Godfather of Synth: Gary Numan reveals the inspiration behind his music and how he copes with Asperger's

In 1979, they shot to fame when their single, ‘Are Friends Electric’ taken from the ‘Replicas’ album reached number one in the charts. Four decades, 22 studio albums and a healthy 15 million in record sales later, Numan, continues to perform to packed venues around the world. Ahead of his UK 2024 tour (he plays Sheffield’s Leadmill on Monday and Leeds O2 Academy on June 2), the star, often described as the Godfather of Synth, reveals the inspiration behind his music, his love for his family and shares some of the ‘tricks’ that help him cope with Asperger’s Syndrome.

“I didn’t set out to be a pioneer,” he laughs, “at the time I was just experimenting with sound and trying to write good music. Not everyone liked it but, fortunately, it turned out to be something pretty special.”

In those early years, Numan’s music was rooted in the emerging punk scene, but his use of keyboards combined with dystopian, sci-fi lyrics, gave him an edge that made him stand out from the rest. Over the years, his career has waxed and waned, but the latest albums, Savage – Songs from a Broken World (2017) and Intruder (2021), have proven he’s still master of his craft. Both efforts have the same Apocalyptic theme that, has hallmarked much of his work. “I’ve always been fascinated by humanity, what we are doing and, more importantly, where the **** we are going to end up? I have a very low opinion of our species. We are so self-serving, self-centred and cruel that, I often think, humans are an accident of nature. Now we have AI and ironically, we could end up wiping ourselves off the face of the earth. That’s a scary thought. You know, it (AI) could be good for the planet. But then again, it might not. As an artist, I like to explore these more extreme scenarios. In the last two albums, I’ve used the same theme but very different perspectives. While Savage focuses on the human aspect, speculating on how our species could survive in, what would be a very hostile environment, Intruder looks at the situation from the Earth’s point of view. The latter is set very much in the present – a different angle but the same issue. To be honest, it was my daughter Echo who gave me the idea for Intruder. Aged just eleven, she wrote a poem, in which the earth was talking to other planets, telling them, how badly humans treated it. It really was quite a brilliant idea, and I shamelessly stole it.” Married to Gemma since 1997, the couple have three daughters, Raven, 21, Persia,19 and Echo,17, of whom he is immensely proud and takes every opportunity to insert them into the conversation.

“Back in 2020, the pandemic, and especially ‘lockdown’ really took a toll on the girls. Initially, they were excited to be off school and enjoying the enforced holiday. But, as time wore on, we could see them becoming more anxious and depressed at being cut off from everyone. In fact, at one point, we really were quite worried about them. Now, I find it fascinating to look back and see how each of them managed to cope and have even used the experience to do something creative. Raven poured her energy into music, writing and composing. In fact, her song ‘My Reflection’ (written during lockdown) is currently out there and doing well. Persia, who was always singing, suddenly stopped and became quite depressed. But she has come out of it and is doing amazing things. She’s back to her music and has even co-written and sang the song ‘Just Like a Movie’ which is on the new Billy Morrison album ‘The Morrison Project’. Unlike her sisters, Echo is not so into music. But she is a fantastic artist. She’s very funny, kind and considerate. They’re all amazing kids. We’re incredibly fortunate.”

Numan has made no secret of the fact that he suffers a mild form of Asperger’s Syndrome which causes extreme shyness and makes social settings a nightmare. He also admits a tendency toward OCD, obsessing over the smallest details. Has maturity, made the Asperger’s symptoms easier to manage?

“I don’t think it gets easier,” he says. “But you do learn to fake it! I mean as time goes on you learn little trick to help you cope. For example, nowadays, after a show I do a ‘meet and greet’ event but twenty or thirty years ago that would have been impossible. I just wouldn’t have been able to think of a thing to say. It’s not that I’m not interested, because I am. I’m also very approachable and friendly but in social situations I still feel awkward and haven’t a clue what to talk about!” Fortunately, he has a secret weapon to help him navigate the challenges of social interaction.

“Gemma is an incredible support and naturally gifted at putting people at ease. She always knows exactly what to say. Over the years, she’s helped me enormously and points out when I’m being too quiet or if I say something that sounds, what we call a bit ‘aspergy.’ I’ve learned that when we do a, ‘meet and greet’ it’s the people who are keen to talk. I just need to listen and don’t have to say much at all! I’ve also discovered that, if I look around, even among my own family, there are so many conditions, such as ADHD etc and I realise that maybe I’m not so different after all. Everyone has something.”

Whatever his social difficulties offstage, once in the spotlight, Numan, is the ultimate showman. Gone are the awkward, stationery poses that earned his early performances the label, ‘wooden’ Now, as he struts and dances about the stage, lost in the music, whipping audiences into a frenzy, with old favourites as well as tracks from his more recent albums, Numan practically glows with confidence. He even looks great. Although, as he candidly admits, his youthful appearance owes more to cosmetic enhancements, including hair transplants, rather than good genes. “I’ve lost count of facelifts,” he says. “I wouldn’t say I’m vain. I’m just in a job where the way you look is important. Well, at least the facelifts aren’t vanity, but the hair was.”

As well as a synth rock legend, Numan enjoyed a secondary career as an aerobatic flying instructor. In 1982, while travelling as a passenger, his plane, a Cessna 210 Centurion, ran out of fuel and crash landed in a field in Hampshire. Fortunately, he escaped serious injury but, later when he lost several close friends in air crashes, he, with his wife’s encouragement, decided to stop flying. He’s planning a new album, although he’s nothing written yet. “To be honest, I’m also at that stage in life when raising the kids, helping them with their future, takes priority. You know, being a dad means everything to me. Having said that, I kind of miss having a little ‘project’. To be honest, there’s a kind of emptiness there. But, I was just thinking, my daughter’s boyfriend is into parachute jumping and he invited me to get involved. It sounds exciting, so maybe……”

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