Currently reading his autobiography. Always loved him, but never realised how long it took for him to get any decent recognition. There was so much jealousy for his initial success it's unreal. This version & his similar performance with Little Boots are amazing.
How badass is Gary Numan? I don't think I've ever heard an artist play a song from when they were younger and thought this is better, but this might be it. Gary sounds amazing and the band is killing it!
Answer: Very badass. I agree with you. I thought this track was unique and groundbreaking in its day, and this reinvention of it is amazing. Its so hard to do that. Would like to hear the stones try to rework jumping jack flash or brown sugar with the same level of creativity lol, not gonna happen, is it... 🙂
AMEN to all other appreciative comments... O... M... F... G... A stone cold CLASSIC - SUPERBLY reinterpreted... EVERYTHING about this song, treatment and setting is... Just... 🙇🙏🏼🙇 - Deserves / DEMANDS to be played LOUDERER!!! 🔈🔉🔊
Usually a new version of a song is too heavily reliant upon production, but here it's the musicians who've reworked the song, making a great song even greater.
well yes, but how can you wreck your own song? And if you do, tough beans to the critics. I mean, if you cant reinterpret your own creation, then what the hell was it in the first place? And what have you become?
@andy morris it is crisp and forceful then gentle and delicate, i love it, so brilliant!!! this man is a genius always evolving but then this is the role of a true pioneer:) thanks for sharing this :):):)
If all of the Blade Runner fans understood the connection between Gary Numan, Philip K. Dick and that movie he would have ten times the fan base. A groundbreaking sound with tremendous storytelling, he was ahead of his time and still is.
@@monsterinhead214 You would be better served to do the research. Gary talks about the influence the books had on him, and the songs seem to obviously reflect that. I would suggest watching interviews he has had where he was talking about Tubeway Army and the older songs.
im speechless...loved the original when i was young but then seemed to fade away ,then came accross this and was blown away...made me look up his recent stuff...which is just amazing...seriously! after watching this i brought some of his latest albums and i just cant leave them alone.. one of the few 80's artist that has got better with age..his voice! so strong now and with much harder music..perfect. soo emotional ,put a tear in my eye hearing something i enjoyed from my youth making such a great comeback....thanks gary.
Well, how many times do you gamely watch a recent performance by an old hero only to come away disappointed and saddened by the ravages of time? This is completely the opposite! A totally convincing update of an absolute classic, and a great performance! Good on you Gary! I'm almost weeping!
Christ almighty words cant describe how hauntingly beautiful this track is the atmosphere is. As good as the original maybe but for Gary to carry it like this is a tribute to his genius
Go and book a ticket to see this man live when lockdowns are over. Musicians need to be supported as much as we need their music. And this man is really, really good live. :-) x
The best part is the original and this version are both great and unique in their own ways. For a bit of a different version: czcams.com/video/19c-fnf59Oc/video.html
The dynamic contrasts and tempo shifts make this version a whole new level of fantastic. It's like meeting an old friend decades later, only to discover depths to that friend you didn't realize existed. In other words, I liked it, very much.
Numan influenced Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) and then Reznor influenced Numan. You can hear the strains of NiN throughout this: all out then the piano...classic Reznor approach, I love it!
I was 17 when the original (Tubeway Army) version came out (1979), and Yes, it got decent radio airplay here in Pittsburgh ,Pennsylvania (USA). Pittsburgh being AHEAD of the US on SOME things, yet remaining 10 year behind on most, LOL. I was SHOCKED by it, It WAS a NEW sound!, And perhaps the best thing I heard at that point since the Moody Blues at that point. THIS version kicked it into ANOTHER realm!
😱 Are you saying that if Leonardo Da Vinci was able to time travel to this generation, he should walk inside a museum, take down the Mona Lisa, a painting that millions of people know and love, and just because he discovers photoshop, he should be able to add a big mustache in the middle of his masterpiece?
Hands down, the best 'hmm, I've never heard of this artiste but let me see who this Gary Numan chap is' random click in my life! Zero regrets. 7.28 minutes very well spent.
Fucking awe inspiring!!!! What a legend this guy is!!! I remember hearing "our friends electric" for the first time "Boom" that was music for me!! Can't believe 30+ years later i've just heard this version and i feel the same as i did then!!! A true musician!!!
I only just found this, years after it was uploaded. I was the same with the original, I saw it on TV and I was blown away too, it had an effect that has lasted decades and still wakes something up every time I hear it. But this... is another level. I love it.
Out-fucking-standing. Gary Numan is the sole reason I started to listen to electronic music way back in 79. I moved on to house and dance later, but still adore those early pioneers of which Mr Numan is a legend. This gave me chills. Thank you sir, you changed my life.
With earphones on and volume turned up, bet you can't keep the goosebumps away, especially when band kicks in! An artist that has had a lot of negative unjust criticism. Superb new material too Gary, don't never give up. Legend.
Scott am a metal head too but this song I can listen too on repeat 24/7 so many different mixes and versions only other song does same for me is John foxx underpass awesome up the metal heads
+Blue It is certainly, along with Cars, his most famous and successful commercial single. However the man has one of the most enduring, varied and creatively spectacular back catalogues in existence, which continues to produce epic moments - Melt, We're The Unforgiven and We Are The Lost immediately spring to mind. Are Friends Electric is a great song but is one of many great song this genuinely legendary artist has penned.
Gary said this was his favourite song as it sent him into the charts though equally favourite with cars which makes him the most money. It’s the first single I ever bought. I’m gonna get out of bed and play it.
ABSOLUTELY STUNNING. THIS SENT A CHILL DOWN MY SPINE. INCREDIBLE WORK BY AN INCREDIBLE & FORMIDABLE FORCE. THANK YOU Mr N And credit to the talent of the band around you. wonderful work lads!
Agreed. Possibly the only rendition of any track I've heard, where the original artist creates a second version of his own, already one of a type, and brilliant track, then makes it ten times better a few decades later. What a brain. Perfection perfected. :D
Back again. Great interpretation of one of my favourite songs of all time. The setting, the production is perfection. Numan the android chameleon. The reinvention of an electronic evangelist.
The only one person who can outperform himself it's you. In this case it's true. How magnificent original was in the end of 70's - how incredible Gary Numan perform it today...
Blown away by it back in the 70s.. blown away by it when this version came out...still listening to it now and still f**king blown away!!! We love you Gary!
Are 'Friends' Electric?" It's cold outside And the paint's peeling off of my walls There's a man outside In a long coat, grey hat, smoking a cigarette Now the light fades out And I wonder what I'm doing In a room like this There's a knock on the door And just for a second I thought I remembered you So now I'm alone Now I can think for myself About little deals And issues And things that I just don't understand A white lie that night Or a sly touch at times I don't think it meant anything to you So I open the door It's the 'friend' that I'd left in the hallway 'Please sit down' A candlelit shadow on a wall near the bed You know I hate to ask But are 'friends' electric? Only mine's broke down And now I've no-one to love So I found out your reasons For the phone calls and smiles And it hurts And I'm lonely And I should never have tried And I missed you tonight It must be time to leave You see it meant everything to me
I like this statement even if I'm not 100% sure on it. Though I can only think of other Numan songs to replace it with ("M.E" is pretty ridiculous, as well as "down in the park" and others.) I like "replicas" nearly as much (and more in some aspects) than "pleasure principle", but that crashing electric drum that he honed on the latter is SO GOOD (not revolutionary, I think though it may lack a bit of the force or impact of the Crashing "TSH" heard all over that album really, the similar electric drum sound found in Kraftwerks "radioactivity" is equally impressive and obviously some years older. I digress. He crushed it that year, and the only album that even comes to mind that year as being as good would be "154" by Wire.
I've been a fan of Gary Numan since 1979. And while it is traditional to complain loudly about anything which deviates from the original version, I have to confess this is now my favourite rendition of this classic song.
Wow, completely blown away - moody piano/synth introduction followed by full power in your face drums/synth. Loved this song when I was a teenager and it still gives me goosebumps 30 odd years later. What a ride, outstanding!
There is before Gary and after Gary... For those of us who get it, we can listen over and over to this music throughout our lives, it never ever gets old, it is ALWAYS fresh, new and exciting. It provides the soundtrack to our lives and speaks to us with different voices at different times depending on what we need. The sound activates us, makes us sad, makes us vibrate and gives us pleasure. You cannot explain it to someone who has not been exposed (infected?). Unless you have spent hours on a Saturday night alone in front of a mirror in your parents basement with the lights off and a flashlight for a microphone screaming "Death Death Death Until The Sun Cries Morning", there is no need to go any further...
I bought the Tubeway Army album soon after it came out. Soon after (well before the Dexy's of Come On Eileen” fame) I bought Dexy’s Midnight Runners’ album “Searching For the Young Soul Rebels”. These were profoundly different records in all ways except the very important one of being uniformly, transcendentally excellent, and completely lacking in what was then called “filler”. Timeless recordings. Gary Numan and Kevin Rowlands of Dexys were and are perfectionists who to this day produce unsurpassed versions of their best material. This is an absolutely magnificent version of “Are Friends Electric”. My musical Anglophilia continues unabated thanks to these artists in particular.
Me too. I especially love the resigned way he delivers the spoken word bits. Wisdom born of experience. Plus he’s become harder in his music delivery, which doesn’t always happen with the passage of time. Awesome all ‘round. Now he just needs to tour Australia. I finally got to see the Cure play for 3 & a half hours a few years back. I’ll be content if I get to see Mr Numan & his great band.
I first heard Gary when Are Friends Electric was released. I knew then it would be a chart topper, and became a great fan . I'm now 80 years old and just have to play this amazing version every day. Hope to see him in concert before I pop my clogs,god willing.
He just gets better and better. I only knew the song cars but just recently I started to listen to his recent stuff and man I'm a fan now. I love how he made this song more gritty and dark.
I was lucky enough to see Gary Numan in concert, 1979 in Vancouver. He was the best then, and he's even better now. I love how he's changed his style and rocks out to his music, but the classic sound is still there:)
Every few years I go down a Gary Numan rabbithole and experience a bit of the world through his expression. It's usually "Are Friends Electric" that kicks it off
Just goes to prove that Gary was ahead of his time. He wrote a song that 34 years later could be reworked into a masterpiece for the generation of today. Watch and learn youngsters..!!!
Brilliant reworking of the original which was released in 1979, if you can believe it. This track was the real breakthrough in the UK for Synth led music.
The guy has run his career backwards! he is more amazing now than ever and that's saying something! I have been a Numanoid since 1979. His music defines my youth. Like a lot of Numanoids, I got ridiculed for loving his music, little did they know they were on the wrong side of history. Where are the one hit wonders they worshipped now? Here was a man on the edge of discovery, a modern day Mozart. He was the father of a genre. Ridiculed in his time and now finally being recognised for what he was. But does he ride those coat-tails forever? No. The chamelion changes again, taking some of what was and melding it into something new. The man is a genius ahead of his time, as had been said so often. He isn't some sad 80's act reliving past glories. He is still forging new paths, using the brilliance of what he has created. The collaboration with his daughter Persia, has been amazing to watch. He is truly a special artist, performer and human. Thank you Gary from another Gary.
![NIN: "Metal" with Gary Numan, London 7.15.09 [HD]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ehMqEXUspfs/mqdefault.jpg)
Gary Numan is one of the most criminally overlooked, underappreciated musicians in history.
A Swedish magazine called him "poor man's Bowie" in the 70's.. But I didn't care..
Currently reading his autobiography. Always loved him, but never realised how long it took for him to get any decent recognition. There was so much jealousy for his initial success it's unreal. This version & his similar performance with Little Boots are amazing.
I agree - Yet his legacy and influence (NIN and more) are tremendous!
A SYNTHEISISER GENIUS AND TALENTED PILOT !🕊
I totally agree!!!
How badass is Gary Numan? I don't think I've ever heard an artist play a song from when they were younger and thought this is better, but this might be it. Gary sounds amazing and the band is killing it!
he is my muse
Answer: Very badass. I agree with you. I thought this track was unique and groundbreaking in its day, and this reinvention of it is amazing. Its so hard to do that. Would like to hear the stones try to rework jumping jack flash or brown sugar with the same level of creativity lol, not gonna happen, is it... 🙂
AMEN to all other appreciative comments... O... M... F... G... A stone cold CLASSIC - SUPERBLY reinterpreted... EVERYTHING about this song, treatment and setting is... Just... 🙇🙏🏼🙇 - Deserves / DEMANDS to be played LOUDERER!!! 🔈🔉🔊
Agreed.
but it's even better than the first time that he sang it on the top of the pops
This is without doubt the absolute best version I have ever heard. Utterley stunning. The acoustics are sublime.
Brilliant aint' it? Get to appreciate it more and more with every single listen.
I used to be a small fan until I heard this song. Now I’m a giant air conditioner.
you're an ice age
It's a breeze!
I love that comment
Autobots, assemble
HAHAHAHAHA
How to bring a song up to date without wrecking it.. Excellent!!
Usually a new version of a song is too heavily reliant upon production, but here it's the musicians who've reworked the song, making a great song even greater.
well yes, but how can you wreck your own song? And if you do, tough beans to the critics. I mean, if you cant reinterpret your own creation, then what the hell was it in the first place? And what have you become?
Quite Right Mark 👍.
i think this is aweful... ... is like if morrisey sang it lol the original was perfect
@andy morris it is crisp and forceful then gentle and delicate, i love it, so brilliant!!! this man is a genius always evolving but then this is the role of a true pioneer:) thanks for sharing this :):):)
If all of the Blade Runner fans understood the connection between Gary Numan, Philip K. Dick and that movie he would have ten times the fan base. A groundbreaking sound with tremendous storytelling, he was ahead of his time and still is.
I'm curious. Please tell.
@@monsterinhead214 You would be better served to do the research. Gary talks about the influence the books had on him, and the songs seem to obviously reflect that. I would suggest watching interviews he has had where he was talking about Tubeway Army and the older songs.
@@jameshisself9324 fair enough. thanks.
The sound engineers mixing this did an amazing job.
They did. Few of us probably appreciate the challenges in capturing the wide dynamics of a rare song such as this.
im speechless...loved the original when i was young but then seemed to fade away ,then came accross this and was blown away...made me look up his recent stuff...which is just amazing...seriously! after watching this i brought some of his latest albums and i just cant leave them alone..
one of the few 80's artist that has got better with age..his voice! so strong now and with much harder music..perfect.
soo emotional ,put a tear in my eye hearing something i enjoyed from my youth making such a great comeback....thanks gary.
I can't stop listening to it!! I'm hooked. Someone help me pleeeeease
I agree :-)
So much to choose from his Exile is not able to be ejected from any CD player. It’s seems sacrilegious. Every song is a 💯
@@stevenhoog1 YES!!!! Exile is as timeless as it is genius. Numan is a national treasure.
I’m totally with you - this is brilliance at its best - a classic “remake” of a classic song
Well, how many times do you gamely watch a recent performance by an old hero only to come away disappointed and saddened by the ravages of time? This is completely the opposite! A totally convincing update of an absolute classic, and a great performance! Good on you Gary! I'm almost weeping!
I can just put this on a loop and listen to it forever, it's emotional to me. But all good music is.
kiracore84 Agreed, it won't happen often.
+kiracore84 Staggeringly good. I never dreamt the original could be better. Such a great, stands by itself track. Nothing like it.
Gary's always been good. He's never disappointed me yet. 😈
couldn't agree more kira
Christ almighty words cant describe how hauntingly beautiful this track is the atmosphere is. As good as the original maybe but for Gary to carry it like this is a tribute to his genius
Who's here in 2020? So relevant right now.
@@SuperDonnaMO 2022!
December 2023 :-)))))))))))))@@SuperDonnaMO
Jan '24!@@2112jonr
Go and book a ticket to see this man live when lockdowns are over. Musicians need to be supported as much as we need their music. And this man is really, really good live. :-) x
Amen to that!
He's far rockier than people imagine. Just about all his earlier songs have been given a revamp. And they sound amazing.
I mean clearly lock down has been good to us
He is so damn good live hell yeah
So beautifully stated
This is a lesson on how to remaster a master piece......
Beautifully stated - this is Gary decades later showing his timeless brilliance - loved the original version - love this classic - sheer talent
This has nothing to do with remastering. It's a new arrangement.
The best part is the original and this version are both great and unique in their own ways. For a bit of a different version:
czcams.com/video/19c-fnf59Oc/video.html
Greatly typed. TUNE.👍
I got to see this in the 80s and then this version a few years ago, 30 years apart. Wow.
The dynamic contrasts and tempo shifts make this version a whole new level of fantastic. It's like meeting an old friend decades later, only to discover depths to that friend you didn't realize existed. In other words, I liked it, very much.
What a beautifully reimagined version of a true masterpiece!
Unbelievable, loved the original, this is insane. Beautiful synth... Gary at his best.. just beautiful.
Yes it’s amazing and timeless
Definitely my FAVOURITE version 😎
This song changed my life when i was eleven years old. This version rules very much
Yes. Same age for me. Heard nothing like it before.
Numan influenced Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) and then Reznor influenced Numan. You can hear the strains of NiN throughout this: all out then the piano...classic Reznor approach, I love it!
gavsky23 i
Absolutely on the money there gavsky23... This is simply splendid.
For sure! Don't forget Beck too🤘
He even holds the mic like Reznor...
Numan has been very vocal about that. Hearing NIN reinvigorated his creativity.
Some artists age and make fools of themself performing. Gary gets better with time like a fine wine that leaves you wanting more.
Correct !
Timeless. And Gary is such a lovely bloke in real life.
Thank you for the years Gary.
and he struggles with that. His aspergers makes it difficult but he overcomes it. Lovely and strong.
Seriously, I am so messed up by this version of the song. I keep on having to repeat play it because it's so fricking awesome!!!!!
This is my favorite version of this song. It's amazing how NUman can make a song that's nearly 40 years old seem fresh and new.
this is fucking good.
Always was 😀
@Paul Maillardet (
Sorry dearly … take it one step higher - this is fucking brilliant
@@greghall7796 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
@@abelisraelcruzayuso4682 - cheers and thanks dearly 😊
Purely ethereal version of one of my favourite classic songs from my 70s childhood…
I was 17 when the original (Tubeway Army) version came out (1979), and Yes, it got decent radio airplay here in Pittsburgh ,Pennsylvania (USA). Pittsburgh being AHEAD of the US on SOME things, yet remaining 10 year behind on most, LOL. I was SHOCKED by it, It WAS a NEW sound!, And perhaps the best thing I heard at that point since the Moody Blues at that point. THIS version kicked it into ANOTHER realm!
I like the part where I clicked “play.”
Moosehead ....hahaha
You chose wisely.
Yes 100000000 times
That's the best part!
I like the part where I clicked "replay ,
I love the way he changes up the sound on alot of his older songs. He is an amazing artist who continues to make excellent music
Hear hear!
😱 Are you saying that if Leonardo Da Vinci was able to time travel to this generation, he should walk inside a museum, take down the Mona Lisa, a painting that millions of people know and love, and just because he discovers photoshop, he should be able to add a big mustache in the middle of his masterpiece?
@@Dino23968 no
Jon Means thats true
That he is😃😃😃
If this doesn't give you the shivers, you're already dead. ❤
Thank you Gary Numan. Beautiful.
Hands down, the best 'hmm, I've never heard of this artiste but let me see who this Gary Numan chap is' random click in my life! Zero regrets. 7.28 minutes very well spent.
listen to the 1979 original
Amazing. He made his own song better. Way better.
Yer he made it even more gritty
Suzanne Divine yea it's updated, stronger
The bridge was always good.
I suppose, its about growing. Age keeps marching, but the spirit keeps dancing.
Not way better, but a repeat of awesome. Now we have a complimentary pair.
Fucking awe inspiring!!!!
What a legend this guy is!!!
I remember hearing "our friends electric" for the first time "Boom" that was music for me!!
Can't believe 30+ years later i've just heard this version and i feel the same as i did then!!!
A true musician!!!
Are Friends Electric? 😁
I only just found this, years after it was uploaded. I was the same with the original, I saw it on TV and I was blown away too, it had an effect that has lasted decades and still wakes something up every time I hear it. But this... is another level. I love it.
Is it 'our' or 'are' friends electric? Alway thought was'our'or is it...... The Mandela effect?
Brilliantly stated mate - this is Gary at his talented best decades later - phenomenal
Chris Smith
“Are”
I realize the video is very old but, hats off to Mr. Numan, the Godfather of Synth Pop.
Out-fucking-standing. Gary Numan is the sole reason I started to listen to electronic music way back in 79. I moved on to house and dance later, but still adore those early pioneers of which Mr Numan is a legend. This gave me chills. Thank you sir, you changed my life.
ya me too
Holy crap, this version is even better than the original!!! Love it!
for what it's worth, I thought it was fucking amazing.
It gave me chills when i was a child and this re-imagined version does it again but to a factor of 10
Truly this song has matured like a fine wine.
With earphones on and volume turned up, bet you can't keep the goosebumps away, especially when band kicks in! An artist that has had a lot of negative unjust criticism.
Superb new material too Gary, don't never give up. Legend.
Whats he going to give up for?.........He is revered by pretty much all in the music industry...I am a Metal head and love his work.
Scott am a metal head too but this song I can listen too on repeat 24/7 so many different mixes and versions only other song does same for me is John foxx underpass awesome up the metal heads
In Gary I trust
I will give John Foxx a spin on your recommend.
Earphones on right now as I type!
Probably Numan's best song; this is one of the better renditions.
+Blue It is certainly, along with Cars, his most famous and successful commercial single. However the man has one of the most enduring, varied and creatively spectacular back catalogues in existence, which continues to produce epic moments - Melt, We're The Unforgiven and We Are The Lost immediately spring to mind. Are Friends Electric is a great song but is one of many great song this genuinely legendary artist has penned.
*****
Agreed.
Gary said this was his favourite song as it sent him into the charts though equally favourite with cars which makes him the most money. It’s the first single I ever bought. I’m gonna get out of bed and play it.
This song has really stood the test of time.
ABSOLUTELY STUNNING. THIS SENT A CHILL DOWN MY SPINE. INCREDIBLE WORK BY AN INCREDIBLE & FORMIDABLE FORCE. THANK YOU Mr N And credit to the talent of the band around you. wonderful work lads!
I like the part where the 80s pop singer sounds better after 30 yrs.
He wasn't ever a pop singer. Dumb ass comment.
@@paulsurette5828 yeah he was. pop, rock, punk, electronic, synth, he was (and is) beyond genres, that's why he's the numanoid
_"He wasn't ever a pop singer. Dumb ass comment."_
Arrogance. Pure arrogance.
1979
100% agree. Pure arrogance.@@Teeb2023
The perfect version of the perfect song.
Agreed. Possibly the only rendition of any track I've heard, where the original artist creates a second version of his own, already one of a type, and brilliant track, then makes it ten times better a few decades later. What a brain. Perfection perfected. :D
2112jonr. Thank you, you are so right !!
No...........@@vonier13
@@vonier13
Blah blah blah blah bla
I think is probably the best version I have heard and seen of this superb 80's electronica
70’s 😊
By far the best version of this song I have heard. How does Numan keep getting better and better?
By not looking back to much
He is a very, very talented musician. Songs. Lyrics. Vocals. Keyboards. Drums. Guitar.
Not many can play all of those instruments.
I WAS HYPNOTIZED BY THIS VERSION...WOW!!!!
I disagree.....Drumming is great, as are the synths...too many breaks in the song.....Your kitten is cute. I have a Persian
So brilliantly stated - this is brilliant version
This is bloody brilliant!
L̳̬̫͞͞e͉̬̰͉̰̞ͅg̥̬̭̪͔͓̭e͓̫͔͖͈̳̟̟͞n̶̖͚d̢̥̦̼͖̘̬̕͞!̵̣͉͎͍̦̯̙͞͝
joydivisiongirl your bloody write dean from cromer norfolk
Hypnothic, true masterpiece. Capolavoro assoluto.
Back again. Great interpretation of one of my favourite songs of all time. The setting, the production is perfection. Numan the android chameleon. The reinvention of an electronic evangelist.
The only one person who can outperform himself it's you. In this case it's true. How magnificent original was in the end of 70's - how incredible Gary Numan perform it today...
Blown away by it back in the 70s.. blown away by it when this version came out...still listening to it now and still f**king blown away!!!
We love you Gary!
Are 'Friends' Electric?"
It's cold outside
And the paint's peeling off of my walls
There's a man outside
In a long coat, grey hat, smoking a cigarette
Now the light fades out
And I wonder what I'm doing
In a room like this
There's a knock on the door
And just for a second I thought
I remembered you
So now I'm alone
Now I can think for myself
About little deals
And issues
And things that I just don't understand
A white lie that night
Or a sly touch at times
I don't think it meant anything to you
So I open the door
It's the 'friend' that I'd left in the hallway
'Please sit down'
A candlelit shadow on a wall near the bed
You know I hate to ask
But are 'friends' electric?
Only mine's broke down
And now I've no-one to love
So I found out your reasons
For the phone calls and smiles
And it hurts
And I'm lonely
And I should never have tried
And I missed you tonight
It must be time to leave
You see it meant everything to me
“You see....... this means everything to me”
Me too, Gary. Me too mate
THE backing tune to my whole life.
It matures along with me and at no point loses its importance in the grand scheme of things.
The best track of 1979
I like this statement even if I'm not 100% sure on it. Though I can only think of other Numan songs to replace it with ("M.E" is pretty ridiculous, as well as "down in the park" and others.) I like "replicas" nearly as much (and more in some aspects) than "pleasure principle", but that crashing electric drum that he honed on the latter is SO GOOD (not revolutionary, I think though it may lack a bit of the force or impact of the Crashing "TSH" heard all over that album really, the similar electric drum sound found in Kraftwerks "radioactivity" is equally impressive and obviously some years older. I digress. He crushed it that year, and the only album that even comes to mind that year as being as good would be "154" by Wire.
The best song of 1979 is "Hold On" by Ian Gomm :-)
Tony Sharples still have it on a 45 from late 70's, though this is better
Best song of all time! Never mind 1979! 😎💪👍👏👏
omd electricity.....song of 1979....but this the bollocks
I've been a fan of Gary Numan since 1979. And while it is traditional to complain loudly about anything which deviates from the original version, I have to confess this is now my favourite rendition of this classic song.
This is an incredibly great version.
Kinell. Cheers mate from a 60 year old fan. This old track still moves me...
The greatest rock star no one knows except for one song.
This has spoiled sewers for me. Now every time I go to visit the mole people, i expect them to rock out like this.
😄😂😄😂😄
This a kick ass original of an original. If this doesn't blow you away, I pity you my friend.
Very impressive. He did the original justice and added depth to the song as well. Wow. Was not expecting to like this but I love it.
I never get tired of listening to this, however Gary presents it. Lovely version.
Wow, completely blown away - moody piano/synth introduction followed by full power in your face drums/synth. Loved this song when I was a teenager and it still gives me goosebumps 30 odd years later. What a ride, outstanding!
+1 with the goosebumps :)
Brings out the full emotions of the artist AND the listener. Stunning video
Love both new and old versions
+ 3 with the goose bumps!!!! It's great to be on a planet with Gary playing his music....his ......?.... GENIUS!!!!!!!!!!
You are so right!
There is before Gary and after Gary... For those of us who get it, we can listen over and over to this music throughout our lives, it never ever gets old, it is ALWAYS fresh, new and exciting. It provides the soundtrack to our lives and speaks to us with different voices at different times depending on what we need. The sound activates us, makes us sad, makes us vibrate and gives us pleasure. You cannot explain it to someone who has not been exposed (infected?). Unless you have spent hours on a Saturday night alone in front of a mirror in your parents basement with the lights off and a flashlight for a microphone screaming "Death Death Death Until The Sun Cries Morning", there is no need to go any further...
I have literally grown up listening to Gary Numan the last 19 years. He really has made an impact in my life :)
I bought the Tubeway Army album soon after it came out. Soon after (well before the Dexy's of Come On Eileen” fame) I bought Dexy’s Midnight Runners’ album “Searching For the Young Soul Rebels”. These were profoundly different records in all ways except the very important one of being uniformly, transcendentally excellent, and completely lacking in what was then called “filler”. Timeless recordings.
Gary Numan and Kevin Rowlands of Dexys were and are perfectionists who to this day produce unsurpassed versions of their best material. This is an absolutely magnificent version of “Are Friends Electric”. My musical Anglophilia continues unabated thanks to these artists in particular.
Marc Demme very true mate
Dr. Stephen Stokes Thank you for your profound thoughts!
Gary introduced me to Music. Before him it wasn't really there
Simply a masterpiece
It was hearing this song on Top of the Pops in Wales that actually lead me to study cultural anthropology and 40 years later remains inspiring.
This is absolutely the work of a musical genius.
Come here every few months. One of my all time fav songs - aged very well!!
I just love this version.
Cheers … ditto - this is a timeless classic remake
Me too. I especially love the resigned way he delivers the spoken word bits. Wisdom born of experience. Plus he’s become harder in his music delivery, which doesn’t always happen with the passage of time. Awesome all ‘round. Now he just needs to tour Australia. I finally got to see the Cure play for 3 & a half hours a few years back. I’ll be content if I get to see Mr Numan & his great band.
This is AMAZING! Original Gary gets interpreted by latest (and brilliantly darker) Gary. They were meant to be together. Absolutely inspired!!
When two genres (popwave and Metal) Crossing....This is what you get! This is PERFECT!!
this man is a second to none genius, cant get enough of his music
Just awesome, sounds like a new song, let alone a 41 yr old tune by the same guy... Stunning to say the least
WTF? Just seen this for first time. Holy shit Gary, you bloody aced it yet again. God I could listen to this over and more....
I first heard Gary when Are Friends Electric was released. I knew then it would be a chart topper, and became a great fan . I'm now 80 years old and just have to play this amazing version every day. Hope to see him in concert before I pop my clogs,god willing.
He just gets better and better. I only knew the song cars but just recently I started to listen to his recent stuff and man I'm a fan now.
I love how he made this song more gritty and dark.
Wish I had a pill to forget this. Just to listen to it fresh every time.
Even better than the original!! What a great noise!! Brill.
The guy is like a fine wine, just gets better with age!!!! Saw him in Liverpool earlier this year and was blown away!! 🤖🎹🎤🔊💣💥☠🍷👌🏻
Blows me away great version of an absolute classic
Can’t stop listening to this version it’s brilliant and I loved the original version he did but love this better
The master's energy after all these years - incredible 🤩
I would love to see Gary Numan redo all his music like this one just amazing
Panzer 666
Could you imagine Gary redoing the original songs this well? That'd be unreal.
Yes! I dream of wires...
so good maybe the best version everrrrrrrr
good, but i felt the tempo should have been a bit faster.
My god! It is such a long time ago. But this brings everything back.
He's still brilliant live in fact better now than ever.. I saw him a few months ago.. I definitely recommend seeing his live act
I was lucky enough to see Gary Numan in concert, 1979 in Vancouver. He was the best then, and he's even better now. I love how he's changed his style and rocks out to his music, but the classic sound is still there:)
Brilliant. Definitely the most powerful performance of this (already very powerful) song I've ever heard.
Yes it completely rocks.
Every few years I go down a Gary Numan rabbithole and experience a bit of the world through his expression. It's usually "Are Friends Electric" that kicks it off
Just the best version ever of a timeless classic. I’m a huge fan and can’t wait to see him on stage again.
Just goes to prove that Gary was ahead of his time. He wrote a song that 34 years later could be reworked into a masterpiece for the generation of today. Watch and learn youngsters..!!!
True. The redemption of his own song is crazy genius.
They say that you write your best song when you're 20.
And learn how to sing it when you are 50.
So beautifully stated
They haven't a clue what awesome is or sounds like. blind/deaf/dummmmmmb 100% LOST no clue!
I've seen about 40 of his live gigs & he just gets better all the time.
Just can't get enough of this version, his voice has matured and has acquired so much character. Awesome.
One of the greatest musicians to come from the UK!
Loved the original, and this remake is simply incredible :)
A powerful and beautiful reworking of AFE. Superb.
What a version. It’s 2020 and this song still gives me the goosebumps. Bloody awesome!!!
Friends laughed at me because I was a Numan fan, their not laughing now. TY Gary - Brilliant and the voice is even better.
Brilliant reworking of the original which was released in 1979, if you can believe it. This track was the real breakthrough in the UK for Synth led music.
This makes the song timeless
The guy has run his career backwards! he is more amazing now than ever and that's saying something! I have been a Numanoid since 1979. His music defines my youth. Like a lot of Numanoids, I got ridiculed for loving his music, little did they know they were on the wrong side of history. Where are the one hit wonders they worshipped now? Here was a man on the edge of discovery, a modern day Mozart. He was the father of a genre. Ridiculed in his time and now finally being recognised for what he was. But does he ride those coat-tails forever? No. The chamelion changes again, taking some of what was and melding it into something new. The man is a genius ahead of his time, as had been said so often. He isn't some sad 80's act reliving past glories. He is still forging new paths, using the brilliance of what he has created. The collaboration with his daughter Persia, has been amazing to watch. He is truly a special artist, performer and human. Thank you Gary from another Gary.
Not to mention the scummy, vitriolic music "journalists".
All gone. All their wanky Morrissey supporting mags gone too.
Gary: Last man standing. :-)
brilliant mix of synth and live instruments....40 years and still going...way to go Gary!!
I still have the 7" single I bought in '79. This version is simply awesome.