‘80s musician Gary Numan, 68, revealed on the “I’m ADHD! No You’re Not” podcast that after decades of touring and plugging into his amplifiers, he’s gone “90 percent deaf.”
“I’ve got hearing aids on… little things there,” he told podcast hosts Paul Whitehouse and Dr. Mine Conkbayir.
Whitehouse lightheartedly joked to Numan that his ears were “done” after listening to his amplifier on full volume for over 50 years, to which the musician couldn’t help but agree.
Numan, a pioneer of electronic music, joined the Tubeway Army band in the late ‘70s before embarking on a solo career, his IMDb reported. He released his debut album, The Pleasure Principle, in 1979, which peaked at No. 1 in the U.K. The album’s hit single “Cars” would be his most notable mark on his career, leading to Numan’s dedicated cult following over the years.
Gary Numan Discusses His Children’s Medical History
Numan isn’t the only person in his family to have been diagnosed with a common disorder, either. During the podcast, he discussed what he and his wife Gemma O’Neill’s three children have been medically diagnosed with.
The musician shared that one child was diagnosed with ADHD (Attention-Deficit & Hyperactivity Disorder), another with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), and another child with borderline personality disorder. Numan’s wife was also diagnosed with ADHD.
Numan, who has previously been open about having Asperger’s, “a brain difference that affects social interactions and certain behaviors,” according to Cleveland Clinic, also discussed how his creative process will never be outsourced by AI despite efforts to intermingle AI-generated artists into the industry.
Gary Numan Opens Up About Not Being ‘Good Enough’
“What you are listening to [with AI] is a learned copy of a human experience. It’s not real,” Numan explained. “When you’re listening to a song written by a human… you are listening to that person’s experience. And that’s why it resonates with people.”
“I certainly don’t want it to write lyrics because that’s the very essence of what the song is about,” he noted. “Musically, although I struggle and I’m worried all the time whether it’s good enough, it has to be mine.”
Numan said that he believes AI will sweep the music industry with AI-generated bands for a short time before music lovers eventually find their way back to human-made songs. “It will go full circle and people will want to go back to sharing a human experience,” he said.
