According to Gary Numan's official Facebook page:
"I'm so very sad to say that Cedric Sharpley, who as many of you will know played drums for me for many years, has died after suffering a heart attack last week. Ced was not only a truly great drummer but a gentle, fascinating and funny man to be around and he will be greatly missed. This has come as a great shock to so many of us. Rest in peace Cedric. GN."

Not only was he on all those classic Numan albums (starting with The Pleasure Principle), adding some swing to those robotic rhythms, but he also played drums for the short-lived mid-70s prog band Druid. I thought there would be others here who would want to know about his passing.

I don't know why, But I will always remember the close up shot of him smacking the crash cymbal on the right side of his kit and his robotic moves when Gary Numan performed "Cars" on SNL back in the 80's. It's just stuck there in my brain and every time I hear that song that's what I remember.

Me too! He also did the same in the video.

That's my main memory of Mr. Sharpley as well. Numan was/is such a great visual performer, so it's amazing that someone else was able to make such an impression during his performances.