Putting aside his self confessed use of hair transplants and laced-weaves, Gary Numan looks amazing for a 57 year old man who has spent the last 36 years on tour. Head banging and writhing as he does on stage like a man 25 years his junior, Numan continues to retain his crown as the Replicant King of Synth (more Numan than human is his motto). This is the third and final night of his o2 Forum residency, performing in their entirety three of his best albums successively.
Misted by smoke and red lights, Numan and his band appear as silhouetted 80’s vampires luring in prey with his hypnotic, pulsing spells, never once letting the intensity drop. The wild audience more than willing to let themselves over, transfixed by their black clad neon noir leader. They want him and he knows it and he gives them his all.
The front several rows are inhabited by season tickets holders, reciting every candescent chant word for perfect word, in sync with Numan and his four piece band who give these tracks a new vigour and heightened life, protecting them from the stale air and cobwebs that so often ruin a vintage performer’s repertoire.
As his younger self looks down from the jagged lighting rig and backdrop, Numan has shown himself to be one of the UK’s most vibrant and timeless live acts, putting to shame both the hordes of Saturday-night-TV-show filler that so ruthlessly dominates the mainstream and a fair few of his 80’s contemporaries.
Words and Images by
Dan Bull
Latest posts by Dan Bull (see all)
- LIVE: Tom Petty And The Heatbreakers @ Hyde Park 09.07.17 - July 14, 2017
- LIVE: The Killers @ BST Hyde Park, 08.07.17 - July 12, 2017
- Glastonbury 2017: The bands, the brass and Barry Gibb! - June 27, 2017
