It’s hard to believe it’s been more than three decades since the release of Gary Numan‘s The Pleasure Principle, the electronic-pop masterpiece that spawned massive hit single “Cars,” one of the defining tracks of the new-wave era. (The song has since been covered and sampled numerous times and been used in countless commercials, movies, TV shows, video games, etc.) To celebrate the highly influential album making in into the Billboard top 20 in 1980 and the recent multi-disc, 30th-anniversary reissue, Numan just kicked off a three-week U.S. tour that features him playing The Pleasure Principle in its entirety, along with songs from his entire career as well as tracks from forthcoming album Splinter. Numan will also be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with him.
Numan: It often strikes me as odd that so many of the people that seek fame, and therefore want to be instantly recognised by the masses, throw up their hands in horror at the intrusion into their lives the moment fame arrives. On the one hand I can understand their problem. There is no college course for fame. Most people wish for it based solely on the outside image that it projects, money, sex and so on. Much of the reality remains hidden behind that sparkly, and most desirable, facade. A bit like the man my kiddies saw taking off his Mickey Mouse costume recently. The dream is not all it was cracked up to be.
Being famous brings many pleasant things. The wise are able to pick and chose somewhat and stay away from those things that bring little pleasure and indulge more deeply in those that do. This ability to choose wisely can take some time to develop and, for many of those new to the fame game, this development period can be fraught with dangers. Many a bright career has been ruined by poor decisions taken before the skill in choosing had been honed to a fine art. Even some seasoned veterans have been known to slip from their pedestals by a wayward decision or two. But one thing is undeniable, the public believe, and perhaps believe correctly, that they have a certain right of access to you and so you must give them that time. To not do so is, at best, lazy and, at worst, a shining example of the God/diva personality disorder. Being able to sing, act, model or play an instrument does not make you special, it makes you lucky. Signing an autograph and simply being pleasant to those people who admire, or are otherwise interested in you, is not a big deal. Within reason of course.
I’m often pleasantly surprised by how many of the really huge stars spend a great deal of time talking to and mixing with the public, and I am often disappointed to see how many of the lesser “celebrities” act like complete knobs. Be very grateful for what you have today, you knob, it may not last for long.
