That's Too Bad
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The story behind Gary Numan’s first ever single ‘That’s Too Bad’ — from punk beginnings to sci-fi storytelling and the birth of Tubeway Army.
In this episode of Electric Friends: A Gary Numan Podcast, I take us right back to where it all began — 1978’s That’s Too Bad, the very first Tubeway Army single that launched the career of one of Britain’s most original and influential artists.
Before the synths, the fame and Are ‘Friends’ Electric?, Gary was a teenager playing in bands like Mean Street and The Lasers. It was during those early sessions that Tubeway Army was born — with Paul Gardiner on bass and Gary’s uncle Jess Lidyard on drums — and punk attitude collided with futuristic imagination.
I explore how That’s Too Bad captured that moment perfectly: a raw, nervy, paranoid slice of late-70s punk with flashes of the science-fiction world Numan would soon make his own. With lyrics about surveillance, alienation and fractured identity, the track already hinted at the themes that would define his later classics like Down in the Park and Metal.
Featuring Gary’s own reflections on signing with Beggars Banquet, working at WHSmith up to release day, and even his brief spell under the name Valerian, this episode digs into the single’s evolution — from its rough demo on The Plan to the sharper 1978 version.
There’s also listener memories from lifelong fans, from discovering the blue vinyl Tubeway Army album to hearing That’s Too Bad live decades later.
Plus, I share the latest Numan news — including the surprise discovery of a previously unheard Telekon track, Like a B Film.
Transcript
Electric Friends A Gary Newman podcast the songs and stories of a music icon.
Speaker B:My name is Ruan My name is Van John.
Speaker A:2026 marks the 50th anniversary of Gary Newman's first proper foray into the world of music when as an 18 year old he fronted the band Mean street before being dropped rather unceremoniously without much explanation.
Speaker A:Soon after, he auditioned as the guitarist for another band called the Lasers, where he met bass player and then singer Paul Gardner.
Speaker A:By the end of this audition, held at his mum and dad's house in Raspberry, he had already gotten them to play his own songs and he had become their lead singer.
Speaker A:When picking a new name for the band, Gary suggested the name of a short story he was working on.
Speaker A:The story was about a gang that would go on the London Underground and jump off at random stations, attack whoever was there and get back on.
Speaker A:Thus the band became Tubeway Army.
Speaker A:Paul was the plugger of the band in these early days and he took their demo of three songs to a Beggars Banquet record shop.
Speaker A:It was here that Paul discovered that Beggars had started their own record label and it wasn't long before co owner Martin Mills found got in touch.
Speaker A: Bad, was released in February: Speaker A:So for this episode of Electric Friends, we'll take a look back at Gary's first ever official single, that's Too Bad.
Speaker A:Jay Boyami consisted of Gary named Valerian at the time for a very short period, Paul AKA Scarlet and Gary's uncle Jess Lidyard AKA Rail drums.
Speaker A:Other guitarists and drummers appeared on and off between 77 and 78, but it was this core three who would play on their first few records.
Speaker A:Although Gary was more influenced by the glam of T Rex than the early days of punk, tubewayami's first recordings were more on the punk end of the rock spectrum, though with a sci fi storytelling slant.
Speaker A:Gary would become disillusioned with the pub venue gigs they were playing, often leading to violent reactions from the crowd and they would for a time become a studio only band.
Speaker A:In March 78, Tubewayamy recorded a series of demo tracks.
Speaker A:The idea was to give Beggars Banquet a rough idea on what a full Tubeway album would sound like, but Gary was so prolific with his songwriting that he had already grown out of them.
Speaker A:As soon as they were recorded.
Speaker A: on under the name the plan in: Speaker A:Perhaps surprisingly to Gary, who later wrote that he had forgotten about some of the songs on it, the album was a top 40 success.
Speaker A:As Gary explains himself, that's Too Bad.
Speaker A:And the majority of the songs from this period were written and recorded purely to get a record contract and to get his foot in the door.
Speaker A:Punk was all the rage and he was happy to follow suit.
Speaker A:Gary said I the song was written 99% to get a contract.
Speaker A:It was a naive attempt to make punk commercial, which it didn't do.
Speaker A:Writing in Revolution, he I'm not sure.
Speaker C: th February: Speaker C:It was also the day I stopped working at WH Smith, my last proper job.
Speaker C:And it's a day I've always considered as the true start of my career.
Speaker C:I remember seeing the sleeve for the first, listening to the vinyl record for the first time.
Speaker C:It was such an amazing feeling.
Speaker C:I was 19, I had a record deal and I'd released my first single.
Speaker C:It sold about 4,000 copies.
Speaker C:Nothing at all really, but it felt like a huge number at the time.
Speaker C:4,000 people had bought one of my records, listened to my songs, actually liked them.
Speaker C:Presumably 4,000 people.
Speaker C:That would have been about five full assembly halls at Ashford Grammar.
Speaker C:That was just huge to me.
Speaker C:The music press didn't really like it.
Speaker C:Unfortunately, they had nothing good to say about it or me.
Speaker C:In fact, with my bleached blonde hair, they said I either looked like Steve Severin from Susie and the Banshees or Billy Idol.
Speaker C:I wasn't known as Gary Newman at that point.
Speaker C:I was still struggling to find a name that felt right and was more rock starry than web.
Speaker C:I called myself Valerian on a sleeve of that's Too Bad.
Speaker C:I seen it written on the wall somewhere, thought it had a nice flow to it.
Speaker C:That was definitely a mistake.
Speaker A:Martin Mills at Baggers Banquet was a big fan of that's Too Bad, but it wasn't a chart hit for the band despite selling over 4,000 copies.
Speaker A:If you sold that now, you probably get to number one.
Speaker A:In terms of the song itself, you could say it sits right on the fault line between punk attitude and the sci fi alienation that would soon define his work.
Speaker A:On one level, it sounds like a paranoid slice of social commentary.
Speaker A:The opening image of the camera eye searching my room feels like a nod to Orwellian surveillance or media intrusion.
Speaker A:A world where privacy has disintegrated and the individual is constantly watched.
Speaker B:The TV camera not so fragile.
Speaker B:Maybe it'll let me down to speed this place for a while.
Speaker B:Oh wow, that's too bad oh well that's too bad oh wow, that's too bad oh well that's too bad the.
Speaker A:TV screen calling me hints at both addiction to technology and a sense of being summoned or controlled by it.
Speaker A:So even at this early stage, Newman seems to be questioning how machines and pictures media shape identity.
Speaker A:The second verse adds a self aware twist.
Speaker A:He talks a lot, a sign of fear, and admits that his own image, pictures of me leaves him unimpressed.
Speaker A:There's a strong sense of insecurity, of someone struggling to assert their humanity in a mechanized environment.
Speaker A:When he says I'll come on to the leader like I'm some hero is almost a mockery of rebellion, the false bravado of someone trying to impress authority but knowing it's pointless.
Speaker A: Closing verse: Speaker A:The reference to crazy actors hiding and machines screaming in anger feels like a surreal mix of old and new worlds colliding, ghosts of early cinema meeting the rage of modern machinery.
Speaker A:So while it's framed as a punk song about frustration and detachment, those sci fi elements are somewhat baked in artificial surveillance, fractured identity, technological decay and disconnection from reality.
Speaker A:You can see Gary's future characters like those in Our Friends, electric or metal emerging from this same world.
Speaker A:Lonely figures trying to feel human inside systems that no longer care.
Speaker A:He admitted himself that he wanted to seem spacey even back then, as well as the fictional name Valerian.
Speaker A:And the artwork shows a futuristic train emerging from the Metropolis style city in the background with a tubeway army rules ok graffiti on the walls referencing the story in which the name came from.
Speaker A:Heman said, I wore the spacesuit on the back of the sleeve of the that's Too Bad single sleeve once at a gig at Ashford Grammar School in Middlesex.
Speaker A:It wasn't a spacesuit exactly, it was a little two piece number brought from Kings Road I might add, made out of some high tech insulating material.
Speaker A:So it was fucking hot.
Speaker A:There are two versions of the song.
Speaker A:The first demo version, which later appeared on the Plan, is a somewhat more stripped back version of the song.
Speaker A:The Plan version is rougher, more lo fi and sounds like it was recorded quickly typical of Newman's early Beggars Banquet demos, the guitars are fuzzier and more chaotic with less polish on the vocals.
Speaker B:And well that's too bad oh well, that's too bad.
Speaker A:A single version recorded later in 78 is a cleaner, more balanced mix with tighter rhythm guitar and a slightly more controlled vocal delivery.
Speaker A:Generally, though, there's not a massive difference with Gary doing his punk meets Bowie style of vocal delivery, as well as the harmonized guitars which hint at what was to come with his method of synth layering A few quirks of the single the back of the original vinyl single sleeve contained two discrepancies.
Speaker A:Valerian was spelled Valerian with a U and the band picture featured live drummer Bob Simmons, not just Lidyard who actually played in the recording session.
Speaker A:It was also later released as a gatefold with the Single Bombers in August 79.
Speaker A:It was released in its original form in 83, reached number 97 in the UK charts.
Speaker A:B side of the track was another punk offering oh didn't I say this one is all about identity and trying to make it clear he's not a sheep following the herd but also someone who sounds a little confused as to who he actually is.
Speaker B:All I'm insane gender is uncertain just like my name that elegant is my friend but even here I know it well oh that's too Bad when our waiter isn't a man how let's amaze us my strike what's on his mind now in a nice I am not one of you.
Speaker A: ic Ballroom Thousand shows in: Speaker A:So looking at your comments about the song, Steve Price said, for me, after hearing the Chewboy Army Blue vinyl album and absolutely being so addicted to it, I found that's Too Bad single at Small Wonder Records in Walthamstow I used to frequent every weekend and played it to death along with Bombers, then discovered the gatefold re release of the two and still never tire of hearing it all these years later.
Speaker A:Mark Fox said, I think it's superb.
Speaker A:I always really liked his punkier stuff.
Speaker A:Also a huge fan of oh didn't I say.
Speaker A:Steve Hamilton said utter shock when he played it on the Isolate tour in London in 92.
Speaker A:I think with a selection of two way army tracks.
Speaker A:John Birmingham said, I purchased that's Too Bad and Bombers when they were re released as a gatefold duo back in 79.
Speaker A:In fact I've still got it.
Speaker A:I remember playing that's Too Bad on our stereo system only for Mum to say that beginning is like oh, Pretty Woman.
Speaker A:She may have had a point.
Speaker A:Simon Rimmond said, Once I bought our friends Electric.
Speaker A:I backtracked that summer to get down in the park and the first two Boy army album the Double Pack came out and I got it love.
Speaker A: Bad as I'd been into punk in: Speaker A:Perhaps I prefer the B and a couple of funny comments that I like.
Speaker A:Jacob Clarke said that he sings it to his girlfriend when things don't go her way, and Sandra Corby said my hubby thought he was singing Whoa.
Speaker A:Elastic band so all in all, that's Too Bad's important in the history of Gary Newman cannot be understated.
Speaker A:It was the song that started it all and the song that Martin Mills thought was good enough to be a single and gave Gary that foot in the door.
Speaker A:And the rest, they say, is history.
Speaker A:Now.
Speaker A:I'd normally save Newman news for the bonus episodes, but there was one thing that was so monumental in the Newman world that I had to bring it up.
Speaker A:And I'll probably bring it up again in the next news update.
Speaker A:But ahead of the Telecon tour, Gary unveiled a new 45th anniversary release of the album, and among the track lists was a previously unheard track from the Telecon sessions called Like a B Film and it made the 12 year old self in me very, very excited.
Speaker A:It was like traveling back to the first time I discovered him and it's so strange and amazing hearing a brand new Neumann track from that era and I already love.
Speaker B:More Like A be found on the Ball Screen.
Speaker B:There is more now Like a tv.
Speaker A:So I'd like to hear your thoughts about the song and your general story of how you found Gary and his music and became a humanoid just like Gary Watkins.
Speaker A:Did he email me saying hi Tom, firstly, thanks for making the excellent podcasts.
Speaker A: Gary at Blackbush Airport in: Speaker A:At the time he had a blue Ferrari.
Speaker A:I think it was a Ferrari.
Speaker A:The registration plate was GN4 and a black and red Piper Niveo.
Speaker A:I'm sure about that.
Speaker A:I was a plane spotter.
Speaker A:The plane looked amazing, painted up with the red stripes matching their Telecon album album and Gary's stage suit from the era.
Speaker A:I'd already been a fan since our friends Electric was first introduced to me by a fellow music fan in the sixth form as well as buying every record I could.
Speaker A:I also had a Betamax video of the Farewell Wembley tour.
Speaker A:I'd come home from school and watch it all the way through on an almost daily basis.
Speaker A: d greet in Leicester in March: Speaker A:He signed my copies of Our Friends Electric and Living Ornaments and we had a chat about flying.
Speaker A:I've since become a professional pilot and found the episode with his brother John very interesting.
Speaker A:Gary told me how proud he was of him.
Speaker A:Over the years I've introduced many people to Gary's fantastic music, including my wife, my three boys who loved the Wembley gig a couple of years ago.
Speaker A:In fact, we could see ourselves in the audience when it was televised.
Speaker A:There weren't that many 14 year olds amongst the humanoids in the crowd, but my twins weren't the only teenagers enjoying the amazing atmosphere and fantastic music.
Speaker A:Proving the broad appeal that Gary now has.
Speaker A:I also introduced a very good friend of mine to Gary's talent, Ian, who I first met when I was a student and lived opposite me in the halls of residence.
Speaker A:I saw the Berserker tour with Ian and many, many tours since.
Speaker A:We had tickets to see him and at Rock City and Nottingham next month, but sadly Ian passed away unexpectedly last month.
Speaker A:Ian won't be there this time, but I know I'll be in the company of many like minded great people to friends old and new.
Speaker A:Gary Watkins well thanks so much for that Gary.
Speaker A:A lovely and heartwarming story and sorry to hear about Ian.
Speaker A:And if you'd like to send your own story or just get in touch in general, just email me just like Gary did newmanpodcastmail.com you can also get in touch and follow me on all the socials at Newman Podcast and you can find all episodes including video interviews on YouTube and exciting news.
Speaker A:If you'd like to support me and the podcast and proudly showcase your love for the podcast at future Newman gigs, perhaps you'll you can now get official Electric Friends merch.
Speaker A:There's a mug, stickers, T shirt and tote bag on offer.
Speaker A:Just head to the show notes of this episode, Whether that's on YouTube or on Spotify, wherever you are for where to get them, or if you head to Electric Friends Printify me, you will be able to find them there.
Speaker A:That's it for this episode though.
Speaker A:I'll be back soon with another Newman song to delve into, plus more Newman news.
Speaker A:But for now stay safe and see you soon.
Speaker A:Electric Friends A Gary Newman Podcast the songs and stories of a music.
