Next week, EHS Daily Advisor will present EHS Tech-AI NOW, an online summit focusing on safety technology. To mark the occasion, the Song of the Week is a futuristic song about technology from 46 years ago: Gary Numan’s “Metal.”
Best known for another future-forward song from the same album (“Cars” off 1979’s The Pleasure Principle), Numan was one of the pioneers of synth pop. Previously in the new wave band Tubeway Army, Numan abandoned guitars for his first solo album and had a huge hit with “Cars,” which hit #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 in the U.K. and Canada.
The B-side of “Cars” was “Metal,” about an android who wishes to be human. While it didn’t chart, it became one of Numan’s best-known songs. It has been covered by Nine Inch Nails, Thought Industry, Afrika Bambaataa, Nouvelle Vague, and Poppy.
Numan has performed the song live with Nine Inch Nails and is cited as a major influence by many artists who came after him. He has continued to record and play live, including last year’s tour of the U.K. to celebrate the 45th anniversary of his 1979 albums Replicas and The Pleasure Principle.