Danger! High Voltage! - "Are 'Friends' Electric?"

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Yesterday, it was 90’s teen pop, for today’s electric song we head into the world of dystopian science fiction. This thing is all over the place, I tell you. “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” is a single from London, England’s Tubeway Army’s 1979 album, Replicas. (My copy of the U.S. release is credited to “Gary Numan + Tubeway Army.”) The album was the band’s 2nd and final record before Gary Numan went solo, although he kept the members of Tubeway Army on as his backup band for a few years after. The record is a concept-style album set in a dystopian future. It is loosely based upon a book Numan was working on at the time, about “Machmen,” androids with cloned human skin living among humans, obviously based upon the work of Philip K. Dick “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” even gives a nod to Mr. Dick through its title, which references Dick’s novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” The song, the fourth and final single released by the band, became an unexpected #1 in the U.K., remaining at the top for four weeks. It ended up being Britain’s #4 single for the year. The song is a staple of Numan’s live shows. When I saw him four years ago, he closed his show with “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” (He’s great live, by the way. Go see him if you get the chance!) Link is to the studio album version: