This was it, the nadir of a once glittering pop career. I have no doubt that there are people who maintain a positive view on this period of Gary's enduring career, but even the most diehard of Numan acolytes must struggle to be particularly positive about what he was attempting to do in the studio at this time. For those that were initially drawn to Tubeway Army and Numan in '79 and '80 this period was difficult to take.
Numan himself makes no bones about the fact that he was struggling against the odds to find his place ten years on from his original flush of success. A few quotes of his lifted from Wikipedia say all that needs to be said really. Although here he is talking specifically about the 'Machine & Soul' album that was to be released some months after this 'Isolate' tour (that was plugging late stage Numa studio albums), what he says was relevant to his wider early '90s output.
'I convinced myself [that Machine + Soul] was all right, that it was a 'clever' mix of funk, pop, rock and electronics. I almost convinced myself that I liked it. Not long after it was released though, I had to admit, only to myself for a while, that it was not what I'd hoped. There was nothing wrong with it as such, it just doesn't have much of me on it - not playing-wise, but emotionally. It is the most 'non-Numan' Numan album I've ever made, for my style, sound and character are completely missing. Whatever people think about my music, it's always been very personal. So, at a time when I was experiencing extreme lows in my career and private life, the last thing I felt like making was a shiny, polished pop record. But that's what I'd done.'
and
'I put out a really shit album in 1992 called Machine + Soul which I’ll regret for the rest of my life. I realised that what I’d been doing wasn’t the right way to do it. I took a bit of time out and really thought through everything. Even whether I wanted to leave the music business.'
Here we have the show from the 'Isolate' tour in Cambridge.
