1983, so this is the point where Numan and I came together on the live circuit. Stuck in Sussex without the benefit of an older sibling who could act in the capacity of a gig chaperone, my pleadings to the parents to let me go to travel to Wembley for one of the farewell shows in April 1981 fell on deaf ears. I was 12 at the time.
With the release of ‘Warriors’ and with the planned return to the stage in the UK, I was razor keen to get my hands on a ticket! For the tour, the touring machine that had travelled the globe in 1979 and 1980 was reassembled when Ced Sharpley, RRussell Bell and Chris Payne were reunited behind Numan. Sadly, Paul Gardiner was not present as he was battling his own demons at the time, although he received a rapturous reception when Gary brought him onto the stage in London. Bass on the tour was provided by Joe Hubbard, the man who apparently imparted the slap bass technique to Nick Beggs of Kajagoogoo. Whilst that style of playing was aligned with the electro funk orientation of the latest album it did not, in my opinion, lend itself so well with the back catalogue.
As was the case for most of my early gigs, my live introduction to Numan took place in Brighton on the 29th October 1983. Despite all of the shortcomings of the Brighton Centre (a soulless box of a place!) I thought that the gig was brilliant. It was the last of the big, lavish set productions that Numan was known for at the time and that he was later to rue due to spiraling touring costs. A shattered post-apocalyptic cityscape saw the band as on previous tours positioned on multiple levels for a visual feast of a show.
The tour opener in Glasgow was symbolic, marking the third anniversary of the opening night of the ‘Touring Principle’, Numan’s first nervous steps onto a big venue stage. The set was a fair representation of his studio output from ’79 to the present with ‘Love Needs No Disguise’ thrown in for good measure.
FLAC: https://we.tl/t-8lGYohx6Rt
Artwork: https://we.tl/t-LqkQFJCVkD
