To most Gary Numan is the founding father of electro synth pop. His seminal track, ‘Cars’ is nearly as popular today as it was upon its original release in 1979. The song ushered in a new era of pop music, both here, and in the US. After new wave fell out of fashion Numan’s influence still loomed large as his dark, paranoid vision, theatrical persona and robotic sounds echoed strongly in the Goth and industrial communities. Although he has enjoyed varying degrees of popularity in the charts Numan is now seen as a very hip name to drop, and nothing short of a mentor in some areas of the industrial and dance scenes.

Born in Hammersmith as Gary Webb, the singer fell into punk as a young teen, enjoying the amateurism and directness of the movement. One of his more successful bands, Tubeway Army, released their first album in 1978, clearly influenced by Kraftwerk, Eno and Bowie. The album introduced music lovers to Numan’s fascination with experimental electronica. The next year Numan became a household name with the release number one singles ‘Are Friends Electric?’ and ‘Cars’, and the subsequent elaborate, futuristic stage shows.

Although he briefly retired from touring in the early 80s he spent the rest of the decade releasing albums on his own Numa label. In the 90s his songs became popular material for cover versions, with his new, swelling fan base and a new sense of purpose Numan cemented his status as living legend with 2000’s ‘Pure’.

Since ‘Pure’ he has released eleven albums, all of which are either live recordings, compilations or remix albums except for 2006’s ‘Jagged’, which is Numan’s latest full-length studio release. Aided in production by techno producer DJ Ade Fenton, the album has a mammoth presence. The choruses soar with power and the atmosphere is brutal. ‘Jagged’ finds Numan powering through songs that sound completely unlike anything he’d have come up with in 1978. You can clearly hear that Numan has found himself and his sound again.

In November 2007, Numan confirmed via his website that his next album, which is scheduled to be titled ‘Splinter’ will be worked on throughout 2008 and released sometime in 2009. He is also currently finishing an alternate version of ‘Jagged’, which will be titled ‘Jagged Edge’ plus a CD of unreleased songs from his last three albums.

Gary Numan will be performing live at Manchester Academy on Friday 5th September.