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Gary Numan's second studio album TELEKON was released in 1980 and was his third successive #1 album in the UK. Gary refers to this album, along with its two predecessors, Tubeway Army's Replicas and his debut solo album The Pleasure Principle, as the “machine” phase of his career.

While it was hard to follow up the previous releases, Telekon proved to be hugely influential. Unlike its predecessors, Telekon had plenty of guitars, along with strings and lush synthesizer textures. Trent Reznor claimed to have listened to it every day during the making of Pretty Hate Machine.

NOVEMBER 14th: Telekon limited edition sustainable reissue

Beggars Banquet has partnered with Good Neighbor Music, an environmentally conscious record manufacturing company, to create a very special, limited-edition version of Telekon on their patented PET (polyethylene terephthalate) alternative to traditionally pressed vinyl. The sustainability goals of Good Neighbor align with that of Beggars Group, and we are happy to utilize their patented eco conscious product for this forward-thinking album. About the pairing, Beggars Group Head Of Sustainability Ian Stanton said “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. 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?!”

Good Neighbor is on a mission to help the music industry take critical steps towards a cleaner supply chain and sustainable future. Their product is an alternative to old school PVC records and is made of a fully recyclable material, produced using an injection molding process instead of the hydraulic press, which emits much less carbon. The exact amount of PET required is injected into the mold and there is virtually zero waste.

Their records have all the quality and feel of vinyl without the carbon footprint. Please visit their website for more information on their efforts. This edition is limited to 1000 copies, numbered and only available via the Beggars webstore + Gary’s webstore.

We asked Gary to reflect on 45 years of Telekon and he told us that “Telekon has always held a rather warm place for me whenever I look back at the early years. 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.”