Gary Numan

May, 1979. It’s an ordinary Thursday evening, which means it’s time for Top of the Pops. Amidst a zeitgeist of punk and disco, the show suddenly appears to be interrupted by a transmission from the future. A luminous synth riff echoes out, a beat drives on and up steps an otherworldly figure – part robot, part alien – to deliver an enigmatic lyric depicting some kind of android existence in a dystopian future. It’s Gary Numan fronting Tubeway Army for their breakthrough hit ‘Are ‘Friends’ Electric?’.

Of the millions that are watching, few would’ve recognised that this moment foreshadows the shape of music to come, from synth-pop to industrial and alt-pop. That, however, can’t stop it igniting the imagination of an audience that would swell into a devoted following.

Fast-forward to January, 2021. Numan’s first single ‘Intruder’ (from the Intruder album) pulsates ominously as if it’s soundtracking an imminent threat. As austere synths loom like shadows and industrial beats are detonated, the beguiling hook towers like a beacon in the darkness. It’s visionary and venomous, with a narrative that imagines the Earth growing angry at mankind’s actions, and more than willing to fight back. In the accompanying video, Numan looks even more out of time than he did back in 1979, like an intergalactic refugee fighting for his own existence.

Naturally, there were times when Numan was very much not in vogue. Sure, there would be ripples of rediscovery but there were years when his increasingly conceptual albums were primarily embraced by hardcore fans. He wasn’t troubling the charts, but audiences were still flocking to see him perform – almost every UK tour would include a sold-out show at the 5000 capacity Hammersmith Apollo.

Gradually, though, praise from Nine Inch Nails, Prince and David Bowie led to a reappraisal of his work. And that has been magnified in recent years with Kanye West, Lady Gaga and Dave Grohl citing him as an influence.

And so, a new narrative emerged. An unlikely icon returned to the top while making music that was darker, fiercer and more inventive than ever.

His next album, ‘Intruder’, presented a fresh but complementary narrative. It’s a philosophical examination of a potential future apocalypse: the planet can only survive by purging its inhabitants. ‘Intruder’ also hit #2 in the UK charts.

Numan explained: “‘Intruder’ looks at climate change from the planet’s point of view. If the Earth could speak, and feel things the way we do, what would it say? How would it feel? The songs, for the most part, attempt to be that voice, or at least try to express what I believe the earth must feel at the moment”.

Collectively the album proves that Numan’s creative spark shows no sign of being extinguished.

Numan toured the Intruder album at over 130 shows around the world, finally ending in mid 2024 when he toured the US with Ministry. Since then he’s been back in the studio writing and recording his next (and 23rd) album, due out in early 2026. This one looks at a near future world where humanity lives or dies based on the whims of an AI controlled system. He did take a few weeks out of the studio to play a major UK tour in the Fall to celebrate the 45th Anniversary of his ‘Replicas’ and ‘The Pleasure Principle’ albums, both UK Number 1’s when first released.

That’s just a snapshot of the tale behind one of music’s most singular talents. The full story can be found in Numan’s critically acclaimed autobiography ‘(R)evolution’, which The Observer described as an, “exhaustive, entertaining and often poignant life story.” What comes next will surely be just as intriguing.