Sunday with Gary Numan: ‘I don’t listen to music at all’
How do Sundays start? With my girls in the swimming pool here in LA. Unless there’s a grand prix on, in which case I’ll be in front of the television. I live for my Formula One.
What’s for breakfast? A bacon sandwich or scrambled eggs with hash browns. I never got into the whole Californian juice thing. I was 54 when I moved here, and you’ve pretty much established the way you live by then. I came here and just carried on being English.
Sunday soundtrack? I don’t listen to music at all. Not for pleasure. It’s impossible to listen without picking it apart, so it’s a bit like working. Also, I’ve got three children, four dogs and a very noisy wife, so if I do find a quiet moment I treasure it.
A trip out? Whale watching. There’s a place called Newport Beach where you can take a boat out and see whales pretty much all year round. I’ve seen blue whales, humpbacks, all kinds. But no way am I going in the water – they’ve got great white sharks here, too.
Sunday lunch? We might go to Wahlburgers on Sunset in Hollywood. My wife and kids have the vegetarian ‘Impossible Burger’, and they do a meat one for me. I want to be vegetarian, but I’m not there yet.
Sundays growing up? We all loved to drive, so often we’d just get in the car and go somewhere new and it felt like an adventure. I’ve always been into aeroplanes and the Second World War, so my mum and dad might take me to a tank museum or to Heathrow to watch the airliners coming in. I had a brilliant childhood.
A perfect Sunday afternoon is… The family watching a film together. After our meal we’ll almost invariably end up at the cinema. We just watched the Secret Garden. It was magical and beautifully filmed – I loved it.
(R)evolution: The Autobiography by Gary Numan is out on 22 October (Constable, £20). Buy it for £17.40 at guardianbookshop.com