How Gary Numan's unexpected discovery of the Minimoog paved the way for The Pleasure Principle and the birth of synth-pop: "I just pressed a key and it made that famous Moog sound, that low growl and the room vibrated. It was the most powerful thing"

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It’s testament to the covert, simmering influence Gary Numan has wielded over musicians - electronic or otherwise - for almost five decades now that many readers might sooner recognise some of his most iconic synth-laden hooks from their deployment in more contemporary music.

The Sugababes’ repurposing of, more or less, the whole instrumental track of Are Friends Electric? for the song Freak Like Me gifted the pop trio one of their first number one, while Basement Jaxx’s sampling of the unmistakable, pulse-width modulated three-note melody of M.E. provided the core of hit single Where’s Your Head At?. Even Wu-Tang Clan’s GZA repurposed Films for 2013’s Life Is A Movie, while J Dilla’s own take on Cars appearing on his 2016 album The Diary— only the lyric is playfully changed to "Trucks".