Gary Numan
When: 21st May 2024
Location: O2 Academy
Gary Numan the synth rock pioneer is back with his latest tour. Coming to Glasgow’s O2 Academy for one night only on the 21st May 2024.
London-born Gary Anthony James Webb helped turn the UK’s budding new wave scene on its head in the late ’70s.
He launched his music career by starting the band Tubeway Army, who released their eponymous debut in 1978. At the time, he adopted stage names like Valerian for early gigs. In early 1979, Tubeway Army released their follow-up, Replicas. This topped the UK albums chart and spawned the No.1 hit Are “Friends” Electric?
A few months later Tubeway Army disbanded, so Webb embarked on a solo career under the name Gary Numan. His debut album The Pleasure Principle arrived in late 1979 and featured layers of analogue synthesisers complemented by futuristic lyrics. Powered by the hit singles Cars and Complex, it peaked at No.1 in the UK and Canada. As well as No.9 in the US. Numan spent the following year on a sold-out world tour called The Touring Principle. With an extravagant stage set that boasted revolving twin pyramids.
Numan became a huge star in the 1980s, releasing nine more albums that generated a steady stream of hit singles including We Are Glass, I Die: You Die, She’s Got Claws, Love Needs No Disguise and We Take Mystery (To Bed).
Over the next 25 years
Over the next 25 years, Numan recorded ten more records, returning to prominence in 2017 with the No.2-charting LP Savage (Songs From A Broken World), a concept album set on an apocalyptic, post-global warming Earth. That spring, he received the Ivor Novello Inspiration Award for songwriting.
In early 2019, Numan announced he was working on new material and began revealing several tracks and song titles – Intruder, The End Of Dragons, I Am Screaming, Betrayed, Saints And Liars, The Chosen and The Gift – from his 21st album Intruder, which was eventually released in May 2021.
To coincide with the new album, Numan announced details of an extensive UK tour and a livestream event. Gary Numan’s UK tour was scheduled for April and May 2022, with a livestream performance set for 17 June 2021.
