Words and photographs by Phil Ingham
Gary Numan’s 2025 tour of the ‘Telekon’ album to celebrate its 45-year anniversary (say it quickly and you won’t feel as old) took on an unexpected and significant poignancy. Partway through the tour, and after spending time with Gary at and after the Leeds leg of the tour, his brother John sadly and suddenly passed away.
After soul-searching and discussions with family, Gary was persuaded by his dad and sister-in-law to continue with the remaining tour dates, as this is what his brother would have wanted.
The O2 Academy Liverpool had rarely been as packed. ‘Numanoids’ in their thousands had gathered to celebrate the anniversary of the seminal 1980 album but also to support their hero through his loss.
Fittingly, the night was to be a family affair. The opening act of the evening was Raven Numan, Gary’s daughter.
Raven, fiery in hair, outfit and attitude, delivered a quality hour-long set of tracks that undoubtedly carried some of her dad’s DNA but spiked with a goth-rock vibe to create something unique.
Vocally, she was stunning. Haunting and ethereal. Her four-piece band provided the perfect, tight soundscape for Raven to soar.
The capacity crowd was captivated throughout. Raven Numan, brooding and brilliant, delivered a performance that promises a stellar future for her and her band.
As beams of light dissected the stage, excited chants of “Nuuuuman!” dissolved into the ‘Close Encounters of the Third ’Kind’-style synth of ‘This Wreckage’. Numan, appearing to have arrived directly from 1980 with his ribbon-bound arms and make-up, entered the stage to a crescendo of noise from his adoring followers.
With the light show, the booming synth and Numan’s inimitable vocals, we were immediately thrown into 1980 along with him. The stage, a shifting landscape of pulsing reds and brilliant whites, pushed the band and singer alternately into silhouette and brilliant focus.
‘Remind Me to Smile’ followed, with its deep and dirty synth feeling even more powerful in a live setting, while ‘I Dream of Wires’ delivered a perfect slice of otherworldly electro-pop.
A beautiful rendition of ‘Photograph’ enthralled the crowd, leading the band into ‘Push No More’, and it was here where Numan’s defences dropped and his grief spilt onto the stage. Voice cracking with emotion, he carried on, the audience with respectful applause collectively offering a shoulder to cry on. It was a raw, memorable moment that left many in attendance wiping something from their eye.
Numan was quick to shift the mood, introducing ‘Like a B-Film’ as the song which didn’t make the album due to being ‘too happy’. It was a great piece of electro-pop, and it demonstrated how good the album was to leave this as a casualty of the editing process.
‘I’m an Agent.’ filled the room with a menacing combination of guitar and synthesiser, heavier than the tracks that had gone before and perfectly fitting Numan’s icy vocals.
The rich arrangement and dynamic presence of ‘The Joy Circuit’ are perfectly suited to the live arena. A rolling symphony of synth, guitars and strings that nods back cleverly to the opening of ‘This Wreckage’, and as the set draws towards its final songs, this one is a real highlight.
The very danceable ‘I Die: You Die’ landed with the energy you might imagine, lifting the audience to another level. Many in the crowd might well have been on the wrong side of 50, but age had not extinguished the passion for the music that bounced around the Academy.
The show finished with Numan digging even further into the back catalogue. Four Tubeway Army songs, ‘My Shadow in Vain’, ‘Friends’, ‘Listen to the Sirens’ and ‘Down in the Park’, received a great response from the crowd. Even those hoping for the iconic singles ‘Cars’ and ‘Are Friends Electric’ soon found themselves swept up by these deeper cuts.
As the music subsided and the doors opened onto a chilly Liverpool night, you couldn’t help but feel this had been more than a gig. It had been at once a journey through grief, a celebration of life, and a tribute to an album that has not only stood the test of time but has also played a significant role in shaping the future.
An exhilarating, emotional evening.
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