Gary Numan

"I feel a Nu-man" (an ex. No. 2, The Prisoner, ep. Fall Out).

No offence, but I think that Manset's case and Numan's are very different.  I don't see it as really relevant to Numan's case.  Manset was added for La Mort d'Orion which seemed appropriate enough to me; however, unlike Manset, I have not heard any Numan albums that I would consider to be Prog.  It's not about quantity of material for me, it's about individual albums.  The career arcs of Manset and Numan are very different and not readily comparable.  Numan found early popular success then his career waned; Manset found commercial success a few albums in.  If Manset had only released La Mort d'Orion he would be in a Prog sub rather than Related, but I don't think Numan's greater discography would prove the same impediment if, say, Replikas was considered Prog.  If Replikas is Prog then so are other albums of his.  Numan may have experimented with different styles over the years, but it's not like Genesis' move to pop, say.  Numan has taken different approaches, but I don't see some abrupt change from proggy to non-proggy (mind you, Manset realeased later material that might be considered Prog Related).

 Admittedly, I only have Replikas, The Pleasure Principle, Telekon and Warriors, so not enough to make a strong case one way or the other, except that I have heard quite a bit of other material from other albums.  Numan was one of my favourite artists at one time, particularly for Replikas and the lesser-known Telekon (Telekon being one that I'd suggest giving  a good listen to).  Certainly he explored quite a few styles -- electronica/ electropop/ techno, jazz, funk, new  wave, industrial.... I like his "machine" period the most.

Incidentally, Yes wrote a sardonic song about him, "White Car" and Bowie, who Numan idolised was critical of him and Bowie's "Teenage Wildlife" where he wrote "One of the new wave boys/ Same old thing in brand new drag" was at least in part about him.

But Prog, and sufficiently related, is in the ear of the behearer.  Incidentally, though I think it irrelevant to Numan's case, for those curious about La Mort d'Orion, youtube has the album: EDIT  link wasn't working TRY THIS (don't know if you've checked all of these out, Claude, but be interested to get your impressions, though I don't want to hijack this topic).

Whether Numan is deemed worthy or not, I don't think Manset's addition is relevant.  And I guarantee that Numan's addition would prove far more controversial.  Back in July when Manset was added, I didn't see members complaining.  And when I did a poll with Manset's La Mort d'Orion as an option in Prog polls back in April, I didn't see complaints either:
http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=47959

Back to Numan... I really should get Hybrid:



Here's one of my favourite Numan songs:



Edited by Logan - January 12 2009 at 13:30

Of course, Raff.   Manset's case has proved somewhat controversial, though, particularly when his name was brought up again.  I was trying to point out just how dissimilar the cases are. I would never have expected Manset to be mentioned in a thread about Numan.

In this moment I am having a strange urge to drive around in cars. 

Tapfret wrote: While I am still very steadfast in my opinion that nothing would be gained by including him, ...

re : repeated proposals - I love them when it  brings something new to the arguement.
And I agree with Dean, the case is not that strong. But maybe, and I lean this way, the right "presentation" hasn't been made yet.


Edited by debrewguy - January 14 2010 at 13:37

earlyprog wrote: Tapfret wrote: While I am still very steadfast in my opinion that nothing would be gained by including him, ...   I wouldn't mind seeing him in crossover and pave the way for others  Of course, I'm only saying this because Nine Inch Nails belongs there.   I believe he and NIN represent a sadly missed prog genre on PA.

I like Gary Numan ... good stuff. Seeing him on TV for the first time had a similar impact as seeing Mahavishnu on TV for the first time a few years earlier ... Welcome to the Future.
As for prog rock, nobody knows what it is anymore, ha ha.

Edited by Easy Money - January 14 2010 at 21:56

Easy Money wrote: As for prog rock, nobody knows what it is anymore, ha ha.

true.. thank goodness there's so much non-prog to compare it to

I don't think being influenced by Kraut rock is a valid argument. The influence of Kraut and Kraftwerk reached specifically outside prog territories.
It can't justify an addition of bands like Tuxedo Moon, Gary Numan, Siouxsie, Depeche Mode or Sonic Youth and countless others into the prog-related or any other sub.

The question is, did Numan influence any prog acts, whatever sub-genre? I can't see how really.
Or did he ever sound proggy himself? Don't think so.

I love all bands in this thread by the way. Most of them count among my favourites.

Japan makes a much stronger case indeed . They are not only literally related to prog bands, but they were all proficient musicians, which can't really be said about the other bands in this thread.

For me, the attention to musicianship is a binding feature for all bands on this site. It's not exclusive for Prog of course, just a common element that was decidedly discarded by the post-punk wave.


Edited by Bonnek - January 15 2010 at 07:42