GARY NUMAN TALKS TO YOU http://www.the-sun.co.uk Friday October 20, 2000 By SUN ONLINE REPORTER GARY NUMAN has been around for more than 20 years - but if your response to our webchat with him is anything to go by, he's more popular than ever. We received literally thousands of emails for our exclusive chat with the legend himself and Gary being Gazza wanted to answer the lot. Trouble is, if he'd done that not only would he have missed tonight's rehearsal, he probably wouldn't even have finished typing before the curtain goes up on his Brixton gig tomorrow night. But, before we dragged the dark one away from his computer keyboard, Gary tried to get through as many questions as he could. So, many thanks to all of you who wrote in. Check if you're one of the lucky ones who got an answer by reading below - and see what Gary has to say about forgotten B-sides, chart placings and Marilyn Manson - oh and get the full Numan critical lowdown on his new album Pure ... Do you have plans or a desire to make a Pure: Extended Mixes CD? And what is to become of the many demos that came out of the Pure sessions? Josh, Canada The demos will stay as demos probably. I'm not too keen on the idea of putting out half-finished ideas. Demos are for me to experiment with sound, direction, parts or whatever. They are not, generally, worthy enough to release until later and by then they are finished songs. I have extended mixes of the songs on Pure but the decision to release an extended-mix album is for Eagle Records. I think they have other ideas including enhanced CDs, live versions and external remixes. I'm actually starting work on the next album soon so I'm already thinking about that rather than alternate versions of Pure. What is the meaning of life? And do you think you'll be moving abroad as your career now seems to be taking off again in America and Germany? Ruggles, Bristol. There is no meaning to life. Just do what you want, when you can, if you can, but don't hurt anybody or anything. As for your other question, Gemma wants to live in America. I love it there but I'm deeply rooted here in England. It's hard to say long term what we'll do but I certainly wouldn't want to live in a country because I was more famous there. Quite the opposite actually. I was wondering if you've been able to confirm anything for the upcoming North American tour? Rick, Washington DC I had a meeting with Spitfire Records (the American label) and we are planning a major North American tour to start in March. The agent is already putting dates together. Hi Gary. How is your brother John doing? Are you going to make music together? Diana McElhaney, Rhode Island, U.S. John is an airline captain on Boeing 737s. In fact he's a fleet manager of 737s, a training captain and a whole load of other impressive things. He's the pride of our family. Gary, How much credit do you give to Gemma for the quality of your recent work? I had your poster on my wall as a teenager and now I'm getting it out again because Pure is so good. Sheenagh Bodkin, Barrington, U.S. I give all credit to Gemma. I write the songs but it was Gemma who encouraged me to look at the way I write them. For years my own embarrassment about my poor playing ability and vocals had made me get in talented players and I had progressively pushed my own performances on the records to the background. As a result they were more accomplished musically but less and less "Numan" like. Gemma made me understand that I might not be the best player around (far from it) but I did, nonetheless, have a style of my own. I also gave up on trying to write commercial, radio-friendly songs and started to write more imaginatively. This became the new direction which is going quite well. Without Gemma's patience and gentle prodding to look at myself more kindly, I would probably have stopped by now. I'd lost all direction by the early 90s. We believe a single from Pure is coming out in February to coincide with the UK tour - do you have any idea yet how long the tour will be and what the single may be? And are you looking forward to the new Marilyn Manson album? Robin and Lorraine Biggs, Chelmsford. Eagle are not sure about a single now but new opportunities are arriving every day so that option is still very much alive. If there is a single I guess it's likely to be Pure. The tour is about ten days or so and will take place in late February. I've heard the new Marilyn Manson album is excellent so yes I'm very much looking forward to it. Gary, you display a greater confidence in your music than ever before. Has your happiness in marriage had a part to play in this? Brendan Colton, Colchester Well, to be quite honest, the Pure album was, by a thousand miles, the most difficult album to make that I've ever made and I've made a lot. Difficult mainly due to a lack of confidence. I knew what I wanted, knew how I wanted it to sound but couldn't really find the ingredients. Nothing sounded good enough. I've written about this at some length in my Alien magazine (which is a fan club-style thing). I don't feel particularly confident, but I do like the way I'm writing at the moment and I'm happy with the new album. Will we see Gary release any DVDs in the future including remastered versions of old live videos? Nick Wilkinson I'd like to very much but finding our old video master is the first battle. So many were sub-licenced and then "lost". We are planning to release those that we have some time next year. A new one would be cool but, again, that's down to Eagle Records. I think everyone agrees that a current DVD of the new music and look is important - it's just a very expensive thing to get together. Where did you get the idea for the whispering vocals on the songs Rip and I Can't Breathe on your new album? Andrew Connell, Bedfordshire I did a b-side (I think it was a b-side) some years ago called Hanoi that had harsh whispered vocals. I'd forgotten all about it until I found an old cassette working copy. I thought it would work well with some of the new songs and so tried it on Rip first of all. I wasn't sure about using it on I Can't Breathe as well because I was worried it was too strong a style to have on more than one song. Nothing else had the same power though so I ended up using it on both songs. Gary, A couple of years ago I saw you and Gemma at the Brentwood center at a concert by Bjorn Again (the Abba tribute band). I'd be interested to know what you thought of it. Having recently got inspiration from Marilyn Manson and N.I.N I was dreading that this would inspire you to head in a new direction! Dave Moore T J Davies, a good friend of ours and a former backing singer for me, was working in Bjorn Again so we went to see her. We had a good time. Gary, Do you and Gemma still go to many gigs and if so who was the last band that you saw. Simon, Nottingham Haven't gone to too many recently because of all the album work but we did go to see Korn at Wembley and we were due to see Grand Theft Audio (who are excellent) but I had to pull out due to work. We usually go to a lot of gigs. Gary, I would love to know what lies behind another of one of your very personal songs One Perfect Lie? Wyn Morgan, Pwllheli, Gwynedd One Perfect Lie is about having to have my old German Shepherd put to sleep. It was only a few weeks after starting the album. She was called Spooky, was 12-and-a-half years old and had a fit which turned into a stroke. It paralysed her throat and so she couldn't eat or drink. We were told that she had a few days at best but that she would be dying of thirst and hunger throughout those few days. We though it best to end it then and there. It was horrible. The most horrible thing I've been through. We held her as she died. I cried for weeks and I'm not known for crying. Whether it was the kindest thing to do or not the guilt is enormous, mind-numbing. We have eight pets now, two dogs and six cats and I'm dreading the end of each and every one of them. Gary, how do you feel about all the positive feedback you are getting about Pure, particularly in the music press, when they were so hostile for so long? Anonymous It feels a bit odd strangely enough. It's nice but it doesn't feel quite real, like it could all turn back to hostility at any second. It feels like a very fragile place to be. I'm not used to it, certainly didn't expect it, don't quite know how to handle it and I'm too scared to actually just sit back and enjoy it. Gary, What do you think of Pure entering the UK Charts at 58 when in Germany it has gone to No2. What were your expectations and how disappointed are you with such a good album? Andy Ellison & Philip Gaunt, Leeds I hadn't even thought in terms of chart positions in any country, it has been so long since I've been in any chart. I don't know anything about chart positions in Germany so I can't comment on that. The UK position didn't really affect me that much. Being in the Top 75 is good enough for me. What's most important is how well the album does over time, not how many can be hyped into the charts in the first week. A Top 40 would have been nice to see but I've been around long enough to realise that a momentary appearance in the Top 40 is, in the bit scheme of things, less important than consistent sales over a six to 12-month period. Still, an appearance in the Top 40 AND consistent sales would have been ideal. When you were younger, you often stated that you never envisaged staying in the music industry for as long as you have. Is there some grand masterplan to retire on a high or are you happy to just carry on and see what life brings you? Simon Everest, Woking, Surrey My grand masterplan only took me as far as 30 years of age so I've been winging it for some time. I'm happy to carry on and see what comes but I remain fiercely ambitious. I have strategies but they ebb and flow as situations change. I had no idea that the new album would be received so well for example. That opens up opportunities that I hadn't expected, and so the strategy is subtly altered. Gary, it's Paul here. Good to see you back on top form again. 1) You worked with a new team of people on this album - who were they, and what was it like working with them? Rob Holliday and Monti, who have a band of their own called Sulpher, helped me finish off the record over the last three or four months. They were great, did some excellent work. 2) How does it feel knowing that you're partly responsible for the unleashing of Marilyn Mansun on the unsuspecting public? What was it like dueting with him in the USA? I'm not sure I can take any credit for Marilyn Manson. I love what he does. For him to say I had some influence on him is very flattering. The duet thing in America was great. Again, I was flattered that he wanted to come on stage with me. It certainly gave the crowd something to remember. 3) Great to see you back on the road - any plans for a major tour? February for the UK. 4) Your lyrics are very challenging towards the idea of a formalised (man-made) religion and their "God". Are you not nervous when singing such blasphemous lyrics and do you not worry that it may tempt fate at all? I'm not nervous at all although I must say that very little on Pure is about God. For example the song My Jesus is about a man that hears voices, not Jesus at all. A Prayer For The Unborn gets there I suppose but I wrote that just after our baby died. Things like that tend to fire up all those old emotions about God and His all-forgiving, kind, infinite bloody wisdom. 5) You have constantly put yourself down in the musical/talent stakes. Surely, after recording an album as good as Pure you can allow yourself a moment of self-belief? Is it strange reading the good reviews that Pure has receieved? I don't play particularly well but I do have a style, a sound of my own. I'm under no illusion that I'm a good musician, I'm not. But, I can put sound together well enough that I can get round the problem. I don't mean to say that I can't play, I'm perhaps too dismissive at times of what I do, but I listen to really class players and know that I will never be able to do that. But, perhaps, I can write things that they will never be able to. We each have to make best use of what small talents we have. 6) Do you forgive me for my drunken rantings about the Manchester gig? Forgiveness doesn't come easy. They say time heals so who knows? Gary, Do you still enjoy singing your old classics that everyone knows you for, or do you prefer the new stuff? Ty Tyson, Amsterdam I do at times feel slightly trapped by the need to play songs more than 20 years old alongside newer things. But I suppose that just proves I've had a long career and fans of long-standing loyalty for much of it. There are times when I wished I'd only made the last three albums though and that I only needed to choose from those songs. Not often though, I'm quite proud of some of the older stuff. SOME of it.