In 1980, Telekon arrived like an electrical storm: a stark, neon-lit meditation on technology and alienation. It was Gary Numan’s third consecutive UK number one and the closing act of what he calls the machine phase: the triptych of Replicas, The Pleasure Principle, and Telekon that defined a generation of electronic music. In the decades since, its influence has spread through the circuitry of popular culture, resonating in the works of artists from Prince to Trent Reznor to Lady Gaga.
“Telekon has always held a rather warm place for me whenever I look back at the early years,” Numan reflects. “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.”
Numan’s instinct to move forward remains intact. This year, Beggars Banquet opens his archives once more for Telekon’s 45th anniversary: an expanded reissue featuring four previously unreleased recordings, including Like A B-Film, an unearthed relic from the original sessions. Early versions of Please Push No More, Aircrash Bureau, and I’m An Agent reveal a restless mind still at work, testing limits even within success.
Like A B-Film channels Are Friends Electric? and Films in its sound, with a curious rap flow over his unique synths. While similar to contemporary Numan tracks of this era, it’s an excellent find and a treat for longtime fans of Numan’s early sound.
Listen below!
The new editions have been remastered by Geoff Pesche at Abbey Road, with redesigned artwork by Michael Speed, long a visual collaborator with Numan and Beggars. The deluxe double LP glitters in “rainbow sparkle” vinyl and comes with a replica of the original 1980 tour booklet; a portal back to an era when analogue machines hummed like living things.
Perhaps most intriguing, however, is the sustainable reissue: Beggars Banquet’s partnership with Good Neighbor Music introduces a new era of eco-conscious record manufacturing. Pressed on Good Neighbor’s patented PET material: an injection-molded, fully recyclable alternative to traditional PVC, the 1000-copy limited edition represents a rare convergence of nostalgia and innovation.
“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,” says Ian Stanton, Head of Sustainability at Beggars Group. “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?!”
Numan’s music has long prophesied the uneasy bond between man and machine. Forty-five years on, Telekon continues to look forward, a blueprint retooled for the world it once warned us about. The future, as ever, hums in his key.
The Telekon (45th Anniversary Expanded Edition) arrives in multiple formats, including a deluxe double LP pressed on “rainbow sparkle” vinyl, newly remastered at Abbey Road by Geoff Pesche. The expanded reissue features four previously unreleased recordings—among them the unearthed relic “Like A B-Film.” Redesigned artwork by longtime collaborator Michael Speed completes the package, alongside a replica of the original 1980 tour booklet.
The limited-edition “rainbow sparkle” vinyl will be released on 12 December 2025 via Beggars Banquet, with the standard 2 LP black vinyl and CD formats following on 30 January 2026. Both are available now for pre-order from Gary Numan’s official store and Rough Trade.
Once again, the man who taught machines to sing proves that the signal never fades—it only evolves.
Listen to Like a B-Film via Spotify below:
Telekon Expanded Edition track listing:
A1/1. This Wreckage
A2/2. The Aircrash Bureau
A3/3. Telekon
B1/4. Remind Me to Smile
B2/5. Sleep by Windows
B3/6. I’m an Agent
B4/7. I Dream of Wires
C1/8. Remember I Was Vapour
C2/9. Please Push No More
C3/10. The Joy Circuit
D1/11. Like A B-Film (Unreleased Track)
D2/12. Please Push No More (Early Version
D3/13. The Aircrash Bureau (Early Version)
D4/14. I’m an Agent (Early Version)
Follow Gary Numan:
