"ASYLUM" for japanese Numanias and Numanoids
This is the first Gary Numan fanpage in Japan
by Klaus Sauer (Schoenen Dank!)
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The GARY NUMAN WEBRING is owned and managed by
Klaus Sauer
This site is owned by: Shin1
Tubeway Army's next album, and the first album distributed in Japan, "Replicas" (the Japanese title translates as "Genso Android", aka "Fantastic Android", way cool!), caused Numan Shock in Japan! By this time, Gary Numan had become the shining star of the Techno-age. It came as no surprise then that when he released his next album, "The Pleasure Principle" (Japanese title: "Electric Shock!", way cool again!), the name "Tubeway Army" was dropped in favour of the name Gary Numan. The album of course produced the single "Cars", which hit big in Japan too, causing armies of young Numanoids to walk around town dressed as Gary, and spawned several amateur bands that sought to imitate Gary's unique sound and voice.
As Gary's fame grew, it began to branch out in unexpected directions. A large department store chain, Parco, made Gary the central figure in an advertising campaign, with the catch phrase "I'm android...,looks like a human...". Posters were printed and spread to many cities.
1980 saw Gary's first-ever visit to Japan for a series of concerts. The Japanese Numanoid contingent welcomed our conquering hero on-stage and off, and while Gary was as "cool" as usual, the shows themselves were "hot". On-stage at Nakano Sunplaza, the fever of japanese fans heated him so much that unexpectedly Gary gave his audiences a sharp but human stare, jacket removed and naked from the waist up!!. A writer says "At that moment I saw human Numan".
This Far East Tour had an impact on Gary, as well. He became something of a "Japanophile", and it was even reported that Gary was trying to learn the Japanese language. In fact, the first track ("This Wreckage") of his next album ("Telekon"), he included a Japanese phrase: "Ohhhhh Wakareyo" (which means "let us divorce"), and the album's lyric sheets even included Japanese handscripts (perhaps written by Gary himself?). Since then, Gary has occasionally surprised his Japanese fans with private visits to this country.
Japanese Numanoids wished for a return tour with more live shows, but were disappointed. In 1981 he declared an end to his live activities, leaving Japanese fans with only reports of his "Farewell Concerts" and the "last" live album ("Living Ornaments '79-'80" - a boxed set now prized as a collector's item in this country too - the Japanese title is "Genso Live 79 & 80", with "Genso" translating as "Fantastic").
Two later studio albums garnered good popularity in Japan: "Dance" and "Warriors", the former because of the collaboration with Mick Karn (bassist of the band "Japan") and Roger Taylor (drummer for "Queen"), the latter because of the presence of Bill Nelson (in Japan, Bill is quite famous for collaborations with YMO, Yukihiro Takahashi and Masami Tsuchiya). "I, Assassin" gained only a mild reception, but later attracted attention when rereleased on "Asylum 2" and is rated as a masterpiece by young Japanese bassists.
When Gary left Beggar's Banquet to form his own record label (NUMA), the major distribution of his work in Japan came to a complete standstill. Even today, NUMA releases are not available in major distribution: Gary, where are you?!? Unfortunately, that has meant that Gary's once-immense popularity has dwindled year by year.
At the end of the 1980's, Gary signed with IRS records, and his album "New Anger" was distributed in Japan. This unforeseen release surprised japanese fans of New Wave movements in the 1980's. And they realised the fact that Gary still works hard. This "event" was followed shortly by the Beggar's Banquet-ALFA boxed-set releases ("Asylum 1-3"), under the slogan "Numan Shock Again!". His other IRS albums ("The Skin Mechanic" and "Outland") were also released in Japan, and were bought not only by appreciative Numanoids but by the general public as well (but in smaller numbers this time). Songs such as "America" and "New Anger" have often been used as background music for TV variety shows and news reports.
However, Gary heppend to target a different audience. It seemed like the "Cars" generation wasn't buying it, but a younger generation was. And although there were rumours of a Numan live show at the Shibuya Club Quattro (also rumoured to have been cancelled due to poor ticket sales), it proved not to be enough to return Gary to the prominence he once held here.
Unlike in many other countries, where Numan has been largely forgotten or ignored, in Japan it is commonly recognized that Gary was the first to successfully combine hard-edged guitars with electronic sounds. Today's japanese major techno artists are quick to declare the Numan influence on their work: examples include Tomoyasu Hotei (who recently collaborated with Asia and Sputnik New Generation), Hisashi Imai (of Buck-Tick, soon to be performing live in London), and Ken Morioka (ex of Soft Ballet). Ken says "my idols are Trevor Horn, (the artist formerly known as) Prince, and Gary Numan".
Numan's not as popular as he once was, but he's made a lasting impression on Japan that will last well into the 21st century.
Can you remember this japanese scripts?
Nori-chan & Berserker(?)