Cars – Gary Numan (1979)

An individual, limited edition, example of vinyl record art made from a genuine, original, 45rpm, 7” single featuring the song, Cars by Gary Numan,  from 1979. The record was released on the Beggars Banquet record label, in the UK, and has been reworked into the silhouette shape of a car driver holding a steering wheel.

Cars was written by Gary Numan and taken from his album, The Pleasure Principle. It reached the top of the charts in several countries, and today is considered a new wave staple.  The song, Cars, was the first release credited solely to Gary Numan after he dropped the band name Tubeway Army. According to Numan, the song’s lyrics were inspired by an incident of road rage. He believes you can feel safe inside a car in the modern world and when you’re in it, your whole mentality is different. He referred to it as your own little personal empire with four wheels on it.

 Often considered difficult to interpret, the lyrics for this song are plagued by feelings of being torn between people and identities.