* Low Key Warm-Ups For Gary’s Imminent First Ever Glastonbury Festival Appearance…*
Moody dark lighting and a fog-type ‘smoke’ effect; Gary and his ace band mean business and from the very first song [“Halo”], you can feel the electricity in the air, and the expectation of something very special here at this rammed-to-the-rafters 600 capacity Brighton club.
Were we disappointed? Hell, no! Music Republic Magazine were invited to be there for the first two nights of his three sold out shows and we can safely say that Gary Numan is just as powerful and innovative today in 2025, as he was back in the day when he was topping singles and album charts with such bangers as “Are Friends Electric?” [with his band Tubeway Army] and the timeless smash hit “Cars” as a solo artist.
Gary was booked in for three consecutive nights at what is a small venue compared his usual gigs to many thousands around the world. But this brace of shows are strategic for honing his set ahead of this coming weekend’s first ever appearance at Glastonbury Festival, on the Park stage at 6pm on Saturday [28th June] for an hour.
Both nights we attended were faultless, and the fans absolutely loved him. Wide age range from the young and the not so young doing a good impression of sardines with no room to move in the sweltering heat. But no one was complaining; this was one of those times you say years later; “I was there”.
Gary and the band delivered 18 songs each night, with a slight tweak of the set list on night # two. On Tuesday Gary started the show by saying that he had problems with his eyes, and therefore couldn’t wear make-up for show, the first time ever in his career.
He said he was not feeling 100%, as he couldn’t see properly, and was feeling quite dizzy. But then he launched into the show with incredible energy and you wouldn’t have known the 67-year-old was under the weather at all. One fan summed up the night: “He definitely gave it all for his fans. He was absolutely brilliant.”
On the ninth song of the set on both nights we were there, Gary’s daughter Raven joined dad to sing one of her own songs, “Nothing’s What It Seems”, with her on lead vocals and Gary on guitar.
For those UK fans not lucky enough to have grabbed a ticket for one of these three Brighton shows or the final pre-Glasto warm-up at the intimate Cheese & Grain in Frome, Somerset on Friday night (27th June), they will have to wait until November for Gary’s next UK tour – full dates further down this page – and for a Brighton show, he will play the 5,000 capacity Brighton centre.
That tour celebrates the 45th anniversary of his seminal album “Telekon”, which was released in 1980 on Beggars Banquet and debuted at the top of the UK Albums Charts making it Gary’s third consecutive No. 1 album. US fans get to see him in concert during an extensive USA tour kicking off in September.
But before that, you can pre-order his new live album, “A Perfect Circle: Live”, which drops on On 25th July this summer.
In April 1981, Gary Numan completed the last of three extravagant, no-expense-spared retirement shows at Wembley Arena, walked off-stage and immediately realised he had made a massive mistake. Calling it quits at the age of just 23 dented his credibility as it was inevitable he would return to the live stage, as he did just eighteen months later.
But it would be another 41 years before he would return to headline the OVO Arena. And as the roar of the crowd greeted him as the opening notes of “Intruder” boomed across the cavernous room, Gary Numan had finally exorcised the demons that had haunted him for half a lifetime.
That momentous occasion has been documented in the aptly-titled “A Perfect Circle: Live” album. In his notes for the album, Gary reflects on the two shows: “When I retired (albeit a rather short-lived retirement) from playing live back in 1981, at Wembley Arena, I undoubtedly did lasting damage to my career. The reasons for taking that break were sound, and essential. In fact I very much doubt I would be here writing this if I hadn’t.
“But that decision haunted me for a very long time. Rebuilding that damaged career back to a level that could see me playing at Wembley once again became an ambition that was to last another forty-one years. Playing there became a symbol, the symbol, of that recovery. More than chart positions, more than anything. As the years came and went I often wondered if it would ever happen.
“So when it did, in May 2022, it came with a wave of emotions, many of which I was unprepared for. It was a glorious moment, a victory for determination and ridiculous optimism. The reward at last for the countless disappointments along the way. For some people that play there it might be no more than a warm up show for something even bigger, but for me it was everything.”
- ‘Intruder’
- ‘Remind Me To Smile’
- ‘Halo’
- ‘Metal’
- ‘Ghost Nation’
- ‘The Gift’
- ‘Films’
- ‘Pure’
- ‘Resurrection’
- ‘Down In The Park’
- ‘Dead Sun Rising’
- ‘Is This World Not Enough’
- ‘Everyday I Die’
- ‘A Black Sun’
- ‘My Name Is Ruin’
- ‘Cars’
- ‘Me! I Disconnect From You’
- ‘Love Hurt Bleed’
- ‘The Chosen’
- ‘We Are Glass’
- ‘Jo The Waiter’
- ‘M.E.’
- ‘A Prayer For The Unborn’
- ‘Are ‘Friends’ Electric?’
“It was undeniable proof that even though I’d fallen from the mountain, or thrown myself off it to be more exact, all those years ago, I had crawled my way, slowly but surely, back up it once again. Before the show I cried like a baby, overwhelmed in the moment, in the happiness of it, and the fact that now I could mess it all up.
“I was terrified of ruining the moment I’d dreamed of for decades. But I didn’t need to worry. The crowd lifted me – carried me – through every spectacular second of it. I don’t think I’ve ever been happier or more grateful. Thank you to everyone that came, and to all those who have helped me along the way, for making it one of the highlights of my life.”
“A Perfect Circle: Live” will be released on triple-vinyl with a gatefold sleeve, as a 2CD and Blu-ray set, and on digital/streaming.
Praise from Nine Inch Nails as they took industrial music into the mainstream in the ’90s started a rediscovery of Gary Numan’s work. That inspired a darker, more visceral approach to his own music which grew in power from his 1994 album “Sacrifice” onwards.
In that same year, the “Random” tribute album was released, featuring his songs reinterpreted from fans as diverse as Damon Albarn, The Magnetic Fields, The Orb and Lauren Laverne’s Kenickie.
Gary Numan’s first ever Glastonbury slot, when he hits the Park Stage on Saturday, comes 48 years almost to the day since playing his first ever show with Tubeway Army.
If his Glasto set this weekend is half as fabulous as these shows at the seaside, the huge crowd at famed Worthy Farm and the millions watching on BBC TV are in for a huge treat.
Photos by Manja Williams
Words by Steve Best
