The Ivors Inspiration Award - Gary Numan

They say that genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. With Gary Numan – a man who has always exuded an ice cold, sweat-free on-stage persona – it is surely the other way round.

Which is not to say he hasn’t worked hard – any career that’s lasted as long as his has necessarily involves a strong element of graft. But it’s his status as a true pioneer of electronic music that means his songs are as relevant today as they were back in the late ‘70s.

It was then, as frontman of post-punkers Tubeway Army, that Numan saw the potential of the new-fangled synthesisers that were popping up in Argos catalogues and garages at the time. He consequently took his music down a dark electronic path that still resonates with rockers and electronic artists alike nearly 40 years later.

So everyone from Dave Grohl to Marilyn Manson to Sugababes to Basement Jaxx to Trent Reznor to Armand van Helden has covered or sampled his songs and/or acknowledged his influence on their own careers.

It’s not hard to see why, either. Even today, early songs such as Down In The Park, Are ‘Friends’ Electric?, Cars, We Are Glass and She’s Got Claws sound both spookily prescient and curiously contemporary. And while Numan spent a few years away from the hit parade frontline, albums such as 1983’s Warriors, 1989’s Automatic (a pop-soul-orientated collaboration with Shakatak’s Bill Sharpe) and 1997’s Exile regularly showed off his talents for multi-faceted reinvention.

Meanwhile, 2017 fast sees him approaching national treasure status. His latest album, 2013’s emotional Splinter (Songs From A Broken Mind) saw him back in the UK Top 20 for the first time since the 1980s. And with a new album scheduled for this year, plus his continued position as a key influence on anyone making music involving electronic sounds and a dark heart, don’t expect Gary Numan to start breaking a sweat just yet.