Gary Numan

Gary Numan

by Pete Clemons

There is no denying that, at the age of 60, Gary Numan is riding the kind of high that, arguably, he has not experienced since he burst into the music scene with his ‘Replicas’ album over 40 years ago.

I recently witnessed evidence of this where, together with the Skaparis Orchestra, he performed a two hour set to a capacity house at the Symphony Hall Birmingham.

This particular extravaganza was one of just 6 exclusive gigs that also took place in Cardiff, Newcastle, Manchester, London and Glasgow.

As to be expected the set list was heavily weighted towards Gary’s more recent and highly successful albums ‘Savage’ and ‘Splinter’. However, the past was not forgotten as he delved into his back catalogue pulling out a song from each of ‘Replicas’, ‘The Pleasure Principle’ and ‘Telekon’ albums. And this was my own live date with Gary since those days.

Additionally, Gary brought with him his biggest and most extravagant light show that he had taken on the road for over three decades. And this had been designed specifically for these special orchestral performances.

Arriving at the venue Gary tweeted ‘Birmingham Symphony Hall. I’ve not been here before but it’s really quite impressive. This show is nearly two hours long so we’re bringing the stage time forward a little tonight’.

Gary’s obvious excitement over the prospect of this tour had clearly spilled over into his huge and loyal following. Chants of ‘Numan, Numan’ rang around auditorium as soon as he hit the stage. And this continued in between tracks until it hit fever pitch with the onset of ‘Are Friends Electric’.

Still sporting his jet-black hair and eye liner, the one obvious difference from 40 years ago was that Gary now frequently moves. Whereas once, he had this deadpan, almost robotic like, demeanour when delivering his songs, he now has a repertoire of several shapes into which he contorts his body in heavy rotation while, at the same time, stalking around the stage like a caged creature. And this loop of expression continued throughout the entire gig with very little spoken interaction between himself and his audience.

In addition to the orchestra Gary was surrounded by his regular band. This comprised of a drummer, a keyboard player, a guitarist and a bass player. And between them the sound was dense and heavy. But at the same time the sound became distinctly different when an old tune was approaching.

Another delving into the past came by way of support act, keyboard and viola player Chris Payne, a name you may recognise from the hey days of the touring principle and living ornaments tours. Chris delivered a spectacular and very enjoyable aural, if not visual set, from a pair of keyboards and lap tops.

Gary mentioned that he had often felt that his music has had, at times, a filmic quality. And, that with The Skaparis Orchestra joining them for these six shows, that mix of hard electronic and soaring cinematic atmosphere would finally come fully to life. And so it did, to great effect.

Throughout the gig, I genuinely couldn’t help but feel pleased that for Gary Numan, after all this time, and throughout his highs and particularly his lows, things once again appear to have come together for this one-time pioneer.