We arrived last night in Bournemouth not knowing whether we were in the right place or not. But when we saw several 40 something men dressed all in black, with jet black died hair getting out of their cars we absolutely knew we had found the right place. Yes! They, like us, had travelled there to see the 53 year old music legend and hero Gary Numan.
The queue leading us into the venue was a mixture of Numan lookalikes, Goths, Mum’s and Dad’s with their teenage kids and all of us waiting with sheer excitement for this man who has continued through the years to put out album after album of brilliant music.
Once inside we found a brilliant little spot on the Balcony so that we could capture these wonderful moments on photographs. Standing next to us was another couple of our age with their Daughter who had travelled from Eastbourne. They were equally excited to be there and we chatted like old friends for a while, completely at ease in our mutual admiration for Gary Numan.
After the first Band, Jayce Lewis, who was also fab, the audience were cheerfully impatient and so much wanting this great man to take to the stage. Every now and again we could hear grown men shout “Nuuumannnn”, urging the star to take to the stage and end our ever increasing anticipation.
Clad in all in black, Gary took to the stage amidst a mystical darkness and sounds of deep pulsing bass-ey synthesiser sounds ……and I was immediately mesmerised and taken right back to my Numan school girl crush days. The wait was so worth it! He totally owned the stage throughout the concert and the look on my 15 year old sons face said it all…. “Awesome” he said and was so chuffed when Gary sang one of his favourite new songs ‘Haunted’ early on in the set.
Gary showed relentless energy on stage and gave us the most amazing performance that would have put a 23 year old to shame, let alone a man of his age at 53. Gary performed for one and half hours of what I would describe as atmospheric, raunchy, Gothic metal, synth style music that had all of us returning to our eternal youthfulness. He continued to wow us all every second of his time on stage. Somehow, I could only describe his ability to move to his music as sensual, as he reached up and slowly moved his body. It’s perhaps not how we would usually describe a man moving, but truly for those ladies who were there I am sure that they would agree! Though he has said in previous interviews that he wishes he was taller than his 5ft8 and a quarter, he definitely appeared larger than life on that stage with his presence. I was in awe of this musical genius and I know I wasn’t the only one as I glanced across at my partner standing next to me with a beam from ear to ear all evening. Gary has the most wonderful gift in bridging the gap between generations and his success, where others have fallen, is his innate talent to evolve and reinvent himself and his music. It is sheer genius!
I glanced down from the Balcony a few times during Gary’s performance to see a united and hypnotised audience. There seemed to be a tangible camaraderie amongst everyone there, a far cry from my recent experiences within the Pagan world. Our newfound friends had told us that Gary is taking his family to live in America because of the unrest in the UK with the riots etc and also someone had been quite unpleasant to his wife Gemma. I sincerely hope that this doesn’t happen…. and I so hope that the Numan fans of our Country throughout Gary’s Tour change his mind about leaving and show him that there is a lot of good in the UK and that it is a minority that behave like that.
Gary came back on stage for his encore to a rapturous applause. He ended the night with two favourites….. ‘Cars’ and ‘Are friends electric?’ His version of those two songs left me feeling humble and grateful for the chance to revisit good times and to share them this time with my son and partner. The song ‘Cars’ played a significant part in my latter school days and reminded me of what I used to be!
If you ever have the chance to see Gary Numan live, I can whole heartedly recommend that you go ~ you will not be disappointed I promise you!

Photo courtesy of Trisrian Doe...all copyrights reserved!