Stormtrooper in Drag – Paul Gardiner (1981)

Description

Additional information about this Paul Gardiner vinyl art.

Paul Gardiner – The Artist

Paul Andrew Gardiner (1958 – 1984) was a British musician who played bass guitar with Gary Numan and Tubeway Army, as well as creating material under his own name. Following Numan’s ‘retirement’ in April 1981, after final concerts at Wembley Arena, his backing band went its separate ways. Most of the members formed a new group called Dramatis, while Gardiner elected to concentrate on a solo career. Gardiner’s debut solo release was a single co-written with Numan called “Stormtrooper in Drag” b/w “Night Talk” in 1981. It made No. 49 in the UK Singles Chart. On these tracks Gardiner and Numan were credited with guitar and bass, respectively; Gardiner also played synthesiser.

Stormtrooper in Drag – The Song

“Stormtrooper in Drag” is  the debut single by Paul Gardiner, who was the bass player in Gary Numan’s backing band (and in Numan’s first band, Tubeway Army). Numan is featured on the single as a co-composer, producer, musician and vocalist. Though the single was released under Gardiner’s name alone in 1981, it is often credited as Paul Gardiner featuring Gary Numan, and appears on a number of Numan’s compilation albums. Numan not only played on and produced the recording but also co-composed and sang lead vocals. It was published by Numan Music and released by Numan’s then-current label, Beggars Banquet. The track was the first product released by Numan, or any of the former members of his backing band, following his ‘farewell’ concerts at Wembley Arena in April 1981. It also marked the first time in their four years of working together that the friends and former Tubeway Army bandmates had collaborated in the writing of a published song. The result was a departure from the electropop sound that had been Numan’s trademark, featuring a vocal performance and sonic textures that foreshadowed his next album, Dance. Gardiner and Numan were credited with guitar and bass, respectively, contrary to their usual practice; both also played synthesizers while Numan’s adopted brother, John Webb, played drums.

The Stormtrooper – The Shape

This record has been modelled into a a stormtrooper in drag. Stormtroopers are soldiers in the fictional Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. Introduced in the original Star Wars film, the stormtroopers are the shock troops/space marines of the autocratic Galactic Empire, under the leadership of Emperor Palpatine and his enforcers, most notably Darth Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin, during the original film trilogy (1977–1983) and Rebels (2014–18).

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