Arkive

Please note, all three physical editions have different release dates. For full information, click "Read More".

Gary Numan's second studio album TELEKON was released in 1980 and was his third successive #1 album in the UK. Gary refers to this album, along with its two predecessors, Tubeway Army's Replicas and his debut solo album The Pleasure Principle, as the “machine” phase of his career. While it was hard to follow up the previous releases, Telekon proved to be hugely influential. Unlike its predecessors, Telekon had plenty of guitars, along with strings and lush synthesizer textures. Trent Reznor claimed to have listened to it every day during the making of Pretty Hate Machine.

We will be reissuing this album in a few formats, and pre-orders for all are available now. On November 14th, we will release a limited-edition sustainable version of Telekon. On December 12th, we will release a Deluxe Expanded Edition double rainbow sparkle LP of Telekon with four unreleased tracks, one of which is a never-before-heard Gary Numan song from the album sessions titled “Like A B-Film”. This deluxe edition also contains a replica of the original 1980 Telekon 12-page tour booklet. On January 30th, we will release a standard edition double LP and CD of the expanded album.

We asked Gary to reflect on 45 years of Telekon and he told us that “Telekon has always held a rather warm place for me whenever I look back at the early years. I was very proud of it. I thought the production had moved up a gear for one thing. I was also proud of the fact that I’d not gone the commercial route and tried to repeat the formula and sound of “Cars” and “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” I was still trying to move forward, find new sounds. It was a reasonably bold stance I think, to not follow a safer, more formulaic path, as I suddenly had a lot to lose after the success of the year before.”

NOVEMBER 14th: Telekon limited edition sustainable reissue

Beggars Banquet has partnered with Good Neighbour Music, an environmentally conscious record manufacturing company, to create a very special, limited-edition version of Telekon on their patented PET (polyethylene terephthalate) alternative to traditionally pressed vinyl. The sustainability goals of Good Neighbour align with that of Beggars Group, and we are happy to utilise their patented eco conscious product for this forward-thinking album. About the pairing, Beggars Group Head Of Sustainability Ian Stanton said “Beggars Group is on a mission to cut our carbon footprint in half by 2030 — and bold innovations like Good Neighbor’s record-making process are exactly how we get there. We’re proud to be working with them, and who better to launch this future-facing chapter with than Gary Numan, an artist who’s been such a defining part of our journey?!”

Good Neighbour is on a mission to help the music industry take critical steps towards a cleaner supply chain and sustainable future. Their product is an alternative to old school PVC records and is made of a fully recyclable material, produced using an injection molding process instead of the hydraulic press, which emits much less carbon. The exact amount of PET required is injected into the mold and there is virtually zero waste. Their records have all the quality and feel of vinyl without the carbon footprint.

DECEMBER 12TH – Telekon Deluxe Expanded Edition 2XLP

Earlier this year, a visit to Gary’s archive allowed for a deep dig, and amongst all the treasures, unreleased Telekon material was found. We were going to wait until the 50th anniversary to expand this album further, but we couldn’t wait. We are excited to include four unreleased tracks on this expanded edition of Telekon. “Like A B-Film” is a completely unreleased, not quite finished track from the Telekon sessions. The other three tracks are previously unreleased early versions of “Please Push No More”, “Aircrash Bureau” and “I’m An Agent”.

The 45th Anniversary Editions of Telekon have been remastered by Geoff Pesche at Abbey Road and include revised artwork by Michael Speed at Beggars, who has frequently collaborated with Gary on his Beggars reissues. All editions have the same track listing. On December 12th, a DELUXE VINYL EDITION will be available. This is comprised of a double LP pressed on rainbow sparkle vinyl and includes a replica of the original 1980 Telekon 12-page tour booklet.

On January 30th, the STANDARD EDITION 2XLP and CD will be available. The Double LP is pressed on black vinyl. There is no tour booklet included with these editions.