These days we think we’ve got it bad if somebody writes a mean post about us, or the local coffee place has run out of Jamaica Blue. We’d probably be in therapy for decades though if as a musician we’d have had to withstand the critical bombardment that Gary Numan was forced to endure in the early years of his career; Paula Yates once described him as a ‘fat white grub’ – and that was one of the nicer comments.
Perhaps he hadn’t helped himself by retiring from live performance at the peak of his commercial powers after scoring Britain’s first ever synth pop number ones in Are Friends Electric? and Cars. The flying obsessed singer went off to circumnavigate the world instead, only to find that endlessly mocked as well.
Released on his own label in 1984, Beserker was predictably treated with disdain in the music press, but the lower profile encouraged him to boldly experiment with dance orientated electro rhythms (This Is New Love) and proto industrial funk (The titular opener). The most poignant moment though came on via A Child With The Ghost, a gentle ballad dedicated to former bassist Paul Gardiner.
Now beefed up with a healthy dose of additional material – although Numan’s dedicated army of fans will almost certainly be familiar with it already – had Beserker initially been released under an anonymous handle it might well have been hailed as ahead of it’s time. As he’s found, the thing about revenge though is that it’s a dish best served very, very cold.
You can read a full review here.
The Voice Of Unreason 