1986 saw the release of the 'Strange Charm' album. With this release, Gary's media exposure in terms of promotion was waning. This was also the last album that I bought on the day of release. To be honest, the album has some half decent tracks, notably, 'My Breathing' and 'The Sleeproom'. The singles lifted from the album, 'This Is Love' and 'I Can't Stop' didn't overly trouble the charts and the same can be said of the album too, peaking in the UK chart at 59.
'Strange Charm' was not promoted with live dates. The new material got its first airing on the following year's tour that was linked to the release of a hits compilation 'Exhibition'. This was the first serious greatest hits treatment that Gary had received. Previously, a German compilation 'Photograph' was released and quickly withdrawn, making the album a much sought after collectable. That was followed by 'Newman Numan' released by TV Records in 1982 (seemingly a vehicle for an accompanying VHS compilation of promo videos interspersed with some additional footage). The 1987 tour is best documented on the fanclub released album 'Ghost'.
For me, I was at the 'Exhibition' tour at the Civic Hall in Guildford.
Here is an incomplete set from the tour, broadcast late in the year by Radio Clyde, when Numan played the celebrated Barrowlands in Glasgow.
FLAC: https://we.tl/t-CZdKG6bJhx
Artwork: https://we.tl/t-vZW6Q5BS6N
