Music Film: Gary Numan - Android in La La Land

A film by Steve Read & Rob Alexander

85 Minutes | UK | 2016

At the end of the 1970s, Gary Numan found himself to be one of the world’s biggest-selling recording artists, “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” and “Cars” were huge hits, no one had heard, or seen, anyone like Gary Numan. After years of living in the English countryside, the godfather of electro-pop uproots the family and moves to Hollywood. With honest, unguarded access, we gain a new perspective on the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle. Numan is a nerdy family man with Asperger’s who loves his wife and his life. This one-two punch of humour and candor reveals the flesh-and-blood man behind the cold android myth, the rock star as real person. He’s a normal guy with insecurities, debts, fertility and mental health issues, and a healthy fear of death—and he redefines the making-of album doc by artfully showing his song craft. Numan wonders if he can still write and record. How does a musician with huge fame make a life in music once nobody cares anymore? With the unwavering support of his wife and three daughters, Numan builds the confidence to return to the stage.