Electro-pop pioneer Gary Numan has had his first tattoo at the age of 55, and was left in agony by the painful process.

The Cars hitmaker has had a hankering for body art for years but has never been able to pluck up the courage to go under the needle.

He eventually decided to get inked this year (13) to pay tribute to his family by having his wife and children's names on his inner arm, but the musician was shocked by the pain it caused.

Numan tells Mojo magazine, "I'm such a coward. I've always wanted one but was always too scared of the pain. The tattooist said, 'There's always numbing cream.' She lied. It still hurt!"