The trailblazing and extraordinarily talented Gary Numan will receive the prestigious Q Innovation In Sound award, presented by Sony Xperia, at this year’s Q Awards 2015, in association with Absolute Radio.
Taking place on Monday, 19 October, the awards will celebrate not only new and emerging talent but also play homage to the artists who have changed and influenced music forever.
Gary Numan said, “To receive any award in music is an honour. But to receive the Q Innovation In Sound award is particularly special. Sound is the most important aspect of making music to me, it's why electronic music has been such an obsession. It allows you the opportunity to constantly create new and exciting sounds. I'm very grateful to Q for the award, and very proud.”
Gary Numan is a true pioneer. Taking unique, inventive music to the top of the charts, he helped ignite the ’80s synth-pop era that so many of today’s biggest acts draw inspiration from. From being covered by Foo Fighters and Sugababes to getting sampled by groundbreaking producers such as J Dilla and GZA, his influence has resonated across pop, rock, industrial, electronica and hip-hop over the last three-and-a-half decades – all while he continues to make his own adventurous, uncompromising records.
Three of his classic albums – Replicas, The Pleasure Principle and Telekon ¬– are about to be reissued on vinyl and performed live in UK shows this month. A measure of how visionary he is that if you played these records to someone who’d never heard them before, they’d believe you if you said they were the work of a tipped new act.
The 2015 Q Awards, in association with Absolute Radio, will take place on Monday, 19 October, 2015. With Absolute Radio’s Christian O’Connell making a welcome return as awards host. Voting for the seven reader-voted categories is open now at www.qthemusic.com/q-awards. 2015 nominees include Florence + The Machine, Foals, Ed Sheeran, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Blur, Everything Everything, Jamie XX, Muse, James Bay, Songhoy Blues, Years & Years, Sam Smith, Kanye West, Taylor Swift. The Libertines. New Order, The Weeknd and many more.
Published on 15 October 2015 by Ben Robinson