GARY NUMAN @ ROUNDHOUSE, LONDON

To mark the 40th anniversary of his solo career, Gary Numan played two nights at the Roundhouse on his ‘(R)evolution tour’, which kicked off with the word ‘(R)evolution’ burning out in flames onto a large screen against an eerie sonic introduction.

He began his set on his latest studio album, ‘Savage (Songs From A Broken World)’, with ‘My Name Is Ruin’, before going back 40 years to Tubeway Army’s punky song, ‘That’s Too Bad’, which added variety to the synthonic theatre that he created for most of the set.

Numan also played classics from his early career with ‘Metal’ from his 1979 debut solo album ‘The Pleasure Principle’ and ‘Down In The Park’ from Tubeway Army’s ‘Replicas’. He returned to his newer material from the last few years, including ‘Here In The Black’ from 2013’s ‘Splinter (Songs From A Broken Mind) and 2011’s ‘Dead Son Rising’, with ‘The Fall’, ending his main set on ‘Are ‘Friends’ Electric?’.

The encore saw him share a rare intimate moment with his fans, reminiscing about 1979 when his solo career began and discussing next year’s release of his new album, ‘Invader’, from which he played a live demo of a new track of the same name. It was clear from this joy that Numan, after more than 40 years in the industry, is enjoying his live shows more than ever before.

24/10/19: Gary Numan @ Roundhouse, London.