Tubeway Days / Truck Theatre / Hull

Sep 8

Sep 8 Tubeway Days / Truck Theatre / Hull

So, Friday night we headed up to Hull and to the Truck Theatre for something, I was hoping would be rather special, and a performance by Tubeway Days, a Gary Numan / Tubeway Army tribute band. Now, I have to get a couple of things straight before diving into this show review.

Firstly and I have to admit, I have been somewhat dismissive about tribute bands. They’re not something I’ve really ‘got’ before.

Also….. I’m a BIG BIG Gary Numan fan. My first gig ? 1984 and my brother in law took me to see Gary on the Berserker tour. I was sold ! The white and blue stark imagery and harsh bright lighting, mixed with the bass-heavy pounding sound just blew me away.

So…… doesn’t like tributes and a big Gary Numan fan…… No pressure then !!!

Tubeway Days are Paul Hurst (Billy Currie) and Jon Rose (synths), Neil Bourne (Bass), Ian Bourne (Drums), Jonny Phage (Guitar) and Chris Fielding as Gary Numan (Vocals). The show is broken into two parts, set one focuses on the music of 1979, Tubeway Army and the Gary Numan Replicas tour, while the second set is 1980 and the Telekon tour and album.

What struck me on entering the theatre was the stage set. A lovingly created version of the original stage set from Telekon in 1980 with the triangular light motif above the drums and the horizontal lights either side which from the front is so visually effective. (At larger venues the set is expanded to the full light towers). The original Moog analogue synths are missing (lets face reality £££££ !!!) but replaced with modern kit including Virus TI synths & Novation 61SL MkIId controllers, running software emulations of the original kit.

The band come on dressed in black, and throughout the night Chris changes costume, to match the material being presented, so in the first set he came on in the 1979 Pleasure Principle Tour look, all in black with the iconic red/blue tie, switching into the Tubeway Army, Military Dress jacket with red lapels and the early days black jacket with white piping and buttons. For the second set, a lovingly recreated Telekon jump suit with the twin red belts and shoulder straps. Each one iconic and very effective in recreating the Numan visual look.

The visual attention to detail is incredible. As the intro fades away, they dive right into a Numan fan live favourite Me, I Disconnect From You, and boy……. How good is this ? As the first few notes hit my ears, a shiver ran down my spine ! The sound was spot on, both the traditional instruments, with the guitars heavy and delivering some fine riffs, but the recreation of the iconic synth tones Numan used were just right.

And then Chris opened his mouth to deliver the lyrics….. Its spooky how close he sounds to vintage numan, recreating that iconic higher pitched automaton sound. In an instant, I’m whisked off back to 1979 and 11 years old again listening to that first album. Alongside the vocals, Chris physically recreated the facial mannerisms and limited, but somehow iconic moves.

Across the two sets, all the hits are here, including Cars, Are 'Friends' Electric?, We Are Glass Down in the Park and I Die,You Die. Also, all the fan favourite live longs are here too including My Shadow In Vain, Remind Me to Smile and We Are Glass.

The audience is a good mix, many Numan fans and some out for a good night. Folk are standing on the stairs either side of the seats and dancing away, singing along. Every song that has chants is eagerly joined in, with arms raised pointing at the stage. The atmosphere is wonderful, and smiles all round the room.

What was really enjoyable was that the set also covered a number of the lesser known album tracks, that back in the day were played live, but which you don’t see in Gary’s own set now. These are some of his most iconic and for me, mesmerising pieces of work. On Broadway, Praying to the Aliens, I’m An Agent, Joy Circuit, I Dream of Wires, The Aircrash Bureau and Sleep By Windows. These have a different feel to the big hits, many with a softer, almost delicate feel to them – emotive, and the band manage this flux and change in styles between tracks impressively. Personally I would have loved to hear my favourite, Jo, The Waiter with its incredibly catchy beat, but hey, with everything else on offer just ignore me lol.

The show ends with We Are Glass, one of the most iconic live tracks and has everyone on their feet shouting along to the chorus, arms in the air.

For a tribute show to work well it needs to cover the three bases well: visuals (set and clothing), vocal sound and musical accuracy. Tubeway Days deliver all three in bucketloads. Visually it is a candy shop of a show, a set to be frank, far better than many current bands put out there, but this is matched by the accuracy of the costumes, the vocal and musical accuracy, to re-create the atmosphere accurately.

Chatting to folk during the breaks and after the show, it was clear I was not the only one who thought this was an incredible night.

And for a tribute band ‘critic’ I was sold, I got it. Tubeway Days showed me exactly what a great band can do.

I never got to see these tours, shows that saw Numan at his peak, and his sell out shows that were a hit all round the world. Tonight transported me back in time, and let me experience what it was like for myself. Tubeway Days are not just a tribute, they are a time machine…. And a bloody good one too !

If you love Numan, or if you like early synth pop generally, this is a show you simply can’t miss.

If I had a criticism… well, its that I can’t think of one – damn it !

Setlist

1979

Me, I Disconnect From You

M.E.

Observer

Films

Cars

On Broadway

Praying to the Aliens

Engineers