They say it's his best album yet, but Gary Numan's 'Splinter (Songs From A Broken Mind)' almost never happened.
Numan first announced 'Splinter' way back in 2007 following his previous album, 'Jagged'. Initially anticipating a 2010 release, he planned to commence work on the album as early as 2008. However, 'Splinter' was ultimately delayed for six years as Numan endured a series of hardships that delayed work on the album.
“There were just a number of things that happened, bang bang bang, fairly close together,” Numan recalls. “Our third child was on its way. Echo, when she was born in early 2007, nearly died. I turned 50 in 2008, and that actually hit me hard. I had a massive falling out with my parents. All this real heavy shit going on that always seemed to happen at the same time.”
When Numan was subsequently diagnosed with depression and put on medication, he found he couldn't bring himself to write a new song for three years: “It just takes away your drive and desire to do anything,” he explains. “But then the cure that they give you, they kind of stopped me from caring. So I didn't write any songs because I didn't give a shit.
“Part of the process for me, of coming out of it, was to write about it. And that's where Splinter came from. And also why most of the album is about the depression I went through and the various problems I had with it.”
Fortunately for fans, Numan overcame those hurdles and produced one of his most applauded works yet. In fact, 'Splinter' marks the first time a Numan album has made top 20 in the UK charts since 'Warriors' back in 1983. However, Numan is quite nonchalant about his album's chart position; he believes elements like the album's effect on his career and credibility as an artist are much more important.
“My wife got really grumpy with me because I didn't jump up and down quite the way she thought I would,” laughs Numan. “I'm not massively bothered by things like that, to be honest. A chart position is one of those things that gives you a nice little something to say on your vinyl . . . something that sort of smooths your ego a little bit. I've been doing this for 35 years, I'm way past all that shit.”
Numan chalks the album's success up to its variety, with songs ranging from the “aggressive and powerful” sound of 'Love Hurt Bleed' to the more “sparse and gentle” tracks like 'Lost' – he admits this dynamic level of range was somewhat lacking in his previous offerings. He also believes the personal and emotional tone of the lyrics inspired by his hardships struck a chord with his fans more than ever before.
The 'Splinter' tour has also been successful, with audiences from all over the world responding with consistent praise for Numan's latest efforts. “What I found with the 'Splinter' tour is that, for the first time ever, we had new songs that were getting the same degree of reaction as the old songs, and that's just not happened before,” says Numan. “It's made me feel extremely confident about the record.
“To have people say you've just put out your best album when you've been going for so long, that's a pretty cool thing.”
Written by Simon Jun
Gary Numan Tour Dates
Sunday, 25th May Astor Theatre, PerthWednesday, 28th May Tivoli, Brisbane
Thursday, 29th May HQ, Adelaide
Friday, 30th May The Hi-Fi, Melbourne
Saturday, 31st May Metro Theatre, Sydney
