Tubeway Army “Replicas” 1979. Beggars Banquet Records. Today, March 8th, is Gary Numan’s 60th birthday (b. 1958). Numan fronted the ice cold pre-industrial synthpop Tubeway Army before finding long-lasting success as a solo artist (I still love “Cars”). Replicas is science fictiony (influenced by Philip K. Dick) and heavy on synth and drum machines (influenced by Kraftwerk and John Foxx-era Ultravox). Tubeway Army released two singles from Replicas: “Down in the Park” and the utterly amazing “Are ‘Friends’ Electric” which hit #1 in the UK where it remained for four weeks (and notably covered by The Dead Weather as the b-side for “Hang You from the Heavens”). Also notable are “You Are In My Vision,” “The Machman” and “Me! I Disconnect From You.” Replicas had a lasting influence on synth rock: the industrial bands of the 80′s and 90′s evolved the sound and kept the dark nihilistic attitude (i.e. Nitzer Ebb, Nine Inch Nails, Marily Manson, etc.).