Gary Numan Answers YOUR Questions

11. With so many 'surplus songs' around that time that never made it onto the to Repliacs album ( each one bloody fantastic in our opinion and a very worthy album track) how did you ever decide what to leave off? And how did the album end up having the two classic instrumentals ending it? - a very brave choice if you don’t mind us saying?
- Adam and Sally
Gary Numan: "It didn't seem much of a problem at the time. I think the songs on the album were a reasonably good choice. I never wanted b-sides to be second rate songs either so I always had other places to put songs that didn't appear on the album. Nothing felt wasted. Those songs that didn't make it to b-sides or albums were, in my opinion at the time, the weakest of those I had written. I think a song like The Crazies for example was quite weak compared to things like Are Friends Electric and Down In The Park so it was easy to leave it out."

12. Hi Gary,
I realize US has always been a hard market for you, but the fans in the US would love to see you tour here more often. We realize it has to be profitable. an you tell us why there has not been a bigger push or investment in the  marketing of your music in the US?
Is there anything that fans like myself can do to help get the word out? Because once people hear your music, they want more. "If you play it, they will come". ;-)
Best wishes to you,
Eileen Smith
New Jersey
Gary Numan: "Investment questions are best sent to the various record companies that have released  my albums over the years as it's those people that have decided how much, or how little to be more precise, should be spent on trying to sell my music in the U.S. It has been a constant disappointment to me over the years and somewhat demoralising at times. I can't think of anything fans can do other than continue to spread the word as best they can and for that I will always be grateful. But we fight on and continue to look for opportunities and labels that could help get the music to the ears of as many people as possible."

13. Nine Inch Nails is a fan of your work, and you are a fan of theirs.  Why haven't you tried to use this to gain greater exposure in the United States by touring with them the way that David Bowie and Bauhaus have?  Given that many of your fans in the US are also Nine Inch Nails fans and you are now both independent artists I think it would be a killer bill and a win-win situation for the fans.
Thanks for the great music,
- Tony D'Agostino
Detroit, Michigan
Gary Numan: "Great idea but you don't just walk up to Trent Reznor and say 'I'm going to support you on your next tour'. There is far more to it than that."

14. When you’re telling the kids off for the umpteenth time for drawing on the wall etc do you ever stop and think:
 ‘I’m Gary Numan, THE Electro-Rock God - I shouldn’t be having to do this!’ ;-) And what do they think when their Dad is leaping around on stage looking mean and moody?
- Simon Everest
Aldershot
Gary: "No, I never think that. I'm very well adjusted and have no problem sliding into the rock star thing and back out again. Both my older two daughters have seen me play live now and it's been great. They both loved it. The only question Raven asked after the show was 'Why were you so angry?'. She doesn't quite get the performance part of it yet."

15. Are you really a robot? If you really are not, would you be offended if I still think of you as a robot? It's better that way.
- Kristen from Salt Lake City
Gary Numan: "Of course I am. A robot with wrinkles, chest hair and a slightly lop-sided lower lip. With chipped teeth after smacking myself in the mouth with a microphone for too many years doing my little robot speeches on my little robot stage. Would you be offended if I thought you were just a tiny bit weird?"

16. At the darkest moment of your career, which I guess would be after the release of ‘Machine and Soul’, what gave you the inspiration and  “get up and go” which was to result in one of your best albums for many, many years, ‘Sacrifice’ which has led on to you releasing some of your best music ever ?
- Best wishes
Stephen Page
Gary Numan: "Get up and go is another way of saying ambition in some respects and I have never wanted for ambition. I just figured out what my problems were and fixed them. I made it all fun again and stopped taking it so seriously which sounds a bit strange considering how heavy and serious sounding the music has become."

17. Many people overlook the fact that you have written some amazing ballads throughout your career - Complex, You Walk In My Soul, This Is Love... to name but three. Which is your favourite and why?
- Anthony Burrows
Brighton
Gary Numan: "You Walk In My Soul is probably my favourite but Little InVitro is without doubt the most painful. Little InVitro is about our unborn child that died during pregnancy and to this day I have huge problems trying to sing it live. Everything comes back, every feeling, as though it happened yesterday."

18. Hi Gary, my question is ”do you feel that having Asperger syndrome as influenced your writing style?
- Magenta
Gary Numan: "In many ways yes because my writing style is based largely on how I see the world and that world view is an Aspergers view and so it has to have a bearing on what I write and the way in which I write it."

19.  Your music conjures cinematic scenes in the mind and I know you've created music scores for a few films.   What about writing and scoring your own movie?  Could be a full feature or a 20 minute concept piece.  I'd love to see a Numan penned sci-fi film. 
- Alex Wallis
Portsmouth
Gary Numan: "I would love to write the music for one, I would even love to have a hand in writing a story but I really wouldn't know where to start when it came to actually making one, or of finding the money to do it."

20. I've been a fan of yours since I was a little kid and I respect your opinion more than anyone else's... so who do you think would win in a fight? A viking or a samurai?
- Steve Van Veen
Gary Numan: "It depends who had the biggest bat."

An anniversary edition of Gary Numan's classic album 'Replicas' is available right now through Beggars Banquet.