At the gym where Rocks Off wastes time and money every few days, there is a dude that looks like Gary Numan from the cover of his solo Pleasure Principle album, so much so that we want to ask him daily if he is a part of a Houston Numan/Tubeway Army cover band we don't know about. Any idea?
Today is the real Numan's birthday. He was born March 8, 1958, which makes him just a few months older than Rocks Off's dad. This is demoralizing because it makes us immediately imagine our dear father dressed as one of the fathers of industrial and darkwave.
The former Gary Anthony James Webb paved the way for detached artists like Al Jourgensen and the Oscar-winning Trent Reznor with albums such as his former group's eponymous Tubeway Army and his later solo work.
Tubeway's two studio albums and one demo collection are required listening, especially 1979's Replicas, which features "Down In The Park", a song later covered by both Foo Fighters and Marilyn Manson.
As far as solo albums go, you cannot go wrong with the previously mentioned Pleasure Principle or - since we like to be hip and obscure - Telekon. Anyway, here are five essential Numan songs. What are your favorites?
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