Gary Numan - Noise Noise (1983)

With his former backing band of Chris Payne (keyboards, viola), Russell Bell (guitar), and Ced Sharpley (drums) now reformed as Dramatis, Gary Numan contributed vocals to their 1981 hit 'Love Needs No Disguise' from the album 'For Future Reference', and he also lent his vocals to the first single released by his long-term bassist Paul Gardiner, with 'Stormtrooper In Drag' making the UK charts the same year. Numan's own career, however, had begun to experience a gradual decline, and he was eclipsed commercially by former support act Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, as well as by the Human League, Duran Duran, and Depeche Mode, and although each album also saw a new image, none of these captured the public's imagination to nearly the same extent as the lonely android of 1979. The follow-up to 'Dance' appeared in 1982, but 'I, Assassin' fared less well, and despite producing the top 10 hit 'We Take Mystery (To Bed)', plus two other top 20 singles, the album peaked at No. 8 and left the charts after a six-week run. The heavily percussive funk style of the album did make several tracks from the album, such as the 12" version of 'Music For Chameleons' and a special remix of 'White Boys And Heroes', unexpected successes in the American club scene, and so 18 months after Numan's farewell concerts in April 1981 he embarked on a US tour. 1983's 'Warriors' further developed Numan's jazz-influenced style, and featured contributions from Bill Nelson, but the musicians fell out during recording, and so Nelson chose to be uncredited as co-producer. The album performed less well than 'I, Assassin', peaking at No. 12, but it did produce two hit singles, including the top 20 title-track. This second collection of b-sides and out-takes covers the flips of the singles released from 'I, Assassin' and 'Warriors', including an exclusive mix of both parts of 'My Car Slides', as well as a couple of interesting out-takes.  

Track Listing

01 Dance (out-take 1981)
02 Noise Noise (b-side of 'Music For Chameleons' 1982)
03 Bridge? What Bridge? (b-side of 'Music For Chameleons' 1982)
04 The Image Is (b-side of 'We Take Mystery (To Bed)')
05 War Games (b-side of 'White Boys And Heroes' 1982)
06 Glitter And Ash (b-side of 'White Boys And Heroes' 1982)
07 This House Is Cold (out-take 1982)
08 My Car Slides (Parts 1 & 2) (b-side of 'Warriors' 1983)
09 Poetry And Power (b-side of 'Sister Surprise' 1983)
10 Face To Face (Letters) (b-side of 'Sister Surprise' 1983)