Pure - Gary Numan

'Pure', released in October of 2000, marks the return of one of the most relevant icons in the rapturous abyss that is dark music. For many, 'Pure' will immediately elicit responses from half-amused disbelief to laughter to... Oh, you get the picture, right? But to many "in-the-know", following Gary Webb on his musical oddessey into the heart of darkness(beginning with 1994's spectacular 'Sacrifice'), 'Pure' definitely serves as no surprise. Over an hour's worth of classic electronica-post-industrial/metal dementia brought to you by the man without whom... Well, you don't really need me to reiterate exactly how ...  Read the complete review

2000's *Pure* album saw the Eighties King, Gary Numan, make a triumphant entry into the new millennium. No retro- eighties stylings here, rather a full circle of influences taking him to a new place. 15 years ago r Numan was inspiring the likes of Trent Resnor, Burton C Bell, and a whole raft of other people, who then spun off into the dark 'n' heavy hinterland, well away from the shiny pop world Numan had started out in. The turn of the century spun the wheel so it was them influencing him. 1999 saw Numan working in collaboration with the guys of Industrial-metal behemoths Fear Factory to produce the truly stunning cover of Cars. If you've seen the ...  Read the complete review

OK, you should have all finished doing double takes now. Yes, this is a Gary Numan album and yes it is in the hard rock category (Or at least it should be!!!). It’s all a bit convoluted but basically Gary Numan has transformed himself from the strange little man of electro pop he used to be into a Trent Reznor like electro rock behemoth. And yet who was it who inspired Trent Reznor (Amongst others) to pick up a synth and create what we know now as Nine Inch Nails? Gary Numan of course. So the mentor having duly mentored the pupil has now changed into the image of the former pupil. Very deep, very Zen – very verging on the Karate Kid. The music that ...  Read the complete review

Gary who-man? Many of you might ask (sorry about that shamefully bad pun). Well for all of you musical philistines out there he's a bloke who was quite big in the eighties (particularly with the song 'Cars') which usually equates to being pretty horrendous but not in Gary's case. At one time Gary Numan's ‘Tubeway Army’ (As they used to be called) were one of the leading lights of electronic based music, which is a style continued on this album. However there is now more emphasis put on distorted guitars, adding a heavier, more abrasive edge to the songs. The album is a collection of slow to mid-tempo tracks, brooding and ...  Read the complete review

I was very lucky in meeting Gary's wife several years ago. She was a fellow Mission/Sisters fan & we got on really well. I met Gary on several occasions & found him to always be a lovely guy; all the time in the world for his fans & really into his music. This is relevant, because of one conversation that sticks in my mind, and perhaps helps put the change of direction into perspective... Gary said that he was nervous of changing too much, too quickly - he even mentioned the fact that he didn't want to change his hairstyle as 'the fans' may not like it (referring to the old starched, side-parting as the 'shredded wheat look'!) ...  Read the complete review