06 June 2002 12.29pm Gary Numan talks to Kerrang! Numan talks to Kerrang.com about Cars, his top five industrial acts and industrial pioneering... Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails frontman, Trent Reznor cite him as a defining influence, the Foo Fighters cover his tracks, his industrial metal albums sell buy the bucketload and his sythnpop stylings have been nabbed and sampled by the attitood heavy chart topping popettes, The Sugababes. We find out what his secret is... When did you get cool again Gary? Ha I don't know if I am really. A lot of people still only know me for my early stuff but getting on the bill at Reading last year certainly helped and Trent Reznor, Manson, Foo Fighters doing covers of my songs. When Fear Factory are talking about you it can't be all bad! I think my last album got god reviews so that helped. They put you on in the dance tent at Reading, what was that all about? I honestly thought they were taking the piss. The dance tent, bastards! I was going to pull out but I was so excited at playing Reading that I went ahead with it and I was more nervous than any other gig I've played before. It turned out to be one of my best though as I thought the crowd would be hostile and pelt me with shit but they loved it, we got an encore and everything. Casey Chaos danced with me onstage, it was great. How did you get into industrial metal from your old stuff? I've always had a dark sound and experimented with guitars it just seems the next logical step. My album in 1992 was utter bollocks though I hadn't found the right direction and was really off the plot. It was so bad it made me sit down and think whether to stay in music, if I was past it. I had no money then and my personal life was shit but eventually it gave me inspiration. What happened to turn things round? I got heavier, experimented with soundscape and kicked the whole obsession with religion I had. Basically our baby died, my Nan died even the dog died and it made me angry, gave me inspiration to write, shout at God 'You bastard,' just write as therapy almost. It must work as I'm getting new audiences now and that's the best thing for me. How does it feel to have the most popular ring tone? Well it's all kids downloading them so I'm pleased I'm reaching that new audience. I tell you what The Sun rang me when Sugababes went to No.1 to see how I felt about it but I told them it was more important that my ringtone was more popular on Kerrang because it's new, it's now not my old stuff re heated. And the Rip video being on Kerrang TV was a real boost, I only ever get asked to do '80s stuff on VH1 and I refuse to do nostalgia. If I keep going on doing Cars and Friends electric it makes me fell like it's the only two songs I ever wrote. Have you been told to put Are Friends Electric out again? Or even perform with the Sugababes? Yeah but it's the worst thing I could do, living off my old material is just horrible to me. I had contact with the Sugababes but the song had done the rounds as a bootleg for months before they got hold of it, it had done it's job of creating interest in me again. Is bootlegging wrong? It's difficult, I think as an artist you'd be an idiot to try and ban people from spreading the word about you in a bootleg, it's free marketing isn't it? But I'd never help them, especially as I've stopped doing singles now. You know with at least 26 official albums, that all went top 75 might I add, there's just too much material to keep track of anyway. You know I get asked to put a discography on my website but I haven't got a bloody clue what's out there. OK what are your top five industrial metal acts? Selphur, although not many other people seem to like them H-Block Korn, especially the video. Haven't heard the album yet but guys you spend that mauch the expectation could crush you Nine Inch Nails Static X I would have said Fear Factory but they've split now Do you laugh at your contemporaries who aren't still successful? No it's their choice what they do. But I tell you these '80s reunion tours are the kiss of death. I was insulted to be asked on one, I mean fuck that whole medley of hits thing, it just means you're over. Nostalgia is just a bit sad. Finally are you sick of Cars? Yeah I am. Basically there's nothing you can do with it, just that riff do da do dah do do. At least with Friends Electric we can do new stuff with it live, add guitar parts make it heavy but your obliged top do it really so I just live with it. Check out Garyn Numan's website http://www.numan.co.uk/ Interview by Matthew Baskerville