''Tubeway Army'' is the debut album by

Tubeway Army Tubeway Army were a London-based new wave band led by lead singer Gary Numan. Formed at the height of punk rock in 1977 the band gradually changed to an electronic sound. They were the first band of the electronic era to have a synthesiser-b ...

, released in 1978. Its initial limited-edition run of 5,000 (known unofficially as the ''Blue Album'' due to its coloured vinyl and cover) sold out but did not chart. When reissued in mid-1979, following the success of the follow-up ''

Replicas A 1:1 replica is an exact copy of an object, made out of the same raw materials, whether a molecule, a work of art, or a commercial product. The term is also used for copies that closely resemble the original, without claiming to be identical. Al ...

'' (1979), the more commonly known cover art featuring a stylised portrait of

Gary Numan Gary Anthony James Webb (born 8 March 1958), known professionally as Gary Numan, is an English musician. He entered the music industry as frontman of the new wave band Tubeway Army. After releasing two albums with the band, he released his ...

was introduced.Steve Malins (1998). ''Tubeway Army'' 1998 reissued CD liner notes This release made No. 14 in the UK album charts.Everyhit.com
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Overview

Despite being the band's debut, ''Tubeway Army'' was seen as a transitional record, linking the punk flavour of early singles " That's Too Bad" and " Bombers" with the

electronic music Electronic music is a Music genre, genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or electronics, circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromech ...

and

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...

imagery of ''Replicas''. The first track, "Listen to the Sirens", borrowed its opening line from the

Philip K. Dick Philip Kindred Dick (December 16, 1928March 2, 1982), often referred to by his initials PKD, was an American science fiction writer. He wrote 44 novels and about 121 short stories, most of which appeared in science fiction magazines during his l ...

novel ''

Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said ''Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said'' is a 1974 science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick. The novel is set in a futuristic dystopia where the United States has become a police state in the aftermath of a Second American Civil War. T ...

'', while "Steel and You" contained references to androids ("Just my steel friend and me / I stand brave by his side"). These and a number of other tracks featured primitive

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis ...

effects, the legacy of Numan chancing upon a

Minimoog The Minimoog is an analog synthesizer first manufactured by Moog Music between 1970 and 1981. Designed as a more affordable, portable version of the modular Moog synthesizer, it was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. It was first popul ...

in the recording studio one day. Elsewhere, the album's lyrics generally inhabited a seedy world that was compared to William Burroughs, an author whose influence Numan acknowledged. "Friends" concerned male prostitution. "Every Day I Die" was about teenage masturbation. " Jo the Waiter" referenced drug addiction. "The Life Machine" was told from the perspective of a

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...

tose man on

life support Life support comprises the treatments and techniques performed in an emergency in order to support life after the failure of one or more vital organs. Healthcare providers and emergency medical technicians are generally certified to perform basic ...

who can only "watch from somewhere as the loved ones come and go". Sonically, the album ranged from hard rock with punk overtones, such as "My Shadow in Vain", "Friends" and "Are You Real?", through the

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-r ...

of "Listen to the Sirens" and "The Dream Police", to the predominantly acoustic "Every Day I Die" and "Jo the Waiter". Major influences cited for this album's overall sound included

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

(both 'Ziggy' and 'Berlin' eras), early

Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter—and bassist Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera (guitar), Andy Mackay (saxophone and ...

and

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

and

The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacL ...

, and early

Ultravox Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which was ...

. Numan has regularly performed tracks from this album since his early solo career, including "My Shadow in Vain", "Something's in the House", "Every Day I Die" and "The Dream Police". Others that later appeared in his live repertoire included "Listen to the Sirens", "Friends" and "Jo the Waiter".

''Live at the Roxy''

The 1998 CD

reissue In the music industry, a reissue (also re-release, repackage or re-edition) is the release of an album or single which has been released at least once before, sometimes with alterations or additions. Reasons for reissue New audio formats Reco ...

of ''Tubeway Army'' included a live concert, originally a bootleg called ''Live at the Roxy'', retitled as ''Living Ornaments '78'' – a retrospective reference to Numan's official live albums '' Living Ornaments '79'' (1981), '' '80'' (1981) and '' '81'' (1998). It included early versions of "My Shadow in Vain" and "Friends" ("Do Your Best") as well as a cover of The Velvet Underground's " White Light/White Heat".

Cover versions

Crust punk Crust punk (also known as crust or stenchcore) is a form of music influenced by English punk rock and extreme metal. The style, which evolved in the early 1980s in England, often has songs with dark and pessimistic lyrics that linger on politic ...

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, fe ...

band

Deviated Instinct Deviated Instinct are an English extreme metal band formed in Norwich in 1984. They are considered pioneers of both crust punk and death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distort ...

covered "Listen to the Sirens" on their 1990 EP ''Nailed''. *The 1997 Numan tribute album ''Random'' featured covers of ''Tubeway Army'' songs by Pop Will Eat Itself ("Friends"),

The Orb The Orb are an English electronic music group founded in 1988 by Alex Paterson and Jimmy Cauty. Known for their psychedelic sound, the Orb developed a cult following among clubbers "coming down" from drug-induced highs. Their influential 1 ...

("Jo the Waiter") and

Dubstar Dubstar are an English indie-dance duo,Note: An American indie hip hop artist has released some tracks and video via the Internet under the name "Dubstar", but is not connected to the band in any way. performing songs with hints of Britpop, dre ...

("Every Day I Die"). * Terre Thaemlitz recorded a piano version of "Friends", released in 1999 on the Numan tribute album ''Replicas Rubato''. *

Stoner Metal Stoner rock, also known as stoner metal or stoner doom, is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of doom metal with psychedelic rock and acid rock. The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by Kyuss and Sleep ...

band

Red Fang Red Fang is an American rock band from Portland, Oregon, formed in 2005. It is composed of guitarist and vocalist Bryan Giles, bassist and vocalist Aaron Beam, guitarist David Sullivan and drummer John Sherman. The band has released five studio ...

covered "Listen to the Sirens" in 2018 and released it as a single and a music video.

Track listing

All songs written by

, except "White Light/White Heat" (

). #"Listen to the Sirens" – 3:06 #"My Shadow in Vain" – 2:59 #"The Life Machine" – 2:45 #"Friends" – 2:30 #"Something's in the House" – 4:14 #"Everyday I Die" – 2:24 #"Steel and You" – 4:44 #"My Love Is a Liquid" – 3:33 #"Are You Real?" – 3:25 #"The Dream Police" – 3:38 #" Jo the Waiter" – 2:41 #"Zero Bars (Mr. Smith)" – 3:12 CD bonus tracks #"Positive Thinking" (live) – 2:56 #"Boys" (live) – 2:13 #"Blue Eyes" (live) – 2:03 #"You Don't Know Me" (live) – 2:28 #"My Shadow in Vain" (live) – 4:13 #"Me My Head" (live) – 4:10 #" That's Too Bad" (live) – 3:26 #"Basic J" (live) – 3:03 #"Do Your Best" (live) – 2:40 #"Oh! Didn't I Say" (live) – 2:31 #"I'm a Poseur" (live) – 2:30 #" White Light/White Heat" (live) – 2:49 #"Kill St. Joy" (live) – 3:46

Personnel

;Tubeway Army *

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of th ...

, keyboards * Paul Gardiner –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

*Jess Lidyard –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

;Technical *Gary Numan –

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

*Mike Kemp –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

, mixer *John Dent – digital remastering

Notes

numanme.co.uk

References

*1998 CD reissue liner notes {{DEFAULTSORT:Tubeway Army (Album) Tubeway Army albums 1978 debut albums Beggars Banquet Records albums