Trevor horn

He began leading London punks Tubeway Army but was diverted into brooding synth-rock by a stray Minimoog. Cue 1979’s mysterious monster hit Are ‘Friends’ Electric? and the adoration of superfans the Numanoids. Follow-up solo 45 Cars also hit Number 1, but soon GARY NUMAN dramatically retired from live performance at the height of his success. “A whole world descended on me,” he says. “I wanted to get out of the burning building…”

From a home in England’s West Midlands, to Knebworth and Live Aid with Led Zep and back, via fame, fortune, tragedy and musical resurrection – ROBERT PLANT ’ s come full circle. A new album with local heroes Saving Grace exemplifies his hard rock apostasy, the reason he’d rather worship Nora Brown than hang with Axl Rose. And if all else fails? “I’ll just be an Elvis impersonator!” he tells KEITH CAMERON .

MIKE TAYLOR was the most original voice in British jazz, a legend on the scene, an inspiration to Cream and the coming wave of prog. But his recordings are rare, his career curtailed by mental illness and a mysterious early death. New reissues of key works prove his genius, and remind peers and pals of their heartbreak. "The whole story is just so tragic," they tell ANDREW MALE.

WE WERE THE first band of our generation that started to grow up,” Billy Corgan says, reflecting on the making of the Smashing Pumpkins’ 1995 grand opus, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. “The b

Podcasts: from Alan Partridge to Gary Oldman

PETER GILES