"Are 'Friends' Electric?"
Single by Gary Numan/Tubeway Army
from the album Replicas
Released	May 1979
Format	7" single
Recorded	Gooseberry Studios, London, January/February 1979
Genre	New Wave, Electronic
Length	5:18
Label	Beggars Banquet BEG 18
Producer(s)	Gary Numan
Chart positions
#1 (UK)
Gary Numan/Tubeway Army singles chronology
"Down in the Park" (1979)	"Are 'Friends' Electric?" (1979)	"Cars" (1979)

"Are 'Friends' Electric?" is a 1979 song by Gary Numan, released under the name Tubeway Army as a single and on the album Replicas. Image File history File links Afe3. ... In music, a single is a short (usually ten minutes or less*) record, usually featuring one or two tracks as A-side, often accompanied by several B-sides, usually remixes or other songs. ... Gary Numan Gary Numan (born Gary Anthony James Webb on March 8, 1958) is a British singer, songwriter, musician, composer and electropop pioneer. ... Tubeway Army (1977–1979) were a London-based punk and New Wave band formed by Gary Webb. ... Replicas is an LP by Gary Numan and the Tubeway Army, released in 1979. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... A gramophone record, (also phonograph record - often simply record) is an analog sound recording medium: a flat disc rotating at a constant angular velocity, with inscribed spiral grooves in which a stylus or needle rides. ... This article is about the British city. ... A music genre is a category (or genre) of pieces of music that share a certain style or basic musical language (van der Merwe 1989, p. ... New Wave is a term that has been used to describe many developments in music, but is most commonly associated with a movement in American, Australian, British, Canadian and European popular music, in the late 1970s and early 1980s. ... Electronic music is a term for music created using electronic devices. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Beggars Banquet is an English independent record label that began as a chain of record shops owned by Martin Mills and Nick Austin. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the performers, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Gary Numan Gary Numan (born Gary Anthony James Webb on March 8, 1958) is a British singer, songwriter, musician, composer and electropop pioneer. ... Top 40 is a radio format based on frequent repetition of songs from a constantly-updated list of the forty best-selling singles. ... Gary Numan Gary Numan (born Gary Anthony James Webb on March 8, 1958) is a British singer, songwriter, musician, composer and electropop pioneer. ... Tubeway Army (1977–1979) were a London-based punk and New Wave band formed by Gary Webb. ... Down In The Park is a 1979 single written and recorded by Gary Numan with his band Tubeway Army. ... Cars is a 1979 song by Gary Numan, released as a single and on the album The Pleasure Principle. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... Gary Numan Gary Numan (born Gary Anthony James Webb on March 8, 1958) is a British singer, songwriter, musician, composer and electropop pioneer. ... Tubeway Army (1977–1979) were a London-based punk and New Wave band formed by Gary Webb. ... In music, a single is a short (usually ten minutes or less*) record, usually featuring one or two tracks as A-side, often accompanied by several B-sides, usually remixes or other songs. ... Replicas is an LP by Gary Numan and the Tubeway Army, released in 1979. ...

Despite being over five minutes long and having no chorus or hook, the single topped the UK charts, and is notable for being the first electronic/synthesizer-based record to become a hit in the post-punk era. Whilst the track's new and distinctive sound stood out at the time, sales also benefitted from the record company's use of a picture disc and Numan's striking, "robotic" performance on the TV shows The Old Grey Whistle Test and Top of the Pops. "Are 'Friends' Electric?" has been a mainstay of Numan's concerts since its release and appears on all ten of his official live recordings to date. A semi-acoustic version has found it's place in the setlist for Numans 2006 Jagged tour. A refrain (from the Old French refraindre to repeat, likely from Vulgar Latin refringere) is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the chorus of a song. ... A hook is a musical idea, a passage or phrase, that is believed to be catchy and helps the song stand out, it is, meant to catch the ear of the listener (Covach 2005, p. ... This is a list of the number one singles on the UK Singles Chart, during the 1970s. ... Electronic music is a term for music created using electronic devices. ... A synthesizer (spelling var. ... Post punk generally refers to the particularly fertile and creative period following the initial punk rock explosion. During the first wave of punk, roughly spanning 1976-1983, bands such as The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Ramones and The Damned began to challenge the current styles and conventions of rock... Beggars Banquet is an English independent record label that began as a chain of record shops owned by Martin Mills and Nick Austin. ... Usual types of gramophone record (phonograph record in U.S. English) are discussed in the main article. ... The Old Grey Whistle Test was an influential BBC television music show that ran from September 1971 until 1987. ... Top of the Pops is a long-running British music chart television programme shown each week on BBC Two and now licensed for local versions around the world. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ...

The song tells the tale of a lonely and paranoid man whose only friend is a robot that has broken down; its themes of alienation and isolation were a Numan hallmark at this time in his career. The lyrics were inspired by a failed relationship with Beggar's Banquet employee Susan Wathan (cryptically referred to as "S.U.") mixed with and filtered through imagery drawn from Philip K. Dick's science fiction story Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (later the basis for the 1982 film Blade Runner). The music is notable for its plaintive, emotional qualities, which were in stark contrast to the deliberately cold and computerized sound preferred by other synthesizer-based artists like Kraftwerk. Alienation is estrangement or splitting apart. ... Isolation can refer to: Isolation as a psychological phenomenon (see also Solitude). ... Lyrics are the words in songs. ... Philip K. Dick Philip Kindred Dick (December 16, 1928 – March 2, 1982), often known by his initials PKD, was an American science fiction writer. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Cover of the 1977 Grenada edition of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is a 1968 science fiction novel by Philip K. Dick. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... It has been suggested that Cityspeak be merged into this article or section. ... A synthesizer (spelling var. ... Album cover of Trans-Europe Express (1977). ...

"Are 'Friends' Electric?" features three different sections: a recurring 'verse' with synth riff in C and B flat, a recurring section with spoken word over slow arpeggiated seventh chords, and an instrumental break in F. The instrumentation is quite minimalistic: there is a conventional drum and bass guitar backing track, some additional heavily flanged guitar (particularly in the instrumental break), subdued vocals and most prominently, Minimoog synthesizer. These synth parts include a slow-paced sawtooth bass riff, and some soaring portamento background lines. Spoken word is a form of music or artistic performance in which lyrics, poetry, or stories are spoken rather than sung. ... This article will be merged with Italian musical terms at some point in the near future. ... A seventh chord is a chord consisting of a triad plus a note forming an interval of a seventh above the chords root. ... This article is about a musical style. ... For other kinds of drums, see drum (disambiguation). ... Martin EB18 Bass Guitar in flight case The electric bass guitar (also called an electric bass, or simply a bass) an electrically-amplified string instrument similar in appearance to an electric guitar, but with a larger body, a longer-scale neck and four strings tuned an octave lower in pitch... Flanging is a time-domain based audio effect that occurs when two identical signals are mixed together, but with one signal time-delayed by a small and gradually changing amount, usually smaller than 20 ms (milliseconds). ... In music a singer or vocalist is a type of musician who sings, i. ... The Minimoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer, invented by Robert Moog. ... The sawtooth wave (or saw wave) is a kind of basic non-sinusoidal waveform. ... Portamento is a musical term currently used to mean pitch bending or sliding, and in 16th century polyphonic writing refers to a type of musical ornamentation. ...

The song is one of Numan's most frequently-covered compositions. Generator (featuring Kipper, a Gary Numan band member, and Numan himself on vocals) covered the song in 1994. Nancy Boy produced a quirky version in 1995 as a single (several mixes) and on the album Promosexual, whilst Information Society included a cover on the 1997 album Don't Be Afraid. It was sung as a duet between Gary Numan and Republica on the 1997 tribute album Random[1] along with two other versions by Moloko and An Pierlé, the latter a memorable arrangement for solo piano. Most famously, it was also heavily sampled in 2002 on the track "Freak Like Me" by Sugababes; Numan has been quoted on more than one occasion expressing his approval of the result which, like the original, reached number 1 in the UK singles charts. 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Information Society (also known as InSoc) was a U.S. band from Minneapolis, Minnesota, primarily consisting of Kurt Harland (aka Kurt Valaquen), Paul Robb, and James Cassidy. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Republica was a British band that was formed in 1994 and was popular from 1996 to 1998. ... Moloko is a leftfield dance-pop group from Sheffield, England, consisting of Róisín Murphy and Mark Brydon. ... An Miel Mia Pierlé, critically acclaimed as singer-songwriter An Pierlé, was born in 1974. ... For the Cusco album, see 2002 (album). ... Sugababes are a UK girl group formed in London, UK, in 1998. ... This is a list of the number one singles on the UK Singles Chart, during the 2000s. ...

The B-side of "Are 'Friends' Electric?" was a more rock-orientated number, "We Are So Fragile". Popular in its own right with Numan's fan base, it was played frequently on The Touring Principle series of concerts and appears on the album Living Ornaments '79. Both A- and B-sides were remixed twice for the album The Mix in 1998. A remix of "Are 'Friends' Electric?" also appeared on the 2003 collection Hybrid. 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Image File history File links Tubeway_Army_-_Are_Friends_Electric_excerpt. ...

Track listing

1. "Are 'Friends' Electric?" (Numan) - 5:18
2. "We Are So Fragile" (Numan) - 2:46

Production credits

• Producer:
  • Gary Numan

• Musicians:
  • Gary Numan: Minimoog synthesizer, Guitar, Vocals
  • Paul Gardiner: Bass guitar
  • Jess Lidyard: Drums

In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the performers, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... A musician is a person who plays or composes music. ... The Minimoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer, invented by Robert Moog. ... A synthesizer (spelling var. ... The acoustic archtop guitar, used in Jazz music, features steel strings. ... LeAnn Rimes singing in concert A singer is a type of musician who uses his or her voice to produce music. ... Martin EB18 Bass Guitar in flight case The electric bass guitar (also called an electric bass, or simply a bass) an electrically-amplified string instrument similar in appearance to an electric guitar, but with a larger body, a longer-scale neck and four strings tuned an octave lower in pitch... Percussion instruments are music instruments played by being struck, shaken, rubbed or scraped, hence the percussive name. ...

References

• Stephen Webbon & Gary Numan (1985). Complete Gary Numan UK Discography. Record Collector (December 1985, No. 76).
• Gary Numan with Steve Malins (1998). Praying to the Aliens.