Editing Gary Numan (section)

== Early life ==
Gary Anthony James Webb<ref name=RG2003>{{Cite book|last=Buckley|first=Peter|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7ctjc6UWCm4C&pg=PA735|title=The Rough Guide to Rock|date=2003|publisher=Rough Guides|isbn=978-1-84353-105-0|page=735|language=en|access-date=21 January 2021|archive-date=4 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230704160252/https://books.google.com/books?id=7ctjc6UWCm4C&pg=PA735|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="AllMusicBio">{{cite web|last1=Huey|first1=Steve|title=Gary Numan Biography & History|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/gary-numan-mn0000183858/biography|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=14 December 2020|archive-date=6 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806215508/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/gary-numan-mn0000183858/biography|url-status=live}}</ref> was born on 8 March 1958 in [[Hammersmith]], [[London]].<ref name="FoleyIMDBBio">{{cite web|last1=Foley|first1=Adrian|title=Gary Numan – Biography|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0637885/bio|publisher=IMDb|access-date=27 January 2023|archive-date=27 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230127025626/https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0637885/bio|url-status=live}}</ref> His father was a [[British Airways]] bus driver based at [[Heathrow Airport]].<ref name="Rees Crampton|1991|p=366">{{cite book|last1=Rees|first1=Dafydd|last2=Crampton|first2=Luke|title=Rock Movers and Shakers: An A to Z of the People Who Made Rock Happen|date=1991|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0874366617|page=366}}</ref> He was seven when his family adopted his cousin (father's nephew) John,<ref>Gary Numan ''(R)evolution: The Autobiography'', Constable 2020, Chapter One</ref> who would become a musician and play in Numan's backing band. He was educated at Town Farm Junior School in [[Stanwell]]; [[Spelthorne College|Ashford County Grammar School]]; and [[Upton Court Grammar School|Slough Grammar School]],<ref name="BBCSlough">{{cite web|last1=Peach|first1=Andrew|title=80 things Slough has given the world80 things Slough has given the world|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06krygp/p06l21w3|publisher=BBC Radio Berkshire|access-date=14 December 2020|archive-date=13 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230413151951/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06krygp/p06l21w3|url-status=live}}</ref> followed by [[Brooklands College|Brooklands Technical College]] in [[Weybridge]], [[Surrey]].<ref name="Loud&Quiet">{{cite web|title=While the other kids were at school, Gary Numan was looking at planes and practising his moves in the mirror|url=https://www.loudandquiet.com/short/gary-numans-teenager-sweet-16/|website=Loud and Quiet|access-date=14 December 2020|archive-date=19 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119020923/https://www.loudandquiet.com/short/gary-numans-teenager-sweet-16/|url-status=live}}</ref> He joined the [[Air Training Corps]] as a teenager and briefly held various jobs including [[London Heathrow Airport]] bus driver, forklift truck driver, air conditioning ventilator fitter, and accounts clerk.<ref name="NJ1015">{{cite web|last1=Allen|first1=Craig|title=Meet Gary Numan|url=https://nj1015.com/meet-gary-numan-photosvideos/|website=New Jersey 101.5|date=22 March 2014|publisher=Townsquare Media, Inc.|access-date=14 December 2020|archive-date=19 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210619205912/https://nj1015.com/meet-gary-numan-photosvideos/|url-status=live}}</ref>

When Numan was 15, his father bought him a [[Gibson (guitar company)|Gibson]] [[Gibson Les Paul|Les Paul]] guitar, which became his most treasured possession.<ref name=Webber>{{cite news|last=Webber|first=Richard|title=Gary Numan: I had so much cash, all I wanted to do was spend|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/fameandfortune/9028387/Gary-Numan-I-had-so-much-cash-all-I-wanted-to-do-was-spend.html|newspaper=The Telegraph|access-date=24 July 2012|date=22 January 2012|archive-date=30 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120530012619/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/fameandfortune/9028387/Gary-Numan-I-had-so-much-cash-all-I-wanted-to-do-was-spend.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He briefly played in various bands and looked through advertisements in ''[[Melody Maker]]'' for bands to join. He claims to have unsuccessfully auditioned as guitarist for the then-unknown band [[the Jam]]<ref name="RevolutionBook">{{cite book|author-link=Gary Numan|title=(R)evolution: The Autobiography|publisher=Little, Brown Book Group, Ltd.|publication-place=London, England, UK|date=22 October 2020|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6Y6KEAAAQBAJ|isbn=978-1472134622|access-date=27 January 2023|archive-date=27 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230127025626/https://books.google.com/books?id=6Y6KEAAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> before joining Mean Street and the Lasers, where he met [[Paul Gardiner]].<ref name="VinylDistrict">{{cite web|last1=Neff|first1=Joseph|title=Graded on a Curve: Gary Numan, Replicas, The Pleasure Principle, Telekon|url=http://www.thevinyldistrict.com/storefront/2015/12/graded-on-a-curve-gary-numan-replicas-the-pleasure-principle-telekon/|website=The Vinyl District|date=10 December 2015|publisher=Mom & Pop Shop Media|access-date=14 December 2020|archive-date=19 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210619070539/https://www.thevinyldistrict.com/storefront/2015/12/graded-on-a-curve-gary-numan-replicas-the-pleasure-principle-telekon/|url-status=live}}</ref> The latter band would soon become [[Tubeway Army]], with his uncle Jess Lidyard on drums and Gardiner on bass. The band signed a [[recording contract]] with [[Beggars Banquet Records]].<ref name="BeggarsSigned1978">{{cite web|title=Numan, Gary – Replicas – The First Recordings|url=https://archive.beggars.com/numan-gary-replicas-first/|website=The Arkive|publisher=Beggars Group|access-date=14 December 2020|archive-date=4 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210504172724/https://archive.beggars.com/numan-gary-replicas-first/|url-status=live}}</ref> His initial pseudonym was Valerian, probably in reference to the hero in French science fiction comic series ''[[Valérian and Laureline]]''.<ref>Steve Malins (1999). ''The Plan'' 1999 reissue liner notes</ref> He later picked the surname Numan from an advertisement in the [[yellow pages]] for a plumber whose surname was Neumann.<ref name="SynthBritannia"/>