Rockin' down the highway: #2 "Cars" Gary Numan (1979)

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It should be no surprise this new wave classic rates this high. Gary Numan is an electronic music pioneer and everything from synthpop to industrial has been influenced by him. The London born musician started out with his band Tubeway Army and he played guitar. But Numan was fascinated by keyboard synthasizers and wanted to experiment. The result was the hit album “The Pleasure Principle” under his name which I once had on vinyl. Numan’s “look’ and style gained a cult following. He sang in almost deadpan manner and his movement robotic. The white makeup gave him a gothlike appearance. He was not thrilled by this saying the makeup was an accident and just stiff on stage. “Cars” was inspired by Numan being a victim of road rage and how a person feels safe in their car. The only instruments were keyboards, bass and drums. The song went #1 in the UK and Canada and be Numan’s only US hit at #9. In the UK, Numan has had 45 charted top 100 singles between 1979 and 2007. Numan is still going strong. “Cars” is just terrific early new wave alternative drawing listeners into that scene.