Synth Futurism

Two of the main innovators of the synth generation in the UK was John Foxx and a later contributor Gary Numan. Both came out of the Punk rock scene where they embraced the fledgling futurism scene where noise and images were important backed with the domination of machines.

Most synth bands in the UK emerged from the late 1970s where the electronic sound had been pioneered by Throbbing Gristle and Cabaret Voltaire. However, the workings of John Foxx and Gary Numan went a long way to producing mainstream success in the UK.

The early influences could be seen in the 1970s in Germany where Kraftwerk relied solely on digital equipment and David Bowie recorded in Berlin a number of albums that would have inspired the late 1970s acts.

John Foxx had experimented with many bands but was the original lead singer of Ultravox! where the group fused new wave, reggae and electro. The band signed to Island records and the band released 3 albums between 1977-78, they debuted with the self titled album and was quickly followed by HaHa! both were produced by Steve Lillywhite and Brian Eno.

Both albums were commercial failures but the third album systems of Romance did gain more sales and achieved more exposure particularly in America. the album was produced by Conny Plank who played a major part in the Kraut rock scene mixed with electronic music. The band was dropped by Island but they went on a self financed tour and he then decided to leave the band and was replaced by Midge Ure.

He then embarked on a solo career and signed to Virgin Records in 1980 and achieved relative success with two top 40 singles in the UK with 'Underpass' and 'No-one Driving'. His debut album 'Metamatic' fared well and broke into the top 20 in the UK album charts, one of the songs featured was 'Metal Beat' which was based on the Roland CR78 drum machine sound.

In 1981 he released the follow up album 'the garden' and peaked at number 24 in the UK album charts. Around this time he set up his own recording studio in London called The Garden. As well as recording his own material other bands used the studio such as Depeche Mode, Bronski Beat, The Cure, Brian Eno, Trevor Horn amongst very many acts.

In 1983 he released material for a film soundtrack Identification of A Woman and released his third album The Golden Section which peaked at number 27 in the UK album charts. In 1985 he released 'In Mysterious Ways' which was a commercial flop stalling at 85 in the charts, although critically many felt it was his best work, he fell out of love with music and sold up his studio and returned to his early career as a graphic artist.

He did make a return in the early 1990s at the height of the Acid Rave scene and worked with Tim Simenon (Bomb the Bass and producer for Depeche Mode) and Rave group LFO.

As for Gary Numan he rose to fame in the late 1970s with new wave/synth band Tubeway Army and the band was signed by Beggars Banquet Label and quickly released singles but to no chart success.

Gary Numan interest in the fictional Dystopian science fiction world went hand in hand with his Cold Wave style and wasn't long before the public warmed to this cold style. They hit the top of the charts with the classic 'Are Friends Electric' and the album 'Replicas' also attained the same feat.

The next offering went even bigger with the release of 'Cars' which went number one in the UK and top 10 in the UK and Top 10 in America and the album 'Pleasure Principle' also went number one in the UK. Essentially the album was a rock offering but with no guitars! instead he fed the sound through pedals to achieve the metallic sound he wanted.

He topped the album charts once again with 'telekon' which saw some hits such as 'we are glass' and I die:you die' going top 10 in the UK. After that he gradually departed form the electro scene as other acts such as Duran Duran, Adam and the Ants, Depeche Mode and Human League were the new guard.

He started to look at other influences such as ambient styles of Jazz, he produced the Album 'Dance' which went top 10 in the UK but after that there was a sharp decline in sales despite a very productive output of material of all different experimentations.

His influence did inspire others and many acts such as Foo Fighters, Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails have cited Numan as a major influence over in the USA.

Both Numan and Foxx were big influences with the futuristic sound and beats which opened the doors for many to imitate and some even better.