February 1978, and Gary Numan, then a punk rock-styled singer and songwriter with his band Tubeway Army, released their debut single That’s Too Bad through Beggar’s Banquet Records. Tubeway Army went on to have hits like Are’ ‘Friends Electric’ and Down in the Park, bringing electronic music to a whole new audience. In 1979 Gary went solo and had a string of worldwide hits with Cars, We Are Glass and I Die; We Die. By 1981, he headed to Wembley Arena, and performed what at the time he thought would be his final show, having made the decision to cease touring.
A decision, Gary very quickly realised was wrong. Fast forward to April 2023 – and Gary Numan walks out onto the stage at the Electric Ballroom on London, for his 1,000th live appearance. A true legend and an influence on so many artists that have followed in his footsteps. Never willing to rest on his legacy and tour old material, Gary has continued to write, and his sound has evolved over time to a deep, dark, post-apocalyptical tone, as good today as its ever been.
And as he hits the road to tour to mark the 45th anniversary of the Telekon album, Gary Numan has preserved that iconic 1,000th performance for all time – Welcome to “1,000: Live at the Electric Ballroom”
The show starts with the title track Splinter from 2013’s album “Splinter (Songs From A Broken Mind)”, an incredibly sonically rich number packed with heavy industrial beats and heavy industrial atmosphere. As time has moved on, Numan’s voice has mellowed and adds an instantly recognisable and eerie edge to the lyrics. His delivery is assured and powerful with a soulful almost pagan lament feel to them.
We then head right back to a1978 and the single Cars from “The Pleasure Principle” one of his most iconic and recognisable hits. Ground breaking at the time, nowadays I sometimes find the old tracks hard to listen to. They were simplistic in their electronic structure, single waveform synth tones and robotic drums, you can see why with hindsight Gary split opinion. But what is great is that he has brought his old hits along his road of change and development, reimagining them, giving them a more complex mix and feel. And he does it so well, the old hit, as popular now as ever with its new live presence.
The mix between old and new is fantastic, and because of the way he has transformed his older material, its hard to tell between ! Is This World Not Enough from 2021’s “Intruder” is another slow burner, packed with gothic power and mystery.
We hop back to 2009’s “Jagged Edge” for In A Dark Place, a sweeping track, that undulated from dark quiet sections, and then erupting into power packed emotional chorus sections. It drives at you like a buzzsaw, raw and intense.
