Living Ornaments '81 is a live album recording of a concert on 28 April 1981 by British musician Gary Numan. It was released as a doubleCD in 1998. The 28 April 1981 show was the third and last of Numan's 'Farewell Concerts' staged at Wembley Arena (although Numan would return to performing live shows the following year). The concert was filmed and released on VHS as Micromusic in April 1982; Living Ornaments '81 is essentially an audio release of the video, albeit one released almost 16 years later.
In 1981, Beggars Banquet Records released edited versions of two Numan concerts as the live albums Living Ornaments '79 and Living Ornaments '80. In 1998, an expanded version of Living Ornaments '79, featuring the entire concert, was released on CD. An expanded CD version of Living Ornaments '80 album had been planned for release as well, but tapes of the full concert had been lost. Living Ornaments '81 – hitherto unreleased as an official live album – was therefore released on CD instead. (In 2004, a mixing console recording of a complete concert from Numan's 1980 tour was discovered and deemed to be of sufficient quality to release commercially, enabling an expanded CD re-release of Living Ornaments '80 in 2005.)
Although the third track on disc one is listed as "Metal" (a song from Numan's 1979 album The Pleasure Principle), its actual lyrics identify it as the song "Moral", a reworking of "Metal" which was recorded for Numan's then-forthcoming 1981 album Dance.[2]Living Ornaments '81 also features live versions of "She's Got Claws" and "Cry the Clock Said" that pre-date the studio recordings as featured in Dance.
The song "Conversation", included at the end of disc one, is a bonus track. It was played at the first two Wembley shows but replaced by "Complex" for the 28 April show. The version included on the Living Ornaments '81 set is from the 26 April show, and is a mono mix of noticeably poor audio quality.[3]
The instrumental title track of Numan's 1979 album Replicas is used a total of three times throughout the concert: once as the intro (similarly to Living Ornaments '79), once as the outro; and as a pseudo-intro to the track "Films." The theme can therefore be heard on disc 1 tracks 1 and 10, and disc 2 track 13. Despite the extensive use of its theme, the actual track of "Replicas" is not listed, nor is it featured in its entirety in this recording.
Micromusic VHS/DVD
Originally released in April 1982, the Micromusic video cassette features the same listing as the subsequent Living Ornaments '81 CD, with the exception of the aforementioned bonus track "Conversation." Soon after its video release, the show was broadcast on British television, albeit in an edited, highlights-only version featuring the following tracks: "Intro," "This Wreckage," "Airlane," "M.E.," "She's Got Claws," "Cars," "I'm an Agent," "The Joy Circuit," "I Die: You Die," "Tracks," "Down in the Park," "Are "Friends" Electric?," "We Are Glass," and "Outro." Both the full version and the edited version of the concert have been released on VHS.[4] The full version of Micromusic was released on DVD in April 2010, with an hour-long 2006 interview with Numan as a bonus feature.
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-based number-one hit, with their single "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and its parent 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.
"Cars" is the debut solo single by English musician Gary Numan. It was released on 21 August 1979 and is from his debut studio album The Pleasure Principle. The song reached the top of the charts in several countries, and today is considered a new wave staple.
"Down in the Park" is a 1979 song by the English band Tubeway Army, featuring lead vocals by Gary Numan. It was released as the first single from the band's second album Replicas, though was not a hit. The song was written and produced by the band's frontman Gary Numan, and despite its lack of commercial success, has been performed by Numan regularly in his live shows throughout the years.
"Are 'Friends' Electric?" is a 1979 song by the English band Tubeway Army. Taken from their album Replicas, it was released as a single in May 1979 and reached number one in the UK Singles Chart, staying there for four weeks. It was written and produced by Gary Numan, the band's frontman and lead vocalist. It was also the band's last single before breaking up.
Dance is the third solo studio album by English new wave musician Gary Numan, released on 4 September 1981 by Beggars Banquet Records. It was the first studio album Numan released after his "Farewell Concerts" staged at Wembley Arena.
Replicas is the second and final studio album by the English new wave band Tubeway Army, released on 4 April 1979 by Beggars Banquet Records. It followed their self-titled debut from the previous year. After this, Tubeway Army frontman Gary Numan would continue to release records under his own name, though the musicians in Tubeway Army would continue to work with him for some time. Replicas was the first album of what Numan later termed the "machine" phase of his career, preceding The Pleasure Principle (1979) and Telekon (1980), a collection linked by common themes of a dystopian science fiction future and transmutation of man/machine, coupled with an androgynous image and a synthetic rock sound.
The Pleasure Principle is the debut solo studio album by English new wave musician Gary Numan, released on 7 September 1979 by Beggars Banquet Records. The album came about six months after Replicas (1979), his second and final studio album with the band Tubeway Army. The Pleasure Principle peaked at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart.
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 No. 1 album. It was also the third and final studio release of what Numan retrospectively termed the "machine" section of his career, following Replicas and The Pleasure Principle.
"I Die: You Die" is a song by the British musician Gary Numan, released as a single in August 1980. Released shortly before his fourth album, Telekon, it continued the anthemic style Numan had begun earlier in the year with "We Are Glass". The composer himself described the two singles as "Much the same thing. Both very chorus-orientated with the guitars as the main rhythmic device and the keyboards tinkling over the top".
"Complex" is a song by British musician Gary Numan. It was the second single to be taken from his 1979 album The Pleasure Principle. The single reached number six in the UK Singles Chart.
"She’s Got Claws" is a 1981 song by Gary Numan. It was the first and only single released from his 1981 album Dance. The song signalled a different musical style for Numan, featuring jazz-influenced saxophone and fretless bass, as well as a new image comprising trilby hat and pinstriped suit, inspired by Humphrey Bogart and Howard Hughes.
"Bombers" is the second single by Tubeway Army, released in 1978.
"That's Too Bad" is the debut single by Tubeway Army, the band which provided the initial musical vehicle for Gary Numan. It was released in February 1978 by independent London record label Beggars Banquet. On the day of its release, Numan quit his job in a warehouse to become a professional musician.
"Stormtrooper in Drag" is the debut single by Paul Gardiner, who was the bass player in Gary Numan's backing band. Numan is featured on the single as a co-composer, producer, musician and vocalist.
Warriors is the fifth solo studio album by English new wave musician Gary Numan, released on 16 September 1983 by Beggars Banquet Records, it would be his last studio release on that label.
The Plan is an archival compilation album of early demo recordings by British new wave band Tubeway Army, released in 1984.
Living Ornaments '79 (1981) is a live album by British musician Gary Numan recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon on 28 September 1979. It was also released as a limited edition box set with Living Ornaments '80 (1981). An expanded (21-track) version was reissued on a double CD in 1998 before a remastered version was again reissued in 2005. The nine tracks of the original Living Ornaments '79 were included on 1979: The Live EPs, a disc available to those who bought the expanded, 2-disc version of The Pleasure Principle from Numan's website in 2009.
Living Ornaments '80 is a live album by British musician Gary Numan, first released in 1981. It was also issued as a limited edition box set with Living Ornaments '79 the same year. The original release was recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon on 16 September 1980, as a record of Numan's "Teletour".
The following is a comprehensive discography of Gary Numan, a British singer and musician. Numan released his first record in 1978 as part of the outfit Tubeway Army. Initially unsuccessful, the band scored a huge hit in 1979 with the single "Are Friends Electric" and their second album Replicas, both of which reached number one in the UK. Numan then decided to release further recordings under his own name, beginning with the single "Cars" later in 1979. Both this and the subsequent album The Pleasure Principle also reached number one in the UK, and Numan became a leading force in the British electronic music scene. He scored a third number one album in 1980 with Telekon, and more hit singles and albums until the mid 1980s when his popularity waned. Despite this, he has continued to record and tour on a regular basis up to the present day. His 2017 studio album, Savage , entered the UK Albums Chart at no. 2, which was Numan's highest chart peak since 1980. His most recent album, 2021's Intruder, also entered the UK charts at no. 2.
Living Ornaments '79 and '80 is a box set by English musician Gary Numan that was released in April 1981. The box-set contains the two live albums Living Ornaments '79 and Living Ornaments '80 which were also released separately in April 1981. Although Living Ornaments '79 and Living Ornaments '80 only reached numbers 47 and 39 on the UK Albums Chart respectively, the box set reached number two.
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