In 1979 Gary Numan helped to revolutionise electronic music, as the driving force behind two groundbreaking albums Replicas by his then band Tubeway Army & his debut solo album The Pleasure Principle, which were released within 6 months of each other.
Flash forward 45 years and we are gathered here at a sold out Roundhouse in London for a celebration of both albums for their collective anniversary. It is both a treat and a shock to be here tonight. Mr Numan has made no bands about the fact he doesn’t want to be considered a nostalgia and he is always looking ahead to the next thing. So it was a nice surprise when he announced this run of shows paying tribute to both of these hugely important albums.
There is a palpable buzz of excitement in the air tonight. An early start time and no support means the audience won’t have to wait long for the man himself to take the stage. The stage is adorned in a throwback lighting rig that that helps to complete the transformation back in time.
For the next hour and forty five minutes Gary Numan and his band run through the songs that shape the collective works of both albums. There is something that feels transformative about hearing these songs played with a precision and edge to them that breathes new life into them. They feel as fresh and as cutting edge as they did they day they were written, while still feeling like they could have been written within the last decade. For his part Numan doesn’t address the audience for the duration of the set choosing instead to get his head down and let the music do the talking.
There are songs played tonight that I thought I’d never ever hear live. Praying to the Aliens, Engineers and the b-sides Do You Need the Service? and We Are So Fragile are particular highlights.
Even though songs like Cars, Are Friends Electric?, Metal & Films are in regular rotation and very rarely out of the setlist I will never ever tire of hearing them and tonight they hit that little bit harder in the context of this evening’s events.
Tonight is an absolute triumph and even though Gary Numan has always been a man of the future it was nice to take this trip back in time to days of future past and celebrate the songs that started it all.
10/10
Remaining dates & Tickets for the ongoing UK Tour can be found here
What a gig!! many fans have been aboard HMS Numan since 1979, and we’ve made life long friends upon the voyage.
The gig was fantastic, the songs played true to the originals (almost) and GN was in top form, holding the crowd bring us up and down.
The lighting rig was one of the best he’s ever had.
Let’s hope next year it’s Telekon and Dance!