View source for Tubeway Army

{{Short description|English new wave band}}
{{refimprove|date=June 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{EngvarB|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Musicians -->
| name              = Tubeway Army
| background        = group_or_band
| image             = TubewayArmy2.jpg
| image_size        = 250
| caption           = Tubeway Army's line-up for most of their recordings<br>(L to R): Gary Numan, Jess Lidyard and Paul Gardiner
| origin            = [[London]], England
| genre             = {{flatlist|
*[[New wave music|New wave]]
*[[synth-pop]]
*{{nowrap|[[post-punk]]}}
*[[punk rock]] (early)
}}
| occupation        = 
| instrument        = 
| years_active      = 1977–1979
| label             = [[Beggars Banquet Records|Beggars Banquet]]
| associated_acts   = 
| website           = {{URL|garynuman.co.uk}}
| current_members   = 
| past_members      = *[[Gary Numan]]
*[[Paul Gardiner]]
*Jess Lidyard
*Bob Simmonds
*Barry Benn
*Sean Burke
*Trevor Grant
*[[Chris Payne (musician)|Chris Payne]]
*[[Cedric Sharpley]]
*Paul Simons
}}

'''Tubeway Army''' were a [[London]]-based [[new wave music|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 music|electronic]] sound. They were the first band of the electronic era to have a synthesiser-based number-one hit, with their single "[[Are 'Friends' Electric?]]" and its parent album ''[[Replicas (album)|Replicas]]'' both topping the UK charts in mid-1979. After its release, Numan opted to drop the Tubeway Army name and release music under his own name as he was the sole songwriter, producer and public face of the band, but he retained the musicians from Tubeway Army as his backing band.

==History==
===Early years===
Aged 18 years, Gary Webb had fronted London band Mean Street in 1976 (their song "Bunch of Stiffs" appeared on the ''Live at the Vortex'' compilation, and was the B-side of the ''Vortex'' 7-inch). After leaving this band, he auditioned as lead guitarist for another band called The Lasers, where he met bass-player Paul Gardiner. The Lasers soon became Tubeway Army, and were eventually reformed with Webb's uncle Jess Lidyard on drums.<ref name="Numan">Gary Numan ''(R)evolution: The Autobiography'' Constable 2020, Chapter Four.</ref> Webb renamed himself "Valerian", Gardiner "Scarlett", and Lidyard "Rael".

Webb was a prolific songwriter. The band began playing gigs on the punk scene in London and managed to secure a record deal with the independent [[Beggars Banquet Records|Beggars Banquet]] label. In February 1978 the [[punk rock]] style debut single "[[That's Too Bad]]" was released, but failed to make much impact. Shortly after the band made demo recordings (later released as ''[[The Plan (Tubeway Army album)|The Plan]]'') to give Beggars Banquet an idea of the songs they had. In summer 1978 a second single, "[[Bombers (Gary Numan single)|Bombers]]"/"Blue Eyes"/"OD Receiver",<ref name="numanme">{{cite web|url=http://www.numanme.co.uk/numanme/tubeway-army-the-early-years.htm|title=Tubeway Army The Early Years|website=numanme.com}}</ref> was released, but failed to chart.

During this time the band went through some line-up changes, changing drummers and briefly adding a second guitarist, but due to musical differences Webb and Gardiner split with them as they wanted to move away from punk rock.<ref name="numanme" />

By this time Tubeway Army had decided to abandon live shows – Webb was unhappy with pub-venue gigs on the often violent London punk scene. Their last gig in July 1978 (sharing the bill with [[The Skids]]) was abandoned halfway through the set because of violence and Webb decided that Tubeway Army would become a studio-only band.<ref name="Numan"/> (There are only 2 known recordings of Tubeway Army concerts – Live at the Roxy in 1977 and a London show from February 1978 – this was released as a bootleg album in the early 1980s. It was later officially included under the title ''Living Ornaments '78'' as bonus tracks on the 1998 CD re-release of the ''Tubeway Army'' album).<ref>{{cite web|title=Tubeway Army - ''Tubeway Army'' |website=[[Discogs]] |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/60934-Tubeway-Army-Tubeway-Army |language=en |access-date=2022-04-24}}</ref>

===Debut album===
Soon afterwards, the ''[[Tubeway Army (album)|Tubeway Army]]'' album was quickly recorded by the original line-up. At this point Webb adopted the name "Gary Numan", taking his new pseudonym from a local Yellow Pages where a plumber called "Arthur Neumann" was listed, the singer abandoning the German spelling, to become Numan.<ref>''Synth Britannia''. 16 October 2009. [[BBC Four]].</ref> Whilst still largely guitar/bass/drums-based, the album saw his first tentative use of the [[Minimoog]] synthesizer, which he had come across by accident in the recording studio during the album sessions. Lyrically the record touched on dystopian and sci-fi themes similar to those employed by authors [[J. G. Ballard]] and [[Philip K. Dick]], of whom Numan was a fan (the opening lines of the song "Listen to the Sirens" are a direct lift from the title of Dick's book ''[[Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said]]''). 

At this point Numan was keen to distance his music from [[punk rock]] and wanted to drop the Tubeway Army group name and release the album under his own stage name, but Beggars Banquet rejected the idea. The album was released with the title ''[[Tubeway Army (album)|Tubeway Army]]'' on blue vinyl in November 1978.<ref name="Numan" /> Whilst the album's modest initial pressing of 5000 copies sold out,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.numanme.co.uk/numanme/tubewayarmy.htm|title=Tubeway Army|website=numanme.com}}</ref> it did not enter the album charts at that time, and no singles were lifted from it.

===''Replicas'' and commercial success===
Following swiftly on, Numan took Tubeway Army back into the studio to record their follow-up album, ''[[Replicas (album)|Replicas]]'' and also a session for [[John Peel]] in early 1979. The result was more synth and science fiction oriented than the last album. The first single from the album, the bleak, slow-paced keyboard-driven song "[[Down in the Park]]" failed to chart, although it would prove an enduring cult track in the years to come.

The next single, "[[Are 'Friends' Electric?]]" was released in May 1979 and became the band's first entry on the [[UK Singles Chart]]. After a modest start at no. 71 it steadily climbed up the chart reaching the No. 1 spot in June.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tubeway Army full Official Chart History |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/17680/tubeway-army/ |website=Official Charts |publisher=Official UK Charts Company }}</ref>  The underlying context of this song was also a reference to a Philip K. Dick novel, ''[[Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?]]'' A special [[picture disc]] helped boost sales but what particularly grabbed the British public's imagination was Tubeway Army's appearance on the [[BBC]] show ''[[The Old Grey Whistle Test]]'', followed soon after by a slot on ''[[Top of the Pops]]'' on 24 May 1979. The band, now including [[Ultravox]] keyboardist [[Billy Currie]], [[Chris Payne (musician)|Chris Payne]], Paul Gardiner and drummer [[Cedric Sharpley]], appeared all dressed in black and near-motionless, Numan in particular giving a performance often referred to as being "like an android", a style that was later reported to have been a means of covering stage nerves but which then became his trademark. The single remained at number one in the UK charts for four weeks, with ''Replicas'' following suit in the album charts.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tubeway Army full Official Chart History |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/17680/tubeway-army/ |website=Official Charts |publisher=Official UK Charts Company }}</ref> By the end of 1979 "Are 'Friends' Electric?" had become the fourth highest selling single in the UK that year.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.uk-charts.co.uk/index.php/charts/1970-s/200-1979|title=Top 100 1979 - UK Music Charts|website=www.uk-charts.top-source.info|access-date=5 December 2024}}</ref>

At the peak of success, a [[John Peel]] session in June 1979 was credited as Gary Numan, and the Tubeway Army group name was dropped.<ref>[https://archive.beggars.com/numan-gary-the-pleasure-principle-first/ Gary Numan The Pleasure Principle - The First Recordings] Beggars Arkive</ref> Numan would however keep the same musicians as his backing band on his subsequent solo releases and tours.

In 1981, following Numan's (temporary) retirement from live shows, his backing band of the time formed the synth-pop group [[Dramatis]] and released the album ''[[For Future Reference]]'' (1981) which featured Numan as guest vocalist on [[Love Needs No Disguise|one track]]. The album was issued on CD in 2000 by Metrodome Group under the title ''The Dramatis Project'' and credited to "Tubeway Army featuring Gary Numan," but it is not a Tubeway Army album.

==Personnel==

===Members===
* [[Gary Numan]] <small>(a.k.a. "Valerian")</small> – guitar, lead vocals, synthesizers <small>(1977-1979)</small>
* [[Paul Gardiner]] <small>(a.k.a. "Scarlett")</small> – bass, backing vocals <small>(1977–1979; died 1984)</small>
* Jess Lidyard <small>(a.k.a. "Rael")</small> – drums <small>(1977, 1978–1979)</small>
* Bob Simmonds – drums <small>(1977–1978)</small>
* Barry Benn – drums <small>(1978)</small>
* Sean Burke – guitar <small>(1978)</small>
* [[Billy Currie]] – synthesizers <small>(1979)</small>
* Trevor Grant – guitar <small>(1979)</small>
* [[Chris Payne (musician)|Chris Payne]] – synthesizers <small>(1979)</small>
* Cedric Sharpley – drums <small>(1979; died 2012)</small>

===Lineups===
{| class="toccolours" border=1 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=2 style="float: lleft; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; border-collapse: collapse; border: 1px solid #E2E2E2;"
|-
!Years
!Lineup
!Albums
|-
! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" | 1977
|
* [[Gary Numan]] – guitar, lead vocals
* [[Paul Gardiner]] – bass, backing vocals
* Jess Lidyard – drums
|
* ''"[[That's Too Bad]]"'' <small>(single)</small> <small>(1978)</small>
|-
! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" | 1977–1978
|
* Gary Numan – guitar, lead vocals
* Paul Gardiner – bass, backing vocals
* '''Bob Simmonds – drums'''
|
|-
! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" | 1978
|
* Gary Numan – lead vocals, guitar
* Paul Gardiner – bass, backing vocals
* '''Sean Burke – guitar'''
* '''Barry Benn – drums'''
| 
* ''"[[Bombers (Gary Numan song)|Bombers]]"'' <small>(single)</small> <small>(1978)</small>
|-
! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" | 1978–1979
|
* Gary Numan – guitar, lead vocals, synthesizers
* Paul Gardiner – bass, backing vocals
* '''Jess Lidyard – drums'''
| 
* ''[[Tubeway Army (album)|Tubeway Army]]'' <small>(1978)</small>
* ''[[Replicas (album)|Replicas]]'' <small>(1979)</small>
|-
! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" | 1979<br><small>(''Old Grey Whistle Test'' and<br>''Top of the Pops'' performances)</small>
|
* Gary Numan – lead vocals, guitar, synthesizers
* Paul Gardiner – bass, backing vocals
* '''Trevor Grant – guitar'''
* '''[[Billy Currie]] – synthesizers'''
* '''Chris Payne – synthesizers'''
* '''Cedric Sharpley – drums'''
|
|}

=== Timeline ===
{{#tag:timeline|ImageSize=width:1000 height:auto barincrement:18
PlotArea = left:90 bottom:80 top:06 right:10
Alignbars = justify
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period = from:01/01/1977 till:30/06/1979
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy

Colors =
 id:vocals value:red legend:Lead_vocals
 id:guitar value:green legend:Guitar
 id:synth value:purple legend:Synthesizers
 id:bass value:blue legend:Bass,_backing_vocals
 id:drums value:orange legend:Drums
 id:studio value:black legend:Studio_album
 id:single value:gray(0.45) legend:Single

Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4

ScaleMajor = increment:1 start:1977

BarData =
 bar:gary     text:Gary Numan
 bar:sean    text:Sean Burke
 bar:trevor    text:Trevor Grant
 bar:billy      text:Billy Currie
 bar:chris     text:Chris Payne
 bar:paul      text:Paul Gardiner
 bar:jess      text:Jess Lidyard
 bar:bob      text:Bob Simmonds
 bar:barry     text:Barry Benn
 bar:cedric     text:Cedric Sharpley

LineData=
 color:studio
 layer:back
 at:24/11/1978
 at:04/04/1979
 color:single
 at:10/02/1978
 at:21/06/1978
 at:16/03/1979
 at:04/05/1979

PlotData=
 width:11
 bar:Gary   from:start till:end color:vocals
 bar:Gary   from:start till:end color:guitar width:3
 bar:Gary   from:01/08/1978 till:end color:synth width:7
 bar:Sean   from:01/01/1978 till:30/07/1978 color:guitar
 bar:Trevor   from:04/05/1979 till:end color:guitar
 bar:Billy     from:04/05/1979 till:end color:synth
 bar:Chris   from:04/05/1979 till:end color:synth
 bar:Paul     from:start till:end color:bass
 bar:Jess     from:start till:15/06/1977 color:drums
 bar:Bob     from:16/06/1977 till:31/12/1977 color:drums
 bar:Barry    from:01/01/1978 till:30/07/1978 color:drums
 bar:Jess     from:01/08/1978 till:03/05/1979 color:drums
 bar:cedric   from:04/05/1979 till:end color:drums}}

==Discography==

===Studio albums===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Details
! colspan="5"| Peak chart positions
! rowspan="2"|[[Music recording sales certification|Certifications]]<br /><small>([[List of music recording sales certifications|sales thresholds]])</small>
|-
! width="30"| <small>[[UK Albums Chart|UK]]<br /><ref name=occ>{{cite web|title=Tubeway Army - Full Official Chart History|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/17680/tubeway-army/|website=Official Charts Company|access-date=20 January 2016}}</ref></small>
! width="30"| <small>[[Kent Music Report|AUS]]<br><ref name=aus>{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=314}}</ref></small>
! width="30"| <small>[[RIANZ|NZL]]</small><br /><ref name="NZL">{{cite web | title = New Zealand chart positions | url = https://charts.nz/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Tubeway+Army | publisher=charts.nz |access-date=7 December 2009 }}</ref>
! width="30"| <small>[[Sweden|SWE]]</small><br /><ref name="Swedish chart positions">{{cite web | title = Swedish chart positions | url = http://swedishcharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Tubeway+Army | publisher=swedishcharts.com |access-date=7 December 2009 }}</ref>
! width="30"| <small>[[Billboard 200|US]]</small><br /><ref name="US charts">{{cite web|title=US charts| url =https://www.allmusic.com/artist/gary-numan-mn0000183858/awards|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=7 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121130061510/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/gary-numan-mn0000183858/awards|archive-date=30 November 2012}}</ref>
|-
|1978
|align="left"|''[[Tubeway Army (album)|Tubeway Army]]''
*Released: 24 November 1978
*Label: [[Beggars Banquet Records|Beggars Banquet]]
| 14{{Efn|The album ''Tubeway Army'' did not chart upon its first release in 1978, but following the success of ''Replicas'', it charted in August 1979 and reached No. 14.|name=fn1|group=upper-alpha}}
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
|-
|1979
|align="left"|''[[Replicas (album)|Replicas]]''
*Released: 6 April 1979
*Label: Beggars Banquet, [[Atco Records|Atco]]
| 1
| 11
| 8
| 37
| 124
|align="left"|
*[[British Phonographic Industry|UK]]: Gold<ref name="UKC">{{cite web|title=UK certificates: searchable database |url=http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx |publisher=bpi.co.uk |access-date=7 December 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090924015932/http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx |archive-date=24 September 2009 }}</ref>
|-
|2009
|align="left"|''Replicas Redux''
* Released September 2008
* Label: Beggars Banquet
|96
|—
|—
|—
|—
|
|-
| colspan="8" style="font-size:9pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart
|-
|}

===Compilations===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Details
! colspan="1"| Peak chart positions
|-
! width="30"| <small>[[UK Albums Chart|UK]]</small><br /><ref name="occ"/>
|-
|1984{{Efn|The demos were recorded in 1977 and 1978 but not released until 1984. Beggars Banquet have re-released and re-mastered these recordings numerous times. Current CD editions supplement the original album tracks with all single A and B-sides, 12-inch bonus tracks, studio out-takes, and recovered bootleg live material.|name=fn2|group=upper-alpha}}
|align="left"|''[[The Plan (Tubeway Army album)|The Plan]]''
*Released: September 1984
*Label: Beggars Banquet
| 29
|-
|2019
|Replicas - The First Recordings

* Released: December 2019
* Label: Beggars Banquet
|31
|}

===Singles===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Single
! colspan="9"| Peak chart positions
! rowspan="2"|[[Music recording sales certification|Certifications]]<br /><small>([[List of music recording sales certifications#Singles|sales thresholds]])</small>
|- style="font-size:smaller;"
! width="30"| [[UK Singles Chart|UK]]<br /><ref name="occ" />
! width="30"| [[Kent Music Report|AUS]]<br><ref name=aus/>
! width="30"| [[Austria Top 40|AUT]]<br /><ref>{{cite web | title = Austrian chart positions | url = http://austriancharts.at/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Tubeway+Army | publisher=austriancharts.at |access-date=7 December 2009 }}</ref>
! width="30"| [[Media Control Charts|GER]]<br /><ref>{{cite web | title = German single positions | url = http://musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/artist/TUBEWAY+ARMY/?type=single | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120401104412/http://musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/artist/TUBEWAY+ARMY/?type=single | url-status = dead | archive-date = 1 April 2012 | publisher=musicline.de |access-date=7 December 2009 }}</ref>
! width="30"| [[Media Control Charts|BEL]]<br /><ref>{{cite web | title = Belgian single positions | url = http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Tubeway+Army&titel=Are+%27Friends%27+Electric%3F&cat=s | publisher=dutchcharts.nl |access-date=13 November 2013 }}</ref>
! width="30"| [[Irish Singles Chart|IRE]]<br /><ref>{{cite web|title=Irish charts: searchable database |url=http://irishcharts.ie/search/placement |publisher=irishcharts.ie |access-date=7 December 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721125210/http://irishcharts.ie/search/placement |archive-date=21 July 2011 }}</ref>
! width="30"| [[Dutch Top 40|NED]]<br /><ref>{{cite web | title = Dutch chart positions | url = http://dutchcharts.nl/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Tubeway+Army | publisher=dutchcharts.nl |access-date=7 December 2009 }}</ref>
! width="30"| [[RIANZ|NZL]]<br /><ref name="NZL" />
! width="30"| [[Billboard Hot 100|US]]<br /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.musicvf.com/Tubeway+Army.art|title=Tubeway Army Songs - Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography|website=Musicvf.com|accessdate=12 August 2023}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1978
| align="left"| "[[That's Too Bad]]"
| 97{{Efn| Charted in 1983.<ref name="occ" />|name=fn3|group=upper-alpha}}
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
|-
| align="left"| "[[Bombers (Gary Numan song)|Bombers]]"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1979
| align="left"| "[[Down in the Park]]"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
|-
| align="left"| "[[Are 'Friends' Electric?]]"
| 1
| 12
| 12
| 23
| 14
| 3
| 9
| 8
| 105
| 
* UK: Gold<ref name="UKC"/>
|-
| colspan="12" style="font-size:85%"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart
|}

==Notes==
{{notelist-ua}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*Goodwin, Paul (2004) ''Electric Pioneer: An Armchair Guide To Gary Numan''

{{Gary Numan}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tubeway Army}}
[[Category:English new wave musical groups]]
[[Category:English synth-pop groups]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1976]]
[[Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1979]]
[[Category:1976 establishments in England]]
[[Category:1979 disestablishments in England]]
[[Category:Punk rock groups from London]]
[[Category:English synth-pop new wave groups]]
[[Category:English post-punk music groups]]
[[Category:Beggars Banquet Records artists]]