November

Gary Numan – 1,000: Live at the Electric Ballroom (BMG)

To celebrate his 1,000th show, Numan releases his second live record of the year following on from his OVO Wembley Arena ‘A Perfect Circle’ compilation. The show was recorded as part of a triple residency at the Electric Ballroom in London. The fact this is his 1,000th live performance and not higher demonstrates the reputation yet intimacy of this artist, who has achieved a level of fame that has also not outdone his humble roots.

Opening on the sandy twitches of ‘Resurrection’, the track list is in set list order, early on showcasing the fizzing synths of ‘Down in the Park’ and then ‘Haunted’; the latter one of the strongest songs on the release with its static creep and choral synths. Numan candidly declares during the show that he “fucked up” ‘Metal’, one of his best songs, when he didn’t sing one of the verses in full, also admitting later to his poor public speaking due to autism which often overwhelms him in front of a live audience.

Punk rockabilly song ‘That’s Too Bad’ changes the speed of the set and then immediately after comes ‘Exile’, which slows it down with warm acoustics and added spikes of synth creating a mysterious trance for a whole 6 minutes. The slow ascent of ‘Splinter’ then follows.

Yet another fantastic track comes in the form of a setlist rarity, ‘In a Dark Place’, from 2006’s ‘Jagged’: opening on a swinging pendulum with creeping piano and ghostly synth. Numan’s daughters also guested in person at the live show on backing vocals and feature in ‘Is this World Not Enough’ and ‘My Name is Ruin’. An artist like this is still so far ahead of the game, proactively issuing new and well presented live and studio releases as well as constantly touring and sharing this experience with his fans through releases such as this.

‘1,000: Live at the Electric Ballroom’ is out now on vinyl, CD and digitally.