Radio Heart - featuring Gary Numan

Having described my 7" single of 'Radio Heart' in 2009, it's not bad to add the 12" single today. I've owned it for years already, but somehow it didn't make it onto this blog yet. Maybe it's because the extended version of 'Radio Heart' is a little unremarkable: it simply adds some instrumental parts of the song in the middle, making it a 6 minute version instead of the 4'20 single version.

Gary Numan is, of course, still going strong, but Radio Heart only existed for one album and three singles.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered] 
Found: unknown
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Radio Heart (extended mix)' / 'Radio Heart (instrumental)'

Change your mind - Sharpe & Numan

Bill Sharpe and Gary Numan recorded many singles together, but it all started with this one-off duet for Bill Sharpe's solo album 'Famous people'. The 7" single made a big impression on me, but the 12" single was in a league of its own.

There are precious few extended remixes that are much, much better than the track they are remixed from, but this is a prime example. With more percussion and some vintage 'stutter' beats, this version of 'Change your mind' has been one of my all-time favourites ever since I first heard it more than 25 years ago.

My collection: 12" single no. 46
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1986
Cost: 10 guilders
Tracks: 'Change your mind (extended)' / 'Remix, remake, remodel', 'Fools in a world of fire' (with Linda Taylor)

I'm on automatic - Sharpe and Numan

Bill Sharpe and Gary Numan recorded the album 'Automatic' in 1989 and this single was taken from the album. Like the album, the single wasn't a commercial success despite the lightweight pop that was contained in the album.

I've always been very fond of their first collaboration, 'Change your mind' and thought their other collaborations were pretty good too. It's hard to understand that many people didn't see it this way.

My collection: 7" single no. 4918
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, June 5, 2010
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'I'm on automatic' / 'Love like a ghost'

We are glass - Gary Numan

'We are glass' was released in 1980 as the first single from his 1980 album 'Telekon'. While his previous album 'The pleasure principle' (1979) was recorded entirely without guitars, this new album did contain the instrument again. As Numan commented, 'getting rid of guitars had been a mistake'.

Numan has said that 'We are glass' was inspired by a comment from a magazine staffer: 'Somebody once told me, a man from Omni, said that he thought I'd been put here by... something... aliens or something, to carry out a cause... which I thought was very flattering but a little silly... 'We are glass' I wrote because of that, y'know, like all pop stars are put here for reasons'. The B-side was a version of the first movement of Erik Satie's 'Trois Gymnopedies', in an arrangement that added guitar, bass and synthesizer to the original's solo piano part. The single reached number 5 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 4292
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 21, 2009
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'We are glass' / 'Trois Gymnopedies (First movement)'

She's got claws - Gary Numan

In 1981, Gary Numan did a series of farewell concerts in London, after growing weary of the pressures of fame. This decision proved short-lived, as later on in 1981 Numan released a new album called 'Dance'. The album featured several distinguished guest players; Mick Karn (bass, saxophone) and Rob Dean (guitar) of Japan, Roger Mason (keyboards) of Models and Roger Taylor (drums) of Queen.

'She's got claws' was the only hit single released from this album, peaking at number 6 in the UK singles chart in September 1981.

My collection: 7" single no. 3934
Found: Record Exchange, London, August 5, 2009
Cost: 30p
Tracks: 'She's got claws' / 'I sing rain'

New thing from London town - Sharpe and Numan

Another single by Bill Sharpe and Gary Numan, released in 1986. While their first collaboration 'Change your mind' was released by the record company Polydor, to which Sharpe was signed, this single appeared on Gary Numan's own record label Numa Records.

'New thing from London town' was a less surprising track from the duo. Gary's phrasing sounds a little forced and the song is slightly middle of the road. Still, it's a great track with lush synthesizer sounds.

My collection: 7" single no. 2934

Found: Record fair, Leiden, January 24, 1998

Cost: 3 guilders

Tracks: 'New thing from London town' / 'Time to die'

No more lies - Sharpe and Numan

After recording 'Change your mind' for Bill Sharpe's solo album, he and Gary Numan decided to record a whole album together. The album, titled 'Automatic', saw the light in 1989, but before that, a couple of singles were released.

'No more lies', released in January 1988, was one of them. At the time of its release I came across the cd-single several times, but I never bought it. Something I lived to regret. When I saw the vinyl single a decade later, I snapped it up. It's great synthpop, which was rewarded in the UK with a chart placing, peaking at number 34 in the singles chart. Outside of the UK, it was largely ignored.

My collection: 7" single no. 2907
Found: Beanos, East Croydon, London, October 31, 1997
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'No more lies' / 'Voices'

Change your mind - Bill Sharpe and Gary Numan

Bill Sharpe was keyboard-player with the band Shakatak when he decided to record a solo album. 'Famous people' was released in 1985 and featured collaborations with Tessa Niles and Gary Numan.

'Change your mind' was my favourite track of 1985. The attraction of the single was helped a lot by a great video and the 12" single which featured a great extended remix of the track. But the regular version was already a cracker. My only regret is that I never bought the UK pressing with a glossy sleeve instead of the German one with the toilet paper sleeve.

My collection: 7" single no. 264

Found: LP top 100, Den Haag, 1985

Cost: 5,5 guilders

Tracks: 'Change your mind' / 'Remix, remake, remodel'

Radio Heart - featuring Gary Numan

Gary Numan's career is well described in sources like Wikipedia, but there is no information about the project Radio Heart in which he participated in 1987. It was a top 30 hit in the UK, and although I can't remember how I first heard it, I knew I liked it right away. 'Radio heart' is a very radiofriendly track (no pun intended!) and it stays in your mind once you've heard it.

My collection: 7" single no. 2175

Found: House of Rhythm, London, September 27, 1994

Cost: 1 pound

Tracks: 'Radio heart' / 'Radio heart (instrumental)'

Download: here

Are 'friends' electric? - Tubeway Army

One of the most famous hits from the Eighties is actually a song from the Seventies: 'Are 'friends' electric?' was released in 1979. Tubeway Army consisted of many different musicians, but the main members were Gary Webb (a.k.a. Gary Numan) and Paul Gardiner. 'Are 'friends' electric?' became their first hit after appearances in 'Whistle Test' and 'Top of the pops'. The single climbed steadily to stay at number one in the UK charts for 4 weeks. After this hit, Tubeway Army disbanded and Gary Numan went on solo.

These days, the track is a regular on Eighties compilation cd's. They were obviously ahead of their time...

My collection: 7" single no. 1216

Found: Record fair, Den Haag, April 22, 1990

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Are 'friends' electric?' / 'We are so fragile'

Download: Album 'Replicas', including both tracks

Cars - Gary Numan

One more time on this blog: Gary Numan's track 'Cars'. After the releases in 1979 and 1987, 'Cars' was released once again in remixed form in 1993. The cd-single featured all seven versions that had appeared since then, whereas the 7" single only contained the '93 remix and an instrumental 'Top Gear' version. The single also included a poster bag, featuring a drawing of 1976 Formula 1 champion James Hunt by Brian Reaney.

My collection: 7" single no. 2432

Found: Fame, Amsterdam, August 19, 1995

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Cars ('93 sprint)' / 'Cars (Top Gear)'

Download: here

Cars ('E' Reg Model) - Gary Numan

Originally released in 1979, 'Cars' was remixed and re-released in 1987. The ''E' Reg Model' version featured more synth sounds and a fuller sound than the sparse original. 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.'

My collection: 7" single no. 2841

Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 5, 1997

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Cars ('E' Reg Model)' / 'Are 'Friends' Electric?'

Download: here

Cars - Gary Numan

As a little boy I was regularly playing with toy cars. That was in the days that I didn't realise they were stinking, noisy, environment-devastating machines. The appeal of Gary Numan's song 'Cars' back then was obvious. I didn't understand the lyrics yet, but the subject and the inventive use of crashing sounds (I was often playing car accidents with my toy cars) were a real turnon.

'Cars' was effectively Gary Numan's debut single, after he had abandoned the Tubeway Army moniker. His electronic music was preceding all the synthbands that would come to colour the eighties.

My collection: 7" single no. 50

Found: Rapsody, Den Haag, 1980

Cost: 3 guilders

Tracks: 'Cars' / 'Asylum'

Download: Album 'The pleasure principle', including both tracks (password: +++Hellion88+++)

I still remember - Gary Numan

Gary Numan really impressed me when he recorded 'Change your mind' together with Bill Sharpe in 1985. I played this track all through the year. Then a year later I heard this one, 'I still remember'. I don' t recall where I heard it, but I really liked the kind of melancholy feeling this song evoked. It was only when I bought the single that I found out that it had been recorded to benefit the RSPCA. Shortly after I bought the single, I also got my hands on the picture disc 12" single.

As Gary Numan himself said: 'This version features a different lyric to the version which appears on The Fury album, being written from the point of view of an abused dog, I was watching the animal squad programme and there was a dog that had been starved and it ended with the dog look at the camera and there was a sad Barbara Dickson song playing in the background. I thought it was very, very moving. So I took an old ballad and re-wrote the lyric. What I tried to do was put myself from the point of view of a badly treated dog. That's why the chorus for example was changed from “I still remember” to “How can they do this.”'

The single didn't get any radio exposure. It went into the UK singles chart, at no. 74 for one week on December 6, 1986. And that was that. Numan was frustrated: 'You’ve got a record for charity, for animals, at Xmas and not one single play on the Radio; I found it disgusting, hypocritical, if we’d had the radio behind that we’d have done so much good.'

My collection: 7" single no. 480 / 12" single no. 42

Found: LP top 100, Den Haag, 1986

Cost: 6 guilders / 15 guilders

Tracks: 'I still remember' / 'Puppets' (extended version of A-side on 12")

Download: here