From early experiments into the possibilities of electronic music and using synths for the sake of making a trite disco song sound ‘space age’, a new breed of artists began to emerge. This wasn’t someone shoe-horning technology into an existing template; this was someone building new musical forms around that technology. Countless electronic artists experimented, failed, and moved on. Bands split and merged, their DNA spreading rapidly around the new wave musical scene. Listen to any synth-based music from the 1980s and you’ll say, “Oh, that sounds just like…” because artists experimented together, collaborated, invented, and reinvented.
Just as you can see the common lineage of a domestic tabby cat and a Bengal tiger, you can hear the threads of experimentation running through such iconic musical names as Kraftwerk, The Human League, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Japan, Ultravox, Depeche Mode, Thomas Dolby, Trevor Horn, Vince Clarke, and more. They were there, right on the cusp between “What the hell is that supposed to be?” and “This is new and exciting and I love it!”
If you were to look for a single person to identify with this vital movement, then a good contender would be Gary Numan. With an image as carefully crafted as David Bowie’s and a musical dexterity to match, Numan’s influence on the music industry is still felt today. His broad collaborations with other artists laid the foundations for so much that has followed.
If we ignore the debut Tubeway Army album from 1978 on the basis that novel art forms are rarely appreciated first time round, then Numan’s three consecutive number one albums demonstrate that the listening public quickly got the hang of it. ‘Replicas’, ‘The Pleasure Principle’ and ‘Telekon’ topped the charts between 1979 and 1980, making this year the 45th anniversary of ‘Telekon’ and therefore a good time for Numan to tour with a live performance of said album.
45 years makes this the sapphire anniversary, supposedly symbolising wisdom, strength, and lasting love. All three of those qualities were very much on display at Birmingham’s O2 Academy with a show that was more performance art than mere music. Even the band was perfectly presented in the style of a dystopian sci-fi movie.
Numan is known for his close family connections, something which he has brought to this tour with his support act, Raven Numan. Not a coincidence, but his daughter, a musician with an electronic-punk-goth style, which is a chip off the old block. Playing a set of her own work, she showed the rapidly filling arena that she’s influenced by the style of her father’s era and has also evolved beyond it, possibly inspiring Numan senior in return along the way as he has turned from his pure electronic roots to something with a contemporary goth/rock edge to it.
On stage, Gary Numan is a man of few words. Actually, no words at all. The spectacular light show does much of the talking with red crossed lines piercing the haze in an echo of the ‘Telekon’ album cover. The main set opens with ‘This Wreckage’ and quickly deviates from the original track listing. Many bands that have performed anniversary tours have stuck to the album as-is, but Numan seems more intent on crafting a performance for the now. It’s as much a curated Bauhaus art show as a gig.
The opening notes hung isolated in the hazy air like a Mark Rothko painting on a vast white wall. Possibly intended as a grand, tension-building unveiling, the silence was punctuated only by the shouts of “Numan… Numan… Numan” from a section of the audience who may have evolved more from Numan’s punk roots than his electronic heritage. The regular input of these cultural ambassadors demonstrated both the broad influences of Numan’s music and the breadth of the audience that he has reached over these 45 years.
Those aforementioned cross-pollinated influences emerged from the stark backdrop of each song in the set. ‘Remind Me to Smile’ was a close cousin to Japan with echoes of Mick Karn’s sliding bass lines and even Roxy Music in its opening percussion. ‘I Dream of Wires’ shares its synth ingredients with The Human League and its pacing with Ultravox. The sweeping, orchestral ‘Photograph’ is reminiscent of Sparks. All the songs of the album were there and more, including tracks from the alternate UK and US versions. ‘Please Push No More’ delivered a powerfully emotional performance from Numan.
Audience interaction came along at this point with the back story to ‘Like a B-Film’, a track originally omitted from the album but which forms part of the overall story shared, giving a rare glimpse into Numan’s creative process. The set paused with the two best-known singles from the album, ‘I Die: You Die’ and ‘We Are Glass’.
An encore was, of course, both hinted at and delivered. In another break from tradition, Numan used this opportunity to air three Tubeway Army songs, ‘My Shadow in Vain’, ‘Listen to the Sirens’, and ‘Down in the Park’. Other bands performing album anniversary tours have used the extra time to play the fan classics, which for Numan would have been the likes of ‘Are Friends Electric’ and ‘Cars’. Like any committed artist, Numan has used this tour to play music that tells his influential story rather than what’s most recognisable, current, or popular. This isn’t a tour for consumers of fast fashion; it’s a curated exhibition of how the modern music industry was born.
Peter Freeth
Images: Peter Freeth
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