Gary Numan / Rock City / Nottingham

Nottingham’s musical mecca, Rock City, is packed to the rafters tonight, for the visit of Gary Numan as he celebrates 45 years since the release of his iconic “Replicas” and “The Pleasure Principle” albums. Back in 1979, these are the albums that propelled Numan (and initially Tubeway Army) into the limelight, with huge chart hits such as Cars, and Are Friends Electric?

I think it’s fair to say Numan has been a ‘marmite’ figure. For many, the stark, mechanical, almost automaton nature of his early music, linked to his unique vocal sound, was a ‘no’, but his style and sound was unique and a much needed challenge to many of the norms on the industry at the time.

The first album I ever got was “The Pleasure Principle”. My sister (who was 18 when it came out) bought the album because everyone was…. However, into stuff like The Bay City Rollers, Mud and Sweet, she was in for a big surprise. She hated it the moment she played it. So one day, to get rid of her annoying 12 year old brother out of her room, she gave it to me, so I would leave her alone lol. I played that album over and over again. It wasn’t love at first listen, but there was something about it, something different…. Challenging. It was instrumental in creating my musical journey through life, a taste for the ‘different’, for something new and exciting.

Numan’s career has taken many twists and turns over the years. After the initial years of success, he almost quit, finding the demands of the record labels too much, making content he wasn’t artistically comfortable with. Things really changed around the turn of the century, with the release of “Pure” in 2000, where we saw the emergence of a new Numan, a self-confident Numan, making music from his heart…. with a heavy, complex industrial edge. Gone are the simple monophonic Moog tones, replaced by complex multi-layered tones, mixed with fuzzy industrial guitars and gut churning heavy synth bass lines.

His voice has also matured and deepened adding to the overall sound, and the more recent albums, Dead Son Rising” (2011), “Splinter” (2013), “Savage” (2018) and “Intruder” (2021) are stunning examples of industrial music.

And here’s a revelation form a self-confessed Numan fan. I find “The Pleasure Principle” a difficult album to listen to now. In its day, it was ground breaking but now, the apparent simplicity and repetitive nature of the tracks I find hard to engage with.

Numan has always been very vocal about joining those 80’s nostalgia tours. I remember reading an interview where he said that basically it meant you had nothing new and fresh to give… and I think he’s right. By avoiding those, he has forged ahead a whole new career.

But, this tour, celebrating the albums that started it all is different, and judging by the ‘sold out’ signs at venues round the country, is a very popular move indeed.

So here we are, sat in the pit, cameras ready waiting for the man himself to step out. The stage set is a modern recreation of this iconic Pleasure Principle / Tekelon tour sets, with light towers.

The lights dim, the synths fire up and out steps the man of the moment, grabbing the mic and diving right into opening track Replicas. There’s no support tonight, just an extended set covering the whole of the two 1979 albums.

The set includes all the big hits, both chart hits such as Down in the Park, Are Friends Electric and perhaps his most iconic hit Cars, but also the fan favourite live tracks like Me, Metal and Me, I Disconnect From You.

For me though, what made them such iconic albums was the depth, and the supporting songs, although not massive chart hits, were what made the albums so good. Here we got them all, in one place, and highlights of the set included less known tracks such as We Have a Technical, It Must Have Been Years, We Are So Fragile and Praying to the Aliens.

For me the highlight of the set was a fantastic rendition of the track Only a Downstat. Having said that, to the hardcore Numanoids in the crowd, they are all iconic hits !

I said earlier, that I sometimes find it hard to listen to that album that had such an impact on my musical journey in life, “The Pleasure Principle” because it (for me) feels so dated. So how does it feel live after all these years ?

Quite simply….. brilliant ! Numan now is a totally different artist to the one that wrote these tracks. The new multi-layers synth tones, and heavy fuzzed guitar riffs and pounding industrial drum/bass give a whole new life to the songs. In addition, the mature, deeper vocal tones Numan now has, give the tracks a whole new life and feel.

Its hard to believe these were released 45 years ago, as they fit perfectly into the modern heavy industrial scene.

What also is different, is Numan himself. Back in the early days, Numan was a very shy figure, who became so stressed and uncomfortable on stage. Very static and mechanical in his movements, it fitted the visual aesthetic at the time, but now, creating music from deep within his soul, he has developed a confidence in his music, in himself, and truly owns the stage, now at ease with the experience…. And quite frankly – lovin’ it !

The show is a sell out, and it tells you something about the man. Maybe not the commercial success, rising up the charts on a regular basis, but it shows an artist that is truly loved by his fans, and by other artists, with the likes of NIN singling out Numan as a key influence.

The place was bouncing, the light show was stunning and complimented the music perfectly, and Numan had the right balance of swagger and arrogance on stage, with that cheeky smile to the fans. The set ends with the iconic hits Cars and Are Friends Electric? And the place is crazy loud, with every voice is loud, singing along to the lyrics as one, arms raised and cheering loudly.

Numan has breathed new life into the classic hits, and brought them right up to date. The end result, is a stunning night.

You so often hear fans talk about bands saying they should have called it a day x years ago, because the voice has gone, the new songs are up to it etc. With Numan, his eager fans (myself included) are always eager for the next album. An artists that simply gets better and better each and every year – That’s rare, very rare.

If you’ve not caught one of his shows, watch out for future dates. And we can only hope, that we’ll be back listening to these updated versions of the classics, on the 50th anniversary tour !