Comebacks: Gary Numan vs David Bowie

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One one accused of being a clone of the other, they both lost the plot by their own admissions in the 80's; critical consensus is that they've both seemingly found their touch again recently to some degree; whose comeback is most convincing and why?

― colin s barrow (colin s barrow), Sunday, 20 April 2003 16:08 (twenty-two years ago)

Gary who?

― Dadaismus, Sunday, 20 April 2003 16:12 (twenty-two years ago)

For a Bowie acolyte, Numan has terrible hair.

― Sean (Sean), Sunday, 20 April 2003 16:15 (twenty-two years ago)

He doesn't have hair - it's a wig. He's a slaphead, somewhat hilariously.

― Dadaismus, Sunday, 20 April 2003 16:16 (twenty-two years ago)

I thought it was a hair transplant? And what about Dave's teeth?

― colin s barrow (colin s barrow), Sunday, 20 April 2003 16:17 (twenty-two years ago)

Bowie got his teeth fixed years ago - maybe around the same time that Numan had his hair transplant.

― Dadaismus, Sunday, 20 April 2003 16:20 (twenty-two years ago)

he's a slaphead¿
i'd have to pick bowe, even tho i am a huge numan fan because people actually noticed bowie's comeback.

― dyson (dyson), Sunday, 20 April 2003 16:21 (twenty-two years ago)

It is in fact a transplant Gary has.

As someone who has become in recent years a major Numan freak, I won't say his comeback has been the best -- Pure was okay but oppressively one-note -- but I am pretty well thinking that his influence these days is equal to Bowie's and in some cases more high profile. Refer to "M.E." being sampled by Basement Jaxx for "Where's Your Head At" and of course That Sugababes Single and its earlier incarnation for two examples.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 20 April 2003 16:25 (twenty-two years ago)

in recent years

In recent years?? This just makes it worse.

― Sean (Sean), Sunday, 20 April 2003 16:32 (twenty-two years ago)

*bemused*

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 20 April 2003 17:06 (twenty-two years ago)

in some now-forgotten and neglected thread, i compared Gary Numan to Ozzy Osbourne. FWIW, i still think that comparison is apt. in their primes, both made music that was ultimately ahead of their respective times (yet both were accused of being "rip-offs" -- Numan of Bowie, Ozzy of Cream); both were (and still are alas!) mercilessly mocked in certain circles; the genius of their best music wasn't really recognized till 20 years or so after the fact; both are responsible for two of the best live albums of all time (Numan's Living Ornaments 81 and the Ozzy-Randi Rhodes Tribute); and notwithstanding the foregoing, it's still a little embarrassing in some circles to admit to being a fan of either even now.

re this thread's topic: i prefer heathens to pure (haven't yet heard numan's hybrid).

― Tad (llamasfur), Sunday, 20 April 2003 18:20 (twenty-two years ago)

i'd say that numan's influence greatly outreaches that of bowies. but bowie's always been much better at selling record (hence beter comeback)

― dyson (dyson), Sunday, 20 April 2003 22:12 (twenty-two years ago)

both are responsible for two of the best live albums of all time (Numan's Living Ornaments 81

Let me second this and third it and more. This album is not only one of my favorite live albums but one of my favorite albums by anybody. Not one dud track.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 20 April 2003 22:14 (twenty-two years ago)

Bowie should only be allowed to do movies and interviews now. And Numan should only get to fly planes. And maybe play some State Fairs in the U.S. like a good has-been.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Sunday, 20 April 2003 22:21 (twenty-two years ago)

Like Fred Durst?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 20 April 2003 22:23 (twenty-two years ago)

Better watch out, dawg...I'm a crack addict, addicted to crackin' skulls which be causin' static!

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Sunday, 20 April 2003 22:31 (twenty-two years ago)

And maybe play some State Fairs in the U.S. like a good has-been.

"Here with my cow/I feel safest of all..."

― Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 20 April 2003 22:38 (twenty-two years ago)

Well, you can say one thing in favour of GN. He didn't write "When I'm Five". Or "Love You Til Tuesday". Or, choke, "Mr Gravedigger". I was about to add "The Laughing Gnome", but I bloody love that song.

Also, DB is STILL singing in that faux cockernee accent every fifth song. GN still sounds like a robot having a tantrum. This too, is preferable.

I prefer GN's comeback. He's still railing truculently against the universe, whereas DB has reached some kind of mature, humbled understanding. The former is the correct rock posture. The latter is a rock travesty. Which, Tad, mirrors the Ozzy/Cream parallel once again.

― colin s barrow (colin s barrow), Sunday, 20 April 2003 22:50 (twenty-two years ago)

I've always felt GN sounds like he WANTS to be a robot. Where Phil Oakey of the Human League sounds like a robot pretending to be human (of flesh and blood, you know?), which is infinitely more interesting.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Sunday, 20 April 2003 22:54 (twenty-two years ago)

Anthony, this is so true. Phil Oakey is in a whole other League, hahaha. He's barely human.

John Foxx sounded like he wanted to be someone who wanted to be a robot, which is one step further back even from GN.

― colin s barrow (colin s barrow), Sunday, 20 April 2003 22:59 (twenty-two years ago)

i'm almost certain numan wishes he was a robot.

― dyson (dyson), Sunday, 20 April 2003 23:01 (twenty-two years ago)

a robot with a hair transplant?

― Tad (llamasfur), Sunday, 20 April 2003 23:05 (twenty-two years ago)

He has wig, he wants to be a robot... it's Andy Warhol!

― colin s barrow (colin s barrow), Sunday, 20 April 2003 23:06 (twenty-two years ago)

hair club for droids!

― Tad (llamasfur), Sunday, 20 April 2003 23:07 (twenty-two years ago)

i'm almost certain numan wishes he was a robot.

The biographical fallacy is always a bit of a trick, but Numan was diagnosed some time back with Asperger's syndrome, something he hadn't realized about himself but which turned out to explain what he always understood to be his view of the world. And for what it's worth he's always been extremely dedicated to his family and his wife, and quite a few songs on Pure were about the traumatic miscarriage his wife suffered. Personally I don't think he necessarily wishes he was a robot now or anything, but it could well be a useful mask.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 20 April 2003 23:48 (twenty-two years ago)

actually, GN having Asperger's makes sense of a lot of things related to him (his lyrics, his entire schtick). it also explains some of the especially nasty things that others have said about him, esp. in the British tabloids (i.e., Asperger's sufferers attract particularly nasty comments about themselves) -- another object lesson as to the general shittiness of human nature, really.

― Tad (llamasfur), Monday, 21 April 2003 01:10 (twenty-two years ago)

(n.b.: said shittiness not relating back to Asperger's sufferers in general or Numan in particular, but to those who have made nasty comments about Asperger's sufferers or about Numan.)

― Tad (llamasfur), Monday, 21 April 2003 01:12 (twenty-two years ago)

God, that's fascinating. I've always thought that I detected something vaguely autistic in his lyrics. Ned, do you have a source for this? I'd be interested in reading more.

― justin s., Monday, 21 April 2003 01:19 (twenty-two years ago)

He's said so himself for some years and has talked about it in a variety of recent interviews. You can find links via his own site at http://www.numan.net or around the Net, I'm sure.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 21 April 2003 03:12 (twenty-two years ago)

Doesn't comeback imply success?

― SplendidMullet (iamamonkey), Monday, 21 April 2003 03:51 (twenty-two years ago)

i don't know about this asperger's syndrome. sounds alot like me and alot like everyone i know. sounds like a fancy shmancy term for "different". i'd like to meet someone who doesn't demonstrate charicteristics of this to some degree.

― dyson (dyson), Monday, 21 April 2003 04:40 (twenty-two years ago)

He's a fucking Tory - shoot him.

― Dadaismus, Monday, 21 April 2003 12:25 (twenty-two years ago)

You want Asperger's info, you got it. I understand your feeling on the matter, Dyson, but it goes a bit more than 'different,' and having known some people diagnosed with it or a variation of it, it's more than simply being a bit quiet and withdrawn at times or the like.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 21 April 2003 13:35 (twenty-two years ago)

Bowie's got the vote out of his sheer volume of comebacks...I mean, Tin Machine was a comeback from the "Never Let Me Down" nadir, for heaven's sake.

― Erick H (Erick H), Monday, 21 April 2003 22:48 (twenty-two years ago)

On that Apserger's page Ned linked to above... this is particularly helpful:

http://www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger/

― colin s barrow (colin s barrow), Monday, 21 April 2003 23:16 (twenty-two years ago)

Er, sorry, that didn't work, just gets back to main page. After going to main page, select 'papers and articles' then 'A survival Guide for People With Asperger's Syndrome' by Marc Segar. It's great, as it's a first person view.

― colin s barrow (colin s barrow), Monday, 21 April 2003 23:18 (twenty-two years ago)

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