Telekon

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Telekon
Studio album by Gary Numan
Released	5 September 1980
Recorded	1980
Studio	Rock City Studios, Shepperton Matrix Studios, London
Genre	New wave electronic synth-pop
Length	49:54
Label	Beggars Banquet
Producer	Gary Numan
Gary Numan chronology
The Pleasure Principle (1979) Telekon (1980) Living Ornaments '79 (1981)
Singles from Telekon
"We Are Glass" Released: 24 May 1980 "I Die: You Die" Released: 30 August 1980 "This Wreckage" Released: 20 December 1980

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.^[1]

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.^[2]

A number of Dutch releases were pressed on coloured vinyl.^[3] 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.^[4]

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".^[5] 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.^[6] Remind Me to Smile was released as a US single with I Dream of Wires on the b-side.^[7]

The Teletour[]

From September to November 1980, Numan toured the UK and North America in support of Telekon.^[8][9] The tour was followed by three "farewell concerts" at Wembley Arena in April 1981 with guest Nash the Slash.^[10]

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.^[11] 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[]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[12]
Pitchfork Media	[13]
Rolling Stone	[14]
Smash Hits	7/10[15]
Spin	[16]

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.^[17]

This song I Dream of Wires was later covered by british singer Robert Palmer on his 1980's album Clues and Gary Numan played keyboards and synthesizers on it.

Track listing[]

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

LP[]

Side one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"This Wreckage"	5:26
2.	"The Aircrash Bureau"	5:41
3.	"Telekon"	4:29
4.	"Remind Me to Smile"	4:03
5.	"Sleep by Windows" (replaced with "I Die: You Die" on overseas releases)	4:58

Side two

No.	Title	Length
6.	"I'm an Agent"	4:19
7.	"I Dream of Wires"	5:10
8.	"Remember I Was Vapour"	5:11
9.	"Please Push No More"	5:39
10.	"The Joy Circuit"	5:12

Cassette[]

Side one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"This Wreckage"	5:26
2.	"The Aircrash Bureau"	5:41
3.	"Telekon"	4:29
4.	"Remind Me to Smile"	4:03
5.	"Sleep by Windows"	4:58
6.	"We Are Glass"	4:47

Side two

No.	Title	Length
7.	"I'm an Agent"	4:19
8.	"I Dream of Wires"	5:10
9.	"Remember I Was Vapour"	5:11
10.	"Please Push No More"	5:39
11.	"The Joy Circuit"	5:12
12.	"I Die: You Die"

1998 CD reissue[]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"This Wreckage"	5:26
2.	"The Aircrash Bureau"	5:41
3.	"Telekon"	4:29
4.	"Remind Me to Smile" (Alternative intro to vinyl release)	4:03
5.	"Sleep By Windows"	4:58
6.	"We Are Glass"	4:47
7.	"I'm an Agent"	4:19
8.	"I Dream of Wires"	5:10
9.	"Remember I Was Vapour" (Alternative mix to vinyl release)	5:11
10.	"Please Push No More"	5:39
11.	"The Joy Circuit"	5:12

Reissue bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
12.	"I Die: You Die" (Alternative mix to single release)	3:48
13.	"A Game Called Echo"	5:07
14.	"Photograph"	2:28
15.	"Down in the Park (Piano Version)"	4:15
16.	"Trois Gymnopédies (First Movement)"	2:44

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

Chart positions[]

Chart (1980)	Peak position
United Kingdom[18]	1
Australia	24
Can. RPM 100[19]	53
US Billboard 200[20]	64

Chart (1981)	Peak Position
United Kingdom[21]	72

Musicians[]

• 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^{[citation needed]}
• 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