Gary Numan Says Trent Reznor Collaboration Is 'Very Much Alive,' Pair Also Working on Singer's Immigration Status

Legendary New Wave pioneer Gary Numan may be most famous for his eerie, synth-driven auto anthem 'Cars' from 1979's 'The Pleasure Principle,' but he was famous in his native England before that. And since then, he has built a deep catalog that's continued to explore and push the boundaries of electronic and industrial music.

Dave Grohl, Marilyn Manson and many other formidable artists acknowledge the influence of Numan's vision, including Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor, who took things a bit further than merely paying tribute.

Numan's new album, 'Dead Son Rising,' is another experimental gem that was originally developed out of a collection of demos he had from previous projects. The charming, modest singer spoke to Spinner about the new set, his relationship with Reznor and an important move he is hoping to make soon.

What were your musical plans back in the late 1970s in terms of career?

I was 19 when I got my first record deal, so long-term to me was 10 years. I had no plans at all beyond 30. Not for anything, even beyond music! 30 just seemed so old and I could not even imagine thinking beyond that. But I had all sorts of plans and schemes until then. That said, I found when I got to 30, I still loved making music, and still desperately wanted to do it -- more than ever.

Gary Numan and Nine Inch Nails Perform 'Cars'

Your Tubeway Army stuff and your breakout album, 'The Pleasure Principle,' went against the grain of a lot of the punk stuff happening in England. What were you listening to then that inspired you to incorporate synthesizers?

Actually, nothing at all. It kind of caught me by surprise. The only electronic music I'd heard was a bit of Kraftwerk, which was OK but didn't really fire me up. And the Eno-Bowie collaborations like the 'Low' album, which was almost like classical musical done electronically, very grand and lovely. But none of it made me want to get a synth. The very first record I ever went in to make, with Tubeway Army, was a punk record. The day I arrived, there was a Mini Moog sitting in the control room that the previous band had been using. They forgot it here so I got us it for the whole day without even paying for it. I just turned it on, twittered a dial here and there and loved what happened. It was amazing what came out of that thing. So I quickly converted, on the fly, my punky songs into electro-punk songs. That became my first album.

You really stumbled into something!

I did, and I wanted to push it out fast because I thought I was the only one doing it like this. I was so ignorant! The album came out, got good reviews, so they wanted me to do another one quick. But by then I'd started to realize there were other groups doing this, like the Human League for example. See, there was this electronic scene, but being done in isolation. I mean, Ultravox already had three albums out! I was late to this unknown revolution! So then I end up with a No. 1 single in the U.K., 'Are Friends Electric?,' and all of a sudden people are pointing at me saying, "Oh he makes this new sort of music and he is so great," and I'm thinking,"Tthat's embarrassing, because I was one of the last people to get into it!" I just happened to be the one that got really successful with it.

What those other bands must have thought about me [laughs]. I mean, I had made three albums before I even owned my own synthesizer and I had two No. 1 albums. I'd give interviews with these technology magazines as this electronics mastermind -- and I didn't have a clue. They'd ask me about envelopes and filters and all this, and I had no idea what they were talking about. I was just a beginner. I never shook off that feeling of being something of a fraud. It seemed so unfair. As for all those other great bands, I've never stopped apologizing to them!

The video for your song 'Cars' got a lot of airplay, even in a pre-MTV world.

I think the 'Cars' video was very important outside of the U.K. Within the U.K. I'd actually had bigger singles than 'Cars.' But that was the song and album 'The Pleasure Principle' that really launched me overseas. I was very hands on with that video, as I was with everything, the album covers, the inner bag -- everything. So for the video I knew how I wanted it to look. I was weirdly controlling [laugh]. I just enjoyed all the processes so much. I even programmed my own light shows for my concerts back then. I learned so much back then. As soon as I learned someone was good at what they did, I was in there like a sponge trying to gather information. And the 'Cars' video I had a real idea of what I wanted.

The new record, 'Dead Son Rising', has a very cool sound.

If the original version of the album had been released, I think I would have been very unhappy. I really wanted to get something out. But when it was done, my heart was not in it. I just didn't like it. So I put it aside. I didn't feel good about any of it. I just walked away from it. About a year and a half later I was on holiday in Florida with my wife and three daughters. And my wife was playing some music one day in the back room and it sounded great so I went flying back and said, "What is this?" She said, "It's you, you idiot!" And it was the album. And for some reason, it sounded fantastic. I think before, I'd just gotten down on it. Lost perspective. But after some time went by, the break really seemed to help -- I barely recognized it. So I got on the phone with my bandmate Ade Fenton and said let's get back to this and really finish it, take what we had and expand on it and make it even better. It was a tough process to get to the finish, but completely worth it. We made everything so much better the second time around and now I love it. The reaction to the tour was amazing, too. So I wonder, if my wife had not been playing those tracks, would any of this had happened? Not the first time she's helped my career! So many things I can trace to her.

She introduced you to Nine Inch Nails, who have played a big part in your career, right?

She did, after we first met. She's got some sort of sixth sense of what's right for me. She played them and it blew me away. Then we had dinner with a friend of mine, Alan Wilder from Depeche Mode. Through him I got to meet Trent Reznor. He'd seen me play way back when and liked what I did. We met in the mid-90s for the first time and really got on well. Then in 2009, when Nine Inch Nails were playing in the U.K., my wife heard they were doing my song 'Metal' in their set, which blew me away. I was so proud. So she secretly e-mailed Trent to say, "We're coming to the show, do you want Gary to come up and do 'Metal' with you?"

Had I'd know she was doing this, I would have gone mad. I'm so not like that. So Trent writes me and says great idea -- I had no idea what he was talking about! I was horrified, but grateful. So I went to the O2 arena to do it and he had added 'Cars' to the set! I told him, "There must be a mistake. These are your fans! 20,000 coming to see that last Nine Inch Nails shows in England. Why would they want to see two Gary Numan songs, and Gary Numan singing them?" But Trent said "No, it will be fine." He did a lovely introduction and I was very grateful for it. I mean, to me, they are like the most influential band ever. And to have them play my songs, a tremendous moment.

Is there any chance you two might collaborate?

We're in touch quite a lot now. I came to Los Angels and did the last shows there with Nine Inch Nails and then at dinner after that, we talked about it and it is very much alive, which thrills me. Trent just wants to do something very different and not have it sound like me doing a Nine Inch Nails record or him doing a Gary Numan record. The progress of that is that my family and I are trying to relocate to America and Trent has been very helpful to me -- he's written a testimonial for me for the immigration process, which is fantastic. So he's extremely valuable in my life for many reasons.

It was in the press that part of the reason you wanted to relocate to America were the riots in England.

We wanted to move before that. We just love it there and it's long been a dream for us. I absolutely love America and it's where my wife and I want to raise our children. As far as the immigration status, I think we have a strong case and we seem to meet all the necessary criteria, but it does get harder and harder each year and so we're doing whatever we can.

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