Gary Numan

Date: August 7th, 2006,
Venue: Irving Plaza,
City: New York.

Gary Numan

was on a US 2006 Tour promoting his latest album Jagged. This interview took place at the backstage of Irving Plaza before the show.

Interviewing Gary Numan

I was happy that Gary Numan granted me an interview.
However, I couldn't help but feel a bit anxious as I walked in to Irving Plaza to set up my camera for I wondered if the management might be mean or change their minds after seeing, that it was just little ole me and my tripod that showed up and not a big fancy television crew.

But they all were very nice and treated me with respect. I met each band member while I waited backstage, and each politely offered me food and drink.
Gary Numan is all Smiles!
All Smiles!
My interview with Gary Numan was along the lines of a casual conversation as opposed to a very serious interview. Gary is a very nice person to speak with and I enjoyed talking with him about a variety of topics from his new album(Jagged) to his pilot hobbies to cat food.

Video Interview Downloads

The video interview is a little over an 1 hour long, so I have broken the interview up into 3 parts to make downloading easier. I didn't cut anything out, as I figured the whole interview experience flowed better that way. To view the video now, you need to have Quick Time installed. If you have any trouble viewing the video, let me know.

Ms Divine's Interview with Gary Numan - Part 1 Ms Divine's Interview with Gary Numan - Part 2 Ms Divine's Interview with Gary Numan - Part 3
Play Gary Numan Interview by Ms Divine - part 1 Play Gary Numan Interview by Ms Divine - part 2 Play Gary Numan Interview by Ms Divine - part 3

MP4 (Mpeg 4) Version available: Feel free to download the mp4 versions of the Gary Numan interview by CLICKING HERE. The MP4 (Mpeg 4) versions are for downloading only, and are about 130 Megs each. These versions are clearer, less grainier without much loss to the original quality.

Fans of Gary Numan

Gary Numan's fans come in a wide variety so I included a videoclip where I interviewed some fans who were waiting in line before the concert. One fan was dressed like Numan in the old days. I found this to be interesting for she was a girl that was dressed as a man. Usually you see guys that try to dress like Numan. I also spoke with a fan who came all the way from Alaska

Ms Divine's Interviews Fans of  Gary Numan

Play video of Gary Numan Fans - Numanoids

Ms. Divine's Tee Hee Heure

This video interview of Gary Numan will be airing on my local sketch comedy TV show called Ms. Divine's Tee Hee Heure. It airs in New York, in the boroughs of Queens and Manhattan via Queens Public Television and Manhattan Neighborhood Network TV.For showtimes click here
These channels are accessible to ALL residents of Queens and Manhattan who subscribe to cable TV. Tune in to support open sourced media!

I have already aired this Gary Numan interview on TV but if you are a resident of either county, send me an email and I will let you know when the 3 part episode of Gary Numan repeats.
The interview is edited for the show and includes some live footage of his concert.
Gary Numan during Ms. Divine's Video Interview
Gary and I comparing teeth. Mine are bigger!
Senor Nacho of Ms. Divine's Tee Hee Heure
Senor Nacho - a sketch character I play
My show is a collection of short sketch comedy films.

If you are interested in finding out more, I recommend downloading my sketch film Dancing Girl or "A Most Particularly Peculiar Bank Heist", that is if you are in the mood to see something peculiar....


The Concert

Gary Numan gave a very passionate performance and it reminded me of Opera. Of course Gary doesn't sound like an opera singer. But in an interesting opera, the actors/singers are very expressive when they are singing and they convey to the audience the emotions of that scene.

When Gary Numan sang, his voice reflected a variety of gut wrenching emotions and tones. His actions too were very expressive and complemented his voice. It was as if he was unraveling a story. Gary Numan exhibits a unique element of drama while he performs. The audience were enamored by Numan's performance.

Gary Numan Gary Numan Gary Numan fans Gary Numan
Here are the concert pictures from Irving Plaza, NY. Click on the thumbnail to make it big!
Gary Numan Gary Numan Gary Numan Gary Numan
Ms. Divine n other Gary Numan band members incl Chris Mc Cormack
A fun picture with the other band members
The other band members looked like they were having fun. Chris Mc Cormack (of the band 3 Colours Red) had an odd habit of going very near audience members and then strumming the guitar in their faces. I thought that was quite funny.

At the end of the show, the drummer threw his shirt off, and strutted half-naked off stage feeling as proud as a peacock. He certainly made his presence quite known, for throughout the whole concert, I didn't see him behind that big drum set.
The other guitarist for some reason reminded me of a mountain goat. Not in a bad way, but humans sometimes resemble animals. For instance, the Goal keeper of the German Football (World Cup)team, when he had lots of blonde facial hair reminded me of a lion with a floppy mane.
Gary Numan Gary Numan Gary Numan Gary Numan and Ms. Divine

Gary Numan (one man music team)

Most people remember Gary Numan from his hit single CARS. In fact a common error that I see floating around the web quite often is that Gary Numan is from the band Cars w/ Rick Ocasek . What a pity. Gary Numan has moved on from his 80's stereotype and has produced an onslaught of new albums incorporating more darker and industrial sounds. Bands from Nine Nails, to Marilyn Manson, Fear Factory have stated that Gary Numan's music has had quite a major influence on them.

Rumors circulated in the 80's that Gary Numan was obsessed with money and wealth, and was seen driving around London in a white Chevrolet.
It has been reported that David Bowie allegedly wanted Gary Numan off the set of the Kenny Everett show as they were both scheduled to appear on the show.
Bowie has also been quoted to say that he didn't know that "cloning was part of the 80's", in reference to Gary Numan. It's ironic how a celebrity such as David Bowie who is a super mega rich person (and is still today) NEVER was labeled by the press as someone who loved wealth while Gary Numan had the misfortune of carrying of the label.

Gary Numan mentioned how he might have said lots of stupid things to the press and that's why they had negative things to say about him.
I found some old video interviews with Gary Numan, when he was in his 20's and he appeared to be quite pleasant.

I was a bit disappointed for there was no video of Gary Numan expressing violent behaviour like smashing cameras or beating journalists.

So since that didn't take place I wonder why press would want to write bad things about him. Even if he came off as being aloof, that can't really offend a journalist.

Gary Numan
Talking about animals with Gary Numan
Gary Numan has a couple of both cats and dogs who are very lucky animals to be under his care.

Visit my animal page to read about what I was talking about with regard to pet food and holistic care.
Gary Numan has Asberger's Syndrome (very mild case of autism) since he was a child. He has never been officially diagnosed with it. His pretty wife, Gemma has been a gem and helped him deal with it.
Complexities of the brain are something very hard to accept or deal with, much less understand. But accepting is the first step to dealing with things like that.
But upon doing some research, it seems that people with autism often have above average IQ and in many cases are geniuses. Noted scientists such as Albert Einstein were also diagnosed with it!

Gary has mentioned in interviews before, that because of his Asberger's Syndrome, he might come off as cold and uncaring without realizing that. I could understand how that might alienate close friends, but I still don't think it is enough for the press especially in the 80's to scorn him. The media can be very fickle.

Gary Numan deserves more respect from the media for creating such a unique embodiment of musical work over the years. Sure, he is not curing cancer by creating music. But he is contributing to the art field that exists within society, yet his contributions are not widely acknowledged. Institutions that claim to respect artist contributions will never consider Gary Numan to be part of the Musical/Rock and Roll Hall of Fame etc. Instead, award shows like MTV music awards and Grammy awards seem to honor musicians with mediocre talent at best.

The zoologist Desmond Morris who wrote the book "the Human Zoo" (If you have seen my skits, this is Dr. Doctor's favorite medical book) provides some interesting insightful observations about the creative individual.
The creative talent will therefore find himself alternately praised and damned by society in a bewildering way, and will be constantly in doubt about this acceptance by the rest of the community:
Desmond Morris (The Human Zoo, Chapter 12)


Gary Numan has tried very hard to break out of the typecast of being a one hit wonder from the 80's. He has turned down more offers that than he has accepted since many of these offers were geared to promoting him solely as "the person that did CARS", completely over-looking all of his latest music.

Its refreshing to see an artist who doesn't succumb to the business aspect of the music world where record labels are so keen on marketing the artist as a money-making commodity. Instead he stuck to his artistic roots and has created a massive amount of work encompassing various styles.

Not only that, but Gary Numan really is a 1 man music team. Everything from managing his web site, his music and the cover art on his album are all created by Gary Numan. He has the comfort of having his own record label and sells his records thru his own web site.

Gary Numan on saying hello on Ms. Divine's Tee Hee Heure
Gary Numan saying Hello to my show
It's a shame that mainstream TV would never give a chance to an artist like Gary Numan by offering him the publicity that he deserves. Instead regular TV/radio airs generic music for the masses.

Even I can create better music by banging pots together.

In a sensible world, the song "Haunted" from Gary Numan's latest album JAGGED, would have had a good chance of reaching #1 on the music charts. But this is not so. Obviously there must be some sort of logical explanation for this. Apparently, some evil forces have inversed the entire top 40 charts. As a result, the worst music that belongs to the bottom now appears at the top. Conversely, the better music is now at the bottom of the charts.

These strange forces have successfully convinced much of the population that the current bad music is really good. And who are these evil forces you ask? Just turn on the TV or radio and you will hear them.

Despite the fact that corporate mainstream media has the potential and power in reaching large audiences, it is relatively useless for it does NOT acknowledge contributions of real artists. Alternative media is much more effective in spreading the word.
In terms of promotion, Gary Numan is very open to all sources of media and doesn't shut himself off from underground sources. There are many artists who are not open-minded to alternate media and would rather have pre-defined media ONLY interview them..

Without depending on publicists, major labels, or mainstream TV Gary Numan still has managed to maintain a loyal audience internationally! He has the freedom to create music for the love of it, without being bound to any corporate entity. That is a very good thing. Looking at how Gary Numan has over come all these aforementioned obstacles can truly serve as an inspiration to independent artists. Although the creative road might be the loneliest and most difficult, it still can pay off in the end. Gary Numan has proved this!

Gary Numan - New album Jagged
Click here to visit Gary Numan's Official Website




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