Revolution, Gary Numan
Revolution, Gary Numan
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(R)evolution
The Autobiography

Author: Gary Numan

Narrator: Gary Numan

Unabridged: 14 hr 5 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/29/2021


Synopsis

This audiobook opens and ends with music from Gary Numan's 2021 album Intruder

A Daily Mail 'best TV and showbiz memoir' for 2020

From humble beginnings in Middlesex, where money was scarce but dreams were encouraged, to the award-winning godfather of electronica, Gary Numan has seen it all. His incredible story can be charted in two distinct parts . . .

The first: a stratospheric rise to success quickly followed by a painful decline into near obscurity. At school, Gary fell through the cracks of the system and was expelled. An unlikely but determined popstar, he earned his first record deal aged nineteen and, two years later, had released four bestselling albums and had twice toured the world. But, aged just twenty-five, it felt like it was all over. Gary's early success began to hold him back and he battled to reconcile the transient nature of fame with his Asperger's syndrome.

The second: a twenty-plus year renaissance catalysed by a date with a super-fan. Gary catalogues his fifteen-year struggle with crippling debts, his slow, obstacle-laden journey back to the top (and the insecurity that comes with that) and why Savage reaching #2 in 2017 meant more than the heady heights of 1979. Gary also candidly discusses the importance of his fans; why having Asperger's is a gift at times; the inspiration behind the lyrics; flying around the world in 1981; IVF struggles and the joy of fatherhood and his battle with depression and anxiety.

(R)evolution is the rollercoaster rise and fall (and rise) of one man, several dozen synthesisers, multiple issues and two desperately different lives. By turns hilarious and deeply moving, this is Gary Numan in his own words - a brutally honest reflection on the man behind the music.

About Gary Numan

Gary Numan is one of Britain's most important and respected musical artists. He has been lauded by everyone from Prince ('His album Replicas never left my turntable . . . There are people still trying to work out what a genius he was') through the Foo Fighters and Nine Inch Nails to Lady Gaga ('[He] proves music has always been really inventive for the masses'). Born in Hammersmith in 1958, Gary was the frontman of Tubeway Army before embarking on a successful solo career. His #1 singles 'Are "Friends" Electric?' and 'Cars', both released in 1979, are cult classics and his 2017 album Savage entered the UK charts at #2. Gary is considered a pioneer of electronic music and, in 2017, he received the Ivor Novello Inspiration Award for song writing. He lives in California with his wife and three daughters.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Marc

Wow! What a rollercoaster ride of a life our Gazza has had. From the highs of two number 1 singles and albums in the same year, to the low of being totally shunned by the music industry and not getting any airplay from Radio 1 for years. Only the support of his die-hard fans kept him afloat, alive a......more

Goodreads review by Lord

Was a fan of Gary Numan growing up but, apart from dipping in to some greatest hits, I must confess he wasn't on my musical radar as my tastes had moved along. Still, those classics are still classics and hit that emotional centre that music can zone in on when it helped you grow up. Having said that......more

Goodreads review by Thomas

The first half of this is easily one of the best artist autobiographies I've ever read. Numan writes well and gets quite personal. I was amazed by his early years with the amazing success he made and his incredible output in a very short span of time and his subsequent struggles to repeat it. A fasc......more

Goodreads review by Frazer

Honest, unpretentious, and at times very (dryly) funny, (R)evolution manages to capture the many highs and lows of Numan’s career and personal life in unflinching detail. Part cautionary tale about stardom, part inspiration manual for creative endeavours, and wholeheartedly humble, here’s to many mo......more


Quotes

A fascinating story, told with pathos, humility and wit Sunday Times

Gary Numan's life story is exhaustive, entertaining, often poignant - and refreshingly uncool The Observer

Absolutely fascinating . . . a great read, I read it cover to cover . . . couldn't put it down, candid, enlightening story, so honest, a real rollercoaster Virgin Radio