26 November 2025 (gig)
27 November 2025
One of the defining music genres of the 80s was synth pop – and one of the pioneers of this exciting scene was undoubtedly Gary Numan.
The Master of the Moog helped pave the way for the electronic pop revolution and is still charging up audiences with his unique and electrifying sound more than 45 years later.
Touching down at the Cambridge Corn Exchange towards the end of his sell-out Telekon 45th anniversary tour, Gary and his band treated the audience to the chart-topping 1980 album in its entirety.
To a backdrop of pyrotechnics, strobe lighting and band members that seemed to be powered by Numan’s own brand of electricity, this show was a truly immersive experience that fired all the senses – and we’d expect nothing less from Gary who doesn’t just ‘play’ music, he fully embodies it.
Writhing and contorting to the dystopian soundtrack, almost like a musical terminator, Gary’s energy made a huge connection with an appreciative audience, particularly his die-hard fans who chanted “Numaaan” in homage to their musical hero.
Arriving on a red-lit stage, criss-crossed by a myriad of World War Two style search lights, Gary and his band were greeted by a jam-packed audience all up for a retro electro-extravaganza.
They launched into the brilliant This Wreckage and got the crowd foot stomping in unison to the mesmerising beat from the opening song of this iconic album. Gary’s guitarists are as unique as their lead singer – flanking Gary with their uniform of dark clothing and a matching black stripe on their shaven heads. It was almost as if the Numan Starship Enterprise had landed in the City of Cambridge to wow their adoring Numanoids!
Among the many gems performed from Telekon, giving fans a massive blast from the past, included the unforgettable I Dream of Wires, Remember I was Vapour, I Die: You Die and the hauntingly beautiful Photograph, an instrumental on which Numan played keyboards.
At the end of singing ‘Please Push No More’, an emotional Numan knelt down on stage, clearly appreciating the love shown by the crowd, especially in light of a recent family bereavement, which undoubtedly has made this tour a hugely difficult one for Gary on a personal level. A really moving moment was when he kissed his fingers and pointed his hand to the sky, upon which the crowd echoed their love and support.
After gathering himself together, Gary unveiled an unexpected “lost” song from his back catalogue. Gary told the crowd: “When it was going to be the 45th anniversary of Telekon, Beggars Banquet wanted to look through all the old tapes that I’d got from my sessions, looking for something that hadn’t been released, or was unusual in some way.
“And they found a song called ‘Like a B-Film’ which is an old demo of a song that never made it to the album, I think because it's so happy, it's really happy! Can't have that! I have absolutely no memory of writing it whatsoever, really nothing at all, and I've heard it loads of times and I still can't remember a single thing about it, but it sounds like me, so I guess it is me! (laughs). Anyway, remember that it didn't get to the album, so it was a reject, so keep that in mind. Anyway, I thought you'd enjoy it as something different.”
Finishing his main set with the brilliant We Are Glass, the band returned for an encore with some nostalgic hits from Tubeway Army. They finished with a fantastic rendition of Down in the Park from 1979 album Replicas, much to the delight of fans who were clapping along in unison.
Having never seen Numan play live before, but being lifelong admirers of his music, we were somewhat disappointed he didn’t play Are Friends Electric, his number one hit from 1979, a song we were expecting from recent setlists. We realise Gary is also tired of performing Cars, so were not expecting to hear this, but hoped Friends would create an electric end for these two friends.
Despite this disappointment, Gary lived up to our expectations of being an electrifying performer and we were truly mesmerised by him on stage. It’s incredible to think that 45 years on, Gary’s vocals and charisma are as strong as ever, still captivating his loyal army of fans.
