Telekon

''Telekon'' is the second solo studio album by English musician Gary Numan. It debuted at the top of the UK Albums Chart in September 1980, making it his third consecutive (and to date, final) No. 1 album. It was also the third and final studio release of what Numan retrospectively termed the "machine" section of his career, following 1979's '' Replicas'' and '' The Pleasure Principle''.

Releases and promoting

''Telekon'' was released in September 1980. To boost initial sales in the UK, on first release the album came with a free single, in a plain black sleeve, including two live recordings from 'The Touring Principle' tour; 'Remember I Was Vapour' and 'On Broadway'. A year later, in an attempt to further boost sales, the album came with a free poster in the UK using a photo taken from the main Telekon photo-shoot. The cassette release included the singles ''We Are Glass'' and '' I Die: You Die'' which was not on the vinyl LP.

A number of Dutch releases were pressed on coloured vinyl. The US and Canadian releases replaced the track ''Sleep by Windows'' with ''I Die: You Die''. The album was released on vinyl and cassette in Japan.

Singles

''Telekon'' was preceded by two non-album singles, "We Are Glass" and " I Die: You Die". The only single taken from the album after its release was the opening number, " This Wreckage", which peaked at No. 20. Numan later admitted that, regardless of its merits as a song, it was a "bloody stupid single". The live version of ''Remember I Was Vapour'', released as a bonus single with the UK album, was released as a 12" single in Germany with the studio version on the b-side. ''Remind Me to Smile'' was released as a US single with ''I Dream of Wires'' on the b-side.

The Teletour

From September to November 1980, Numan toured the UK and North America in support of ''Telekon''. The tour was followed by three "farewell concerts" at Wembley Arena in April 1981 with guest Nash the Slash.

Classic Album Tour and ''Micromusic'' DVD

In December 2006, Numan undertook a ''Telekon'' "Classic Album" tour, comprising four concerts in the UK in which he played all the songs from the ''Telekon'' album, as well as its associated singles and B-sides. On the 2CD ''EKO: The Telekon 06 Audio Programme'' (sold at the 2006 ''Telekon'' gigs and from Numan's website), Numan discussed (with interviewer Steve Malins) the making of ''Telekon'', revealing that it is his favourite of his "early albums." Numan followed the 2006 tour with further "Classic Album" tours, for '' Replicas'' in 2008 and '' The Pleasure Principle'' in 2009.

In 2006, Numan promised fans a DVD release of the 1981 ''Micromusic'' video. On his official website in October 2008, Numan announced that the long-lost master tapes of the ''Micromusic'' concert had been found, "in excellent condition and, to make things even better, more footage has been found from two other camera positions that were not used on the original version. This new footage will be edited into a new updated version...We expect this to be, with all the extra footage and interviews, a double disc DVD." On 19 March 2010, Numan announced that the ''Micromusic'' DVD would be released on 13 April. ''Micromusic'' was released on that date as a one-disc DVD; in addition to the concert itself, the DVD featured an hour-long interview with Numan as a special feature.

Cultural references

'' NME'' used the track title "I Dream of Wires" as the name for a fictitious synthpop act about which they published a series of spoof articles in early 1995, culminating in reports of the alleged band's death in a coach crash in Eastern Europe. "I Dream of Wires" was covered by British singer Robert Palmer on his 1980 album '' Clues'', featuring Numan on keyboards and synthesisers.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Gary Numan except for " Trois Gymnopédies (First Movement)", which is a composition by Erik Satie.

LP

Cassette

1998 CD reissue

*Subsequent digital issues of Telekon revert to the original intro mix for "Remind Me to Smile".

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Personnel

* Gary Numan – vocals, Minimoog, Polymoog, ARP Pro Soloist, Roland Jupiter-4, Sequential Circuits Prophet-5, Yamaha CP-30, Roland CR-78, Synare, guitar, piano, Minibass
* Paul Gardiner – bass, backing vocals
* Cedric Sharpley – drums, percussion, backing vocals
* Chris Payne – viola, piano, Minimoog, Polymoog, backing vocals
* Russell Bell – guitars, violin, claves, backing vocals
* Denis Haines – Prophet-5, piano, ARP Pro Soloist, Yamaha CP-30, whistle, backing vocals
* John Webb, James Freud, Simple Minds – handclaps

Notes

References

* Paul Goodwin (2004). ''Electric Pioneer: An Armchair Guide to Gary Numan''
* Allmusic

{{Authority control

Gary Numan albums
1980 albums
Beggars Banquet Records albums