hit with Bobby Darin . When he announced that he was dropping Darin from the label, Ertegun recorded three tracks with Darin and two of them turned into hits: " Queen of

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960-471: A project of brothers Hugh and David Nicholson (formerly of Marmalade and Blue ), which charted with varying success ("Radio Heart", No. 35 in the UK, "London Times", No. 48, "All Across the Nation", No. 81). An album was also released, credited to "Radio Heart featuring Gary Numan", with Numan only appearing on three tracks; the record failed to chart. Also in 1987, Numan's old label, Beggars Banquet, released

1040-502: A result, the tour was not only postponed but expanded, and his Pleasure Principle 30th Anniversary Tour's American and Mexican dates began on 17 October 2010, at Firestone Live in Orlando, Florida . Numan toured Australia in May 2011 performing his album The Pleasure Principle in its entirety to celebrate its thirtieth anniversary. Joining him on tour was Australian electronic band Severed Heads , coming out of retirement especially for

1120-487: A series of albums and singles on his own record label, Numa. The first studio album released, 1984's Berserker , was Numan's first foray into music computers and samplers (in this case, the PPG Wave ). The album was accompanied by a new, blue-and-white colour scheme and visual (including Numan himself, with blue hair), as well as a tour, a live album, video, EP , and the title track as a single. The track charted within

1200-634: A single in the US by the Beatles , " Ain't She Sweet " (flip side "Nobody's Child", with lead singer Tony Sheridan ), which had been recorded in Hamburg in 1961. With lead vocals by John Lennon , "Ain't She Sweet" reached No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in August 1964. ATCO also released an album entitled Ain't She Sweet which featured the other two tracks by Sheridan and The Beatles from

1280-629: A six-week chart run. The heavily percussive funk style made several tracks from the album, such as the 12" version of " Music for Chameleons " and a special remix of "White Boys and Heroes", unexpected successes in the American club scene and in October 1982 he embarked on a US tour. Warriors (1983) further developed Numan's jazz-influenced style and featured contributions from avant-garde musician Bill Nelson of Be-Bop Deluxe (who fell out with Numan during recording and chose to be uncredited as

1360-489: Is an English musician. He entered the music industry as frontman of the new wave band Tubeway Army . After releasing two studio albums with the band, he released his debut solo studio album The Pleasure Principle in 1979, topping the UK Albums Chart . His commercial popularity peaked in the late 1970s and early 1980s with hits including " Are 'Friends' Electric? " and " Cars " (both of which reached number one on

1440-572: The Air Training Corps as a teenager and briefly held various jobs including forklift truck driver, air conditioning ventilator fitter, and accounts clerk. When Numan was 15, his father bought him a Gibson Les Paul guitar, which became his most treasured possession. He briefly played in various bands and looked through advertisements in Melody Maker for bands to join. He claims to have unsuccessfully auditioned as guitarist for

1520-797: The British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors in 2017. Gary Anthony James Webb was born on 8 March 1958 in Hammersmith , London . His father was a British Airways bus driver based at Heathrow Airport . He was seven when his family adopted his cousin (father's nephew) John, who would become a musician and play in Numan's backing band. He was educated at Town Farm Junior School in Stanwell ; Ashford County Grammar School ; and Slough Grammar School , followed by Brooklands Technical College in Weybridge , Surrey . He joined

1600-743: The Chatty Cathy talking doll. Abramson set up his own recording studio in the early 1960s, A-1 Sound Studios (Atlantic-1) at 234 West 56th Street in Manhattan. With engineer Jim Reeves he produced: Sidney Barnes, Don Covay , the Darling Sisters, John Davidson , Luther Dixon , J. J. Jackson , Linda and the Vistas, Mr. Wiggles , Johnny Nash , Pigmeat Markum, Ruby & the Romantics , Eddie Singleton, The Supremes , Titus Turner , and

1680-547: The Cruel World Festival in Pasadena, California on 20 May 2023. After a nearby lightning storm led to an early evacuation, truncating Iggy Pop 's set and cancelling Siouxsie Sioux 's headlining set entirely, a second show was quickly announced for the following day, with Siouxsie, Pop and Numan returning. In October 2023, Numan performed a series of eight acoustic gigs, playing songs from his repertoire in

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1760-532: The Hammersmith Apollo supported by Gang of Four . Numan collaborated with the industrial pop group VOWWS for "Losing Myself in You" on their debut studio album The Great Sun . On 6 May 2016, Numan was one of several collaborators on Jean-Michel Jarre 's eighteenth studio album Electronica 2: The Heart of Noise , with the track "Here for You", cowritten by Jarre and Numan. On 10 May 2016, Numan

1840-475: The UK Singles Chart ). Numan maintains a cult following . He has sold over 10 million records. Numan is regarded as a pioneer of electronic music . He developed a signature sound consisting of heavy synthesiser hooks fed through guitar effects pedals , and is also known for his distinctive voice and androgynous "android" persona. He received an Ivor Novello Award , the Inspiration Award, from

1920-488: The UK Singles Chart . In 1980, Numan topped the UK album charts for a third time with Telekon , and the singles " We Are Glass " and " I Die: You Die ", released prior to the album, reaching No. 5 and No. 6 on the UK charts. " This Wreckage ", the only single taken from the original album release, entered the UK top 20 in December that year. Telekon , the final studio album that Numan retrospectively termed

2000-437: The "Machine" section of his career, reintroduced guitars to Numan's music and featured a wider range of synthesisers. The same year he embarked on his second major tour ("The Teletour") with a more elaborate stage show than The Touring Principle the previous year. In April 1981, Numan decided to retire from touring following his upcoming series of concerts at Wembley Arena , where he was supported by experimental musician Nash

2080-753: The 76th Street studio in 1973. Jonathan Thayer, later of Vanguard Recording Studios, engineered for Abramson, as did Rob Fraboni and maintenance engineer Mike Edl, who replaced Carl Lindgren in April 1969. A-1 Sound was managed by his third wife, Barbara, who was with him to the end. He died in Henderson, Nevada, in 1999, at age 82. In 1998, he received the Pioneer Award from the Rhythm & Blues Foundation . Gary Numan Gary Anthony James Webb (born 8 March 1958), known professionally as Gary Numan ,

2160-508: The April 2007 release of the debut solo studio album by Ade Fenton, Artificial Perfect , on his new industrial/electronic label, Submission, including "The Leather Sea", "Slide Away", "Recall", and the first single to be taken from the album, "Healing". The second single to be released in the UK was "The Leather Sea" on 30 July 2007, which charted. He sold out a 15-date UK and Ireland tour in spring 2008, during which he performed his 1979 number-one studio album Replicas in its entirety, and all

2240-649: The CD of unreleased songs from his previous three studio albums (released in 2011 as Dead Son Rising ). Numan released his subsequent album, Splinter (Songs from a Broken Mind) , in 2013. Numan was set to perform a small number of American live dates in April 2010, including a Coachella Festival appearance in California, but had to cancel because air travel in Europe was halted by the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud . As

2320-400: The Dark (OMD). With each new studio album, Numan would take on a particular persona, but none seemed to catch audiences' attention like he had been able to in 1979. Numan's fourth solo studio album I, Assassin (1982) produced the top 10 hit " We Take Mystery (To Bed) ", as well as the top 20 singles " Music for Chameleons " and "White Boys and Heroes", the album peaking at No. 8 with

2400-471: The Gary Numan vs Rico single "Crazier", which reached No. 13 in the UK charts. Rico also worked on the 2003 remix album Hybrid which featured reworkings of older songs in a more contemporary industrial style as well as new material. Other artists and producers who contributed on these remixes included Curve , Flood , Andy Gray , Alan Moulder , New Disease, and Sulpher. 2003 saw Numan performing

2480-640: The Hamburg session and filled out by eight other songs covered by The Swallows . In 1966, ATCO released " Substitute " by the Who . The song was issued through an arrangement with UK Polydor Records because of the dispute The Who was having with their producer, Shel Talmy , and their contract with US Decca Records and UK Brunswick Records . This would be the only Who recording to appear on ATCO, although Pete Townshend and John Entwistle would eventually sign to ATCO as solo artists, and Roger Daltrey later signed

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2560-548: The Hop " and " Splish Splash ". Abramson left Atlantic Records in December 1958, selling his stake in the company to ex-wife Miriam Bienstock , (who married music publisher Freddy Bienstock ) and Nesuhi Ertegun. Ahmet Ertegun became president of the company. Abramson started new record labels including Triumph , Blaze , and Festival . His most successful post-Atlantic recording was producing " Hi-Heel Sneakers " by Tommy Tucker (released on Checker Records ) still able to compete in

2640-524: The Replicas-era music including B-sides . The successful tour reflected the resurging popularity of electropop in the UK and coincided with his 50th birthday and 30th anniversary of the original release of Replicas . In November 2007, Numan confirmed via his website that work on a new studio album, with the working title of Splinter , would be under way throughout 2008, after finishing an alternate version of Jagged (called Jagged Edge ) and

2720-512: The Slash and Shock , a rock/mime/burlesque troupe whose members included Barbie Wilde , Tik and Tok , and Carole Caplin . Living Ornaments '79 and '80 , a live two album box-set from the 1979 and 1980 tours, was released at this time, reaching No. 2 in the UK charts. Both albums, also individually released as Living Ornaments '79 and Living Ornaments '80 also charted. The decision to retire would be short-lived. Departing from

2800-595: The Thymes. He moved A-1 Sound to 76th Street on the ground floor of a hotel off Broadway. Musicians who recorded demos in the studio include: Richie Cordell , Hank Crawford , Barry Manilow , Bette Midler , James Moody , Patti Smith , Les Fradkin and Muddy Waters . The Godz recorded their first three albums at the West 56th Street studio in 1966, 1967 and 1968, and their fourth album at 76th Street in 1973. Jim McCarthy from The Godz also recorded his solo album ( Alien ) at

2880-484: The UK top 40. Despite this, the album divided critics and fans, and ultimately performed poorly, stalling at No. 32 on the UK chart. Numan cites many reasons for this, including distribution issues. A collaboration with Bill Sharpe (of Shakatak ) as Sharpe & Numan , in 1985, was more successful; in March of that year, the single " Change Your Mind " reached No. 17 on the UK Singles Chart . A few months later,

2960-406: The UK, and a sell-out tour ( The Touring Principle ) followed; the concert video it spawned is often cited as the first full-length commercial music video release. The Pleasure Principle was a rock album with no guitars; instead, Numan used synthesisers connected to effects units to achieve a distorted, phased, metallic tone. A second single from the album, " Complex ", made it to No. 6 on

3040-563: The UK. He was the winner of the 2017 T3 tech legends award. On 24 September 2018, Numan's tour bus hit and killed an elderly man in Cleveland , Ohio , US. The driver was not immediately charged. Numan was scheduled to appear at the Cleveland House of Blues that evening but cancelled the show for being "inappropriate" in light of the day's tragedy. His next studio album Intruder was released on 21 May 2021. The title track

3120-536: The Welshman's Protafield album Nemesis The same album was re-released as a Special Edition under Lewis's solo name in 2018. Numan provided vocals for the song "Long Way Down", composed by Masafumi Takada with lyrics written by Rich Dickerson, for the survival horror video game The Evil Within , which was released on 14 October 2014. Numan performed a sold-out, one-off live show in London in November 2014 at

3200-458: The aegis of Atlantic Records, where it was relaunched. On February 14, Billboard announced that Atlantic Records President of A&R Pete Ganbarg was appointed president of the newly relaunched ATCO Records. Ganbarg's first ATCO signing is Philadelphia-based alternative act Zero 9:36. The following is a list of artists who have recorded for ATCO Records. Herb Abramson Herbert Charles Abramson (November 16, 1916 – November 9, 1999)

3280-489: The album's co-producer), and saxophonist Dick Morrissey (who also performed on The Fury , Strange Charm and Outland ). The album peaked at No. 12, produced two hit singles including the top 20 title-track and, like I, Assassin , spent six weeks in the charts. Warriors was the last album Numan recorded for Beggars Banquet Records, and was supported by a 40-date UK tour (again with support from robotic mime and music duo Tik and Tok). Numan subsequently issued

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3360-491: The albums chart, where it peaked at No. 59. In November of that year, a version of the song "I Still Remember", from the previous album, was released as a charity single, but stalled at No. 74 on the singles chart. Further collaborations with Bill Sharpe spawned two more Sharpe & Numan hits with " New Thing from London Town ", peaking at No. 52 in 1986, and "No More Lies" at No. 35 in 1988. In 1987, Numan performed vocals for three singles by Radio Heart ,

3440-485: The best-of compilation Exhibition , which reached No. 43 on the UK Albums Chart, and a remix of "Cars". The remix, titled "Cars (E Reg Model)", charted at No. 16, marking Numan's final Top 20 hit (until the same song was re-released in 1996). Numa Records, which had been launched during a flurry of idealistic excitement, folded after the release of Numan's 1986 studio album Strange Charm . Numan would reopen

3520-637: The creative end of the business, and Miriam handled the economics. In 1953, Abramson was drafted. Jerry Wexler filled in and joined Atlantic as a partner, though Abramson retained the title of president. When Abramson returned from the Army in 1955, he found Atlantic a changed company. Ertegun's brother, Nesuhi , joined Atlantic in 1955 as a partner and was enjoying great success in selling jazz albums. Ertegun and Wexler were recording R&B hits which crossed over into pop . His failing marriage to Miriam would end in divorce. Abramson returned home from Germany with

3600-608: The current album and the Tubeway Army group name was dropped. In September " Cars " reached No. 1 in the UK. The single found success in North American charts where "Cars" spent 2 weeks at No. 1 on the Canadian RPM charts, and reached No. 9 in the US in 1980. "Cars" and the 1979 studio album The Pleasure Principle were both released under Numan's own stage name. The album reached No. 1 in

3680-641: The decade to come, the ATCO name and logo would be occasionally used on reissues of past material, but the imprint itself was now dormant. In 2005, after more than a decade in hibernation, ATCO (in a joint venture with Rhino Records ) released the soundtrack of the Bobby Darin biopic Beyond the Sea , which starred Kevin Spacey and featured his renditions of Darin's songs. This led to Warner Music Group reactivating

3760-401: The early 1960s, Atlantic began to license material from international sources, leading to instrumental hit singles from Jorgen Ingmann , Acker Bilk and Bent Fabric . Starting in the mid-1960s, ATCO moved into rock-and-roll with Sonny and Cher , Buffalo Springfield , Vanilla Fudge , Iron Butterfly and Cream (the latter under license from British label Polydor ). In 1964, ATCO released

3840-491: The end of June and remained on that position for four consecutive weeks. In July its parent studio album Replicas also reached No. 1 on the albums chart. At this point Numan was recording his next studio album with a new backing band, having recruited keyboardist Chris Payne and drummer Cedric Sharpley. At the peak of success, Numan opted to premiere four songs in a John Peel session in June 1979 rather than promoting

3920-499: The first time in his career, neither of the three singles released from the album ("Your Fascination", "Call Out the Dogs" and "Miracles") managed to reach the top 40, barely entering the top 50 on the UK charts. The following year, Numan scored two top-30 UK singles, with " This Is Love " in April 1986, and " I Can't Stop " in June that year; the subsequent album, Strange Charm , was released later that year, but only spent two weeks on

4000-406: The industry as an independent label. Abramson developed a method of cutting concentric grooves for a record so a different recording could be heard depending on which groove the tonearm landed on. That process was used on a series of "Magic Records" that Abramson produced which were marketed for children. After leaving Atlantic, Abramson sold the patent to Mattel which used the process to develop

4080-618: The influence was mutual. He cites " Closer " as his favourite Nine Inch Nails song, and has said " Head Like a Hole " has "the best chorus ever". Depeche Mode 's album Songs of Faith and Devotion that came out during the recording of Sacrifice became a massive influence on Numan that both musically and lyrically inspired his new, darker direction. Sacrifice was the final studio album that Numan made before shutting down Numa Records permanently. His next two studio albums, Exile (1997) and Pure (2000), were well received and significantly helped to restore his critical reputation, as did

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4160-531: The label in 2006 in conjunction with Rhino. Scarlett Johansson , Keith Sweat and Art Garfunkel were among the first artists signed to the label. Garfunkel issued Some Enchanted Evening on January 30, 2007. Johansson issued Anywhere I Lay My Head on May 20, 2008. Queensrÿche released its American Soldier album on ATCO on March 31, 2009. The New York Dolls released its album Cause I Sez So on ATCO on May 5, 2009. Shortly thereafter, ATCO would become dormant again. In 2020, ATCO returned to

4240-460: The late 1970s, Numan began developing his style. According to Numan, this was an unintentional result of acne ; before an appearance on Top of the Pops , "I had spots everywhere, so they slapped about half an inch of white make-up on me before I'd even walked in the door. And my eyes were like pissholes in the snow, so they put black on there. My so-called image fell into place an hour before going on

4320-483: The live album White Noise (recorded during the Berserker Tour ) and a live EP with tracks taken from it (titled The Live EP ) reached No. 29 and 27 on the charts, respectively. Numan's next studio album, The Fury (1985), charted slightly higher than Berserker , breaking the top 30. Again, the album heralded a change of image, this time featuring Numan in a white suit and red bow tie. However, for

4400-426: The main Atlantic brand. In the middle 1970s, ATCO became increasingly used for hard rock acts and some British and European bands. During this time, the label issued early albums from AC/DC . Starting in 1978, however, AC/DC releases were issued on Atlantic until their contract with the label ended in the 1990s. In 1980, ATCO's visibility rose with strong chart performances from Pete Townshend's Empty Glass album and

4480-539: The merger of ATCO with Atlantic's fledgling EastWest Records America label and briefly operated the combination as Atco/EastWest Records. By 1994, however, the ATCO name was dropped and the label reverted to the EastWest Records America branding. During this time, EastWest moved its operations to Atlantic's sister label Elektra Records . As a result of Elektra's takeover of EastWest, ATCO's back catalog and retained artists were now under its control. In

4560-518: The minor hit " Love Needs No Disguise " from the studio album For Future Reference (1981) and lent lead vocals to the first single released by his long-term bassist Paul Gardiner , " Stormtrooper in Drag ", which also made the charts. However, Numan's success began to wane as he was outsold by the Human League , Duran Duran , Depeche Mode , and his prior support act, Orchestral Manoeuvres in

4640-428: The music for The Unborn with Michael R. Smith (the score was later released as the 1995 album Human ). After Outland (1991), another critical and commercial disappointment and his second and last studio album with I.R.S., Numan reactivated Numa Records, under which he would release his next two studio albums. His first Numa Records release, Machine + Soul , is considered by many, including Numan himself, to be

4720-584: The pop market and concentrate instead on exploring more personal themes, including his vocal atheism . His future wife Gemma encouraged him to strip away the influences of the more recent years. Numan thus sought a grittier, more industrial tone for his songwriting on the album Sacrifice , on which, for the first time, he played almost all the instruments himself. Nine Inch Nails (NIN), who were influenced by Numan's music, and other bands with industrial tendencies were contemporaneously becoming famous, and Sacrifice received critical acclaim. According to Numan,

4800-453: The punk rock style was adopted with the sole intention to obtain a recording contract. Ultravox 's 1978 album Systems of Romance was the main influence behind Tubeway Army's transition into an electronic sound. Numan cited the album, and particularly the song "Slow Motion", as the blueprint for what he wanted to achieve. Moving away from the commercially successful synth-pop on the 1979 albums Replicas and The Pleasure Principle to

4880-788: The pure electropop that he had been associated with, Numan began experimenting with jazz , funk , and ethereal, rhythmic pop. His first studio album after his farewell concerts was Dance (1981). The album charted at No. 3 on the UK charts , with an eight-week chart run and produced one hit single (" She's Got Claws "), which reached No. 6. The album featured several distinguished guest players; Mick Karn (bass guitar; saxophone) and Rob Dean (guitar) of Japan , Roger Mason (keyboards) of Models , and Roger Taylor (drums) of Queen . With his former backing band, Chris Payne (keyboards; viola), Russell Bell (guitar), and Ced Sharpley (drums) now reformed as Dramatis , Numan contributed lead vocals to

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4960-521: The record label edited the album's title to New Anger after the lead single's title, and also changed the album colour from black to blue and remixed several of its tracks, against Numan's wishes. In 1989, the Sharpe & Numan album Automatic was released through Polydor Records , though this too failed to garner much commercial success, briefly entering the charts for just one week at No. 59. In 1991, Numan ventured into film-scoring by co-composing

5040-427: The record label in 1992, yet it was again shuttered in 1996. In addition to Numa Records' commercial failure, Numan's own amassed fortune (since the late 1970s), which he estimated to be around £4.5 million, was drained. He then signed a recording contract with I.R.S. Records for the release of his final studio album of the 1980s, Metal Rhythm (1988), which also sold relatively poorly. For its American release,

5120-555: The recording of an album's worth of demo tapes in March 1978 (released in 1984 as The Plan ), and a second single, " Bombers ", which like the first single did not chart. The two singles were released again as a gatefold doublepack in 1979, and in 1983 a re-release of "That's Too Bad" reached No. 97 on the UK Singles Chart . Tubeway Army's self-titled, new wave -oriented debut studio album , released in November 1978, sold out its limited run and introduced Numan's fascination with dystopian science fiction and synthesisers. During

5200-496: The recording of the album Numan found a Moog synthesizer left behind in the studio and the transition towards an electronic sound began. Though the band's third single, the dark-themed and slow-paced " Down in the Park " (1979), did not appear on the charts, it became one of Numan's most enduring and oft-covered songs. It was featured with other contemporary hits on the soundtrack for the American drama film Times Square (1980), and

5280-642: The release. Numan also launched a Jagged website to showcase the album, and made plans to have his 1981 farewell concert (previously released as Micromusic on VHS ) issued on DVD by November 2006 as well as releasing the DVD version of the Jagged album launch gig. Numan undertook a brief Telekon 'Classic Album' tour in the UK in December 2006, performing at Rock City , the Kentish Town Forum and Club Academy . Numan contributed vocals to four tracks on

5360-519: The show." His "wooden" stage presence was, in his words, a result of "incredible self-consciousness" and "incompetence – I didn't know to move on stage". He became enamoured by the idea of "being cold about everything, not letting emotions get to you, or presenting a front of not feeling". Initially, Numan used his invention of the mysterious fantasy character "Mach-man", a machine in human skin dressed all in black, which developed from short stories he wrote at school, as his stage persona . But this image

5440-647: The shows. Numan lent his vocals to the track "My Machines" on Battles 's second studio album Gloss Drop (2011). He was chosen by Battles to perform at the ATP Nightmare Before Christmas festival that they co-curated in December 2011 in Minehead , England. Numan's studio album Dead Son Rising was released on 16 September 2011, which had a full UK tour split in two-halves, 15–21 September and 7–11 December. Both parts were supported by Welsh soloist Jayce Lewis ; in an interview during

5520-456: The song " Cars " by Gary Numan . As the 1980s wore on, ATCO continued to have streamlined success with artists such as Sweet Sensation , JJ Fad and Michel'le (the latter who were signed to the label in conjunction with Ruthless Records), while steadily becoming less active overall. The last number one hit on ATCO was " If Wishes Came True " by Sweet Sensation in 1990. The following year, Atlantic Records Senior VP Sylvia Rhone orchestrated

5600-456: The surname Numan from an advertisement in the yellow pages for a plumber whose surname was Neumann. Numan came to prominence in the 1970s as lead vocalist, songwriter, and record producer for Tubeway Army . After adopting a punk rock -style they signed a recording contract with Beggars Banquet Records and released their debut single " That's Too Bad " in February 1978. It was followed by

5680-596: The then-unknown band the Jam before joining Mean Street and the Lasers, where he met Paul Gardiner . The latter band would soon become Tubeway Army , with his uncle Jess Lidyard on drums and Gardiner on bass. The band signed a recording contract with Beggars Banquet Records . His initial pseudonym was Valerian, probably in reference to the hero in French science fiction comic series Valérian and Laureline . He later picked

5760-402: The tour Numan said Lewis was "one of the most popular" support acts he had toured with. Numan later published some of his tour diary online. Numan provided narration for Aurelio Voltaire 's 5th short film in his ChimeraScope series, Odokuro in 2011, which won 12 awards and was shown as a selection at numerous film festivals between 2011 and 2013. The studio album Splinter (Songs from

5840-493: The vocals on "Pray for You", the single from the Plump DJs studio album Eargasm , which reached No. 89 on the UK Top 100 Chart. In 2005, Numan took control of his own business affairs again with the launch of his recording label, Mortal Records. On 13 March 2006, Numan's studio album, Jagged , was released. An album launch gig took place at The Forum , London on 18 March followed by UK, European and US tours in support of

5920-500: Was an American record executive, record producer, and co-founder of Atlantic Records . Abramson was born in 1916 to a Jewish family in Brooklyn. He studied to be a dentist but got a job working for Al Green at National Records producing: Clyde McPhatter , The Ravens , Billy Eckstine , and Big Joe Turner . He founded Jubilee Records in 1946 with Jerry Blaine , intending to record jazz , R&B , and gospel music . Blaine

6000-558: Was discovered there was already an Atlas Records. The ATCO name is an abbreviation of AT lantic CO rporation. ATCO also provided distribution for other labels, including RSO , Volt , Island , Modern , Ruthless , Hansa , and Rolling Stones . For most of its history, ATCO was known for pop and rock music, but during its early years, it produced some jazz albums. These included Harry Arnold , Betty Carter , King Curtis , Herb Geller , Roland Hanna , and Helen Merrill . ATCO's rock era began with Bobby Darin and The Coasters . In

6080-471: Was having some success recording Jewish novelty songs , but this genre did not interest Abramson, so he sold his interest in Jubilee to Blaine. Abramson and his wife Miriam were close friends with jazz fan Ahmet Ertegun , who recognized Abramson's talent. He approached Abramson with a label proposal, and they founded Atlantic Records in 1947, with Abramson president and Ertegun vice president. Both handled

6160-424: Was named the recipient of the 2016 Moog Innovation Award by Moog Music . On 18 May 2017, Numan received an Ivor Novello Inspiration Award from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors . In 2017, Numan released the single "My Name Is Ruin" and went on a European tour September. Numan's studio album Savage (Songs from a Broken World) was released on 15 September and charted at number two in

6240-456: Was released earlier, on 11 January 2021. Numan discussed its genesis with writer Guy Mankowski , who has a chapter on Numan's legacy in his book Albion's Secret History: Snapshots of England's Pop Rebels and Outsiders , as part of an interview series on influential English artists for Zer0 Books . Following his US Intruder tour in late 2021 and early 2022, Numan began a 17-venue UK tour between late April and late May 2022. Numan performed at

6320-500: Was replaced in 1981 by a totally different "gangster"-look inspired by a television programme on 1930s eccentric millionaire Howard Hughes . Later in the 1980s, Numan adopted a new visual image for each new album, such as the Mad Max -influenced image for Warriors , the white-skinned, white-clad "Iceman" with blue hair and make-up for the 1984 Berserker album and tour, the white suit and red bow-tie image for The Fury , and

6400-425: Was unconventionally written on a bass guitar. Numan's recognisable vocals have become one of his trademarks, along with his androgynous " android " stage persona. In a 2012 interview, Numan spoke about the music that has had an influence on him over the years. As a teenager he was fan of T.Rex , David Bowie and Queen . His band Tubeway Army started in the punk rock -vein in 1977, but Numan later said that

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