Gary Anthony James Webb, better known professionally as Gary Numan (born 8 March 1958), is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. Born in Hammersmith, London, he first entered the music industry as the lead singer of the new wave band Tubeway Army.
The Pleasure Principle is the third studio album (and debut album under his own name) by British musician Gary Numan. Released about six months after Replicas (which was still under the name Tubeway Army) in 1979, The Pleasure Principle also went to number 1 in the United Kingdom.
The most popular of all the Gary Numan albums is undeniably 1979's The Pleasure Principle. The reasons are simple -- there is not a single weak moment on the disc, it contains his sole U.S. (number one worldwide) hit, "Cars," and new drummer Cedric Sharpley adds a whole new dimension with his powerful percussion work. The Pleasure Principle is also one of the first Gary Numan albums to feature true ensemble playing, especially heard within the airtight, killer groove of "Metal" (one of Numan's all-time best tracks). Starting things off with the atmospheric instrumental "Airlane," the quality of the songs gets stronger and stronger as the album progresses -- "Films," "M.E.," "Observer," "Conversation," the aforementioned "Cars," and the U.K. Top Ten hit "Complex" all show Numan in top form.
Numan completely abandoned guitars on the album. This change, coupled with frequent use of synthetic percussion, produced the most purely electronic and robotic sound of his career. In addition to the Minimoog synthesizer employed on his previous album, Numan made liberal use of the Polymoog keyboard, particularly its distinctive "Vox Humana" preset. Other production tricks included copious amounts of flanging, phasing and reverb, plus the unusual move of including solo viola and violin parts in the arrangements. Numan was also influenced by Kraftwerk; the track "Cars" had the same musical "glides" as "Autobahn" and both songs used the same synthesizers.
Notable tracks included "Airlane", the lead-off instrumental; "Metal", sung from the perspective of an android longing to be human (covered by Nine Inch Nails on Things Falling Apart and Afrika Bambaataa on Dark Matter Moving at the Speed of Light, and used as backing for Planet Funk's "Who Said"); "Films", acknowledged by Bambaataa as an important influence on the U.S. hip hop scene; "M.E.", told from the perspective of the last machine on Earth (later used as backing for Basement Jaxx’s "Where’s Your Head At?"); the electronic ballad "Complex", a UK number 6 single; and "Cars", a worldwide synthpop hit
Track listing
01. "Airlane" - 3:18
02. "Metal" - 3:32
03. "Complex" - 3:12
04. "Films" - 4:09
05. "M.E." - 5:37
06. "Tracks" - 2:51
07. "Observer" - 2:53
08. "Conversation" - 7:36
09. "Cars" - 3:58
10. "Engineers" - 4:01
All songs written by Gary Numan, except where noted.
Credits
Gary Numan – vocals, keyboards (Minimoog, Polymoog, ARP Odyssey), synthetic percussion
Paul Gardiner – bass
Chris Payne – keyboards (Minimoog, Polymoog, piano), viola
Cedric Sharpley – drums, percussion
Billy Currie – fadeout violin on "Tracks" and "Conversation"
Garry Robson – backing vocals on "Conversation"
Producer - Gary Numan
Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Marcus Recording Studios
Mastered At – Strawberry Mastering
Published By – Beggars Banquet Music Ltd.
Published By – Andrew Heath Music Ltd.
Marketed By – WEA Records Ltd.
Distributed By – WEA Records Ltd.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Beggars Banquet
Copyright (c) – Beggars Banquet Recordings
Printed By – Garrod & Lofthouse
Notes
Released: 7 September 1979
Recorded: Mid-1979, Marcus Music AB, London, United Kingdom
Genre: New wave, synthpop
Length: 41:07
© 1979
Label - Beggars Banquet Records
The most popular of all the Gary Numan albums is undeniably 1979's The Pleasure Principle. The reasons are simple -- there is not a single weak moment on the disc, it contains his sole U.S. (number one worldwide) hit, "Cars," and new drummer Cedric Sharpley adds a whole new dimension with his powerful percussion work. The Pleasure Principle is also one of the first Gary Numan albums to feature true ensemble playing, especially heard within the airtight, killer groove of "Metal" (one of Numan's all-time best tracks). Starting things off with the atmospheric instrumental "Airlane," the quality of the songs gets stronger and stronger as the album progresses -- "Films," "M.E.," "Observer," "Conversation," the aforementioned "Cars," and the U.K. Top Ten hit "Complex" all show Numan in top form.
Numan completely abandoned guitars on the album. This change, coupled with frequent use of synthetic percussion, produced the most purely electronic and robotic sound of his career. In addition to the Minimoog synthesizer employed on his previous album, Numan made liberal use of the Polymoog keyboard, particularly its distinctive "Vox Humana" preset. Other production tricks included copious amounts of flanging, phasing and reverb, plus the unusual move of including solo viola and violin parts in the arrangements. Numan was also influenced by Kraftwerk; the track "Cars" had the same musical "glides" as "Autobahn" and both songs used the same synthesizers.
Notable tracks included "Airlane", the lead-off instrumental; "Metal", sung from the perspective of an android longing to be human (covered by Nine Inch Nails on Things Falling Apart and Afrika Bambaataa on Dark Matter Moving at the Speed of Light, and used as backing for Planet Funk's "Who Said"); "Films", acknowledged by Bambaataa as an important influence on the U.S. hip hop scene; "M.E.", told from the perspective of the last machine on Earth (later used as backing for Basement Jaxx’s "Where’s Your Head At?"); the electronic ballad "Complex", a UK number 6 single; and "Cars", a worldwide synthpop hit
Track listing
01. "Airlane" - 3:18
02. "Metal" - 3:32
03. "Complex" - 3:12
04. "Films" - 4:09
05. "M.E." - 5:37
06. "Tracks" - 2:51
07. "Observer" - 2:53
08. "Conversation" - 7:36
09. "Cars" - 3:58
10. "Engineers" - 4:01
All songs written by Gary Numan, except where noted.
Credits
Gary Numan – vocals, keyboards (Minimoog, Polymoog, ARP Odyssey), synthetic percussion
Paul Gardiner – bass
Chris Payne – keyboards (Minimoog, Polymoog, piano), viola
Cedric Sharpley – drums, percussion
Billy Currie – fadeout violin on "Tracks" and "Conversation"
Garry Robson – backing vocals on "Conversation"
Producer - Gary Numan
Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Marcus Recording Studios
Mastered At – Strawberry Mastering
Published By – Beggars Banquet Music Ltd.
Published By – Andrew Heath Music Ltd.
Marketed By – WEA Records Ltd.
Distributed By – WEA Records Ltd.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Beggars Banquet
Copyright (c) – Beggars Banquet Recordings
Printed By – Garrod & Lofthouse
Notes
Released: 7 September 1979
Recorded: Mid-1979, Marcus Music AB, London, United Kingdom
Genre: New wave, synthpop
Length: 41:07
© 1979
Label - Beggars Banquet Records
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