Retro Music Portal: 2010

HighFlyer186 | December 02, 2007
Singer-songwriter, musician, producer and pilot.

*** LYRICS ***

Here in my car
I feel safest of all
I can lock all my doors
It's the only way to live
In cars

Here in my car
I can only receive
I can listen to you
It keeps me stable for days
In cars

Here in my car
Where the image breaks down
Will you visit me please?
If I open my door
In cars

Here in my car
I know I've started to think
About leaving tonight
Although nothing seems right
In cars

*** Released : August 1979 ***

According to Gary Numan, the song's lyrics were inspired by an incident of road rage: "I was in traffic in London once and had a problem with some people in front. They tried to beat me up and get me out of the car. I locked the doors and eventually drove up on the pavement and got away from them. It's kind of to do with that. It explains how you can feel safe inside a car in the modern world... When you're in it, your whole mentality is different... It's like your own little personal empire with four wheels on it".

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Gary Numan (born Gary Anthony James Webb on 8 March 1958) is an English singer, composer, and musician. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of commercial electronic music and has been described as the "King of synthpop." Gary is widely known for his chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" (with Tubeway Army) and "Cars". His signature style combines gloomy themes of depersonalisation and alienation accompanied by energetic synthesizer work.

Early life.

Born in Hammersmith, West London, Gary Webb's father was a British Airways bus driver based at Heathrow Airport. Gary was educated at Town Farm Junior School Stanwell, Ashford County Grammar School, Middlesex, Slough Grammar School and Brooklands Technical College. He had an early ambition to be an airline pilot, but did not gain any academic qualifications; however, he did go on to join the Air Training Corps as a teenager. He then briefly did various jobs including fork lift truck driver, air conditioning ventilator fitter and clerk in an accounts department. A guitar was purchased for him at an early age and he began writing songs when he was about 15 years old. He played in various bands, including Mean Street and The Lasers, before forming Tubeway Army with his uncle, Jess Lidyard, and Paul Gardiner. His initial pseudonym was "Valerian", probably in reference to the hero in French science fiction comic series Valérian and Laureline Later he picked the name "Numan" from an advert in the "Yellow Pages".

Personal life.

Gary married a member of his own fan club, Gemma O'Neill. In 2003, after some pregnancy difficulties, the couple had their first child, Raven. In 2005 they had a second daughter, Persia. In 2007 the couple had their third child, Echo. He published his autobiography, Praying to the Aliens, in 1997 (updated edition 1998), in collaboration with Steve Malins (Malins also wrote the liner notes for most of the CD reissues of Numan's albums in the late 1990s, as well as executive producing the Hybrid album in 2003). Gary has recently moved to East Sussex from Essex.

Gary is also known for his love of flying, a passion which has featured in some of his music videos ("Warriors", "I Can't Stop"). He has owned several small aircraft. He is one of a very small handful of flyers with the credentials and qualifications to train aerobatic instructor pilots. Gary guest-starred in "The Power of the Crimp", an episode of the BBC TV series The Mighty Boosh, where a major character, Vince Noir, is a huge Numan fan. Gary recently stated that he likes to go sailing from time to time. Gary was also a member of the Air Training Corps. Numan's brother is also an accomplished pilot.

Gary has Asperger syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder which causes restricted social and communication skills. In a 2001 interview, he said: "Polite conversation has never been one of my strong points. Just recently I actually found out that I'd got a mild form of Asperger's syndrome which basically means I have trouble interacting with people. For years, I couldn't understand why people thought I was arrogant, but now it all makes more sense."

Gary Numan - Crazier http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pca85H...

I said upside down
You're turnin' me
You're givin'love instinctively
Round and round You're turnin' me

Upside down
Boy, you turn me
Inside out
And round and round
Upside down
Boy, you turn me
Inside out
And round and round

Instinctively you give to me
The love that I need
I cherish the moments with you
Respectfully I say to thee
I'm aware that you're cheating
When no one makes me feel like you do

Upside down
Boy, you turn me
Inside out
And round and round
Upside down
Boy, you turn me
Inside out
And round and round

I know you got charm and appeal
You always play the field
I'm crazy to think you are mine
As long as the sun continues to shine
There's a place in my heart for you
That's the bottomline

Upside down
Boy, you turn me
Inside out
And round and round
Upside down
Boy, you turn me
Inside out
And round and round

Instinctively you give to me
The love that I need
I cherish the moments with you
Respectfully I say to thee
I'm aware that you're cheating
But no one makes me feel like you do

Upside down
Boy, you turn me
Inside out
And round, round
Upside down
Boy, you turn me
Inside out
And round and round

Upside down
Boy, you turn me
Inside out
And round and round
Upside down
Boy, you turn me
Inside out
And round, round

Upside down you're turnin' me
You're givin'love instinctively
Round and round You're turnin' me
I say to thee respectfully

Upside down You're turnin' me
You're givin'love instinctively
Round and round You're turnin' me
I say to thee respectfully
Upside down You're turnin' me
You're giving love instinctively
Round and round you're turnin' me