'The Joy Circuit'

At some point over the last six years, I suggested to Simon that it would be great to hire a small cinema so that we could watch the two early concert films by Gary Numan with proper audio/video. Unsurprisingly he was up for it but we never got 'round to it.

However, with lockdown coming to a close and Simon's birthday approaching, I decided a few weeks ago that the time had come and duly booked The Screening Room at King Street Townhouse.

We had two films to watch: 'The Touring Principle' and 'Micromusic'. The first of these was recorded in 1979, the same year Numan released his number one single 'Are 'Friends' Electric?' from his second album, 'Replicas', as well as his new album, 'The Pleasure Principle'.

His meteoric rise meant that his first tour was a world tour, supporting his recent successes, with the new band that he'd put together for the 'Pleasure Principle' album, as well as a light show that was both and ambitious and amazing. Yet his performance on 'The Touring Principle' - recorded on September 28th at the Hammersmith Odeon - is stunning: confident and entertaining.

Unbelievably, he released yet another album, 'Telekon', and completed another tour the following year, and then in April 1981 he performed three "farewell" performances at Wembley Arena. (Spoiler: they weren't his last live shows.)

The last night, on April 28th, was recorded exactly nineteen months after 'The Touring Principle' show and released on the video 'Micromusic' the following year. Man, I watched it over and over and over again.

This afternoon, forty years on, both performances have stood the test of time. It was great to see them on a big screen and through a decent sound system, and I honestly enjoyed every second.

The high point for me, though, was 'The Joy Circuit', from 'Telekon'. I always loved the album version but played live at Wembley it morphed into an absolute beast. Just over halfway through the song, Numan invites one of the support acts*, Nash the Slash, back onto the stage and from that moment on, every time I view it, I get tingles around the back of my neck.

The final moments of the song are burned into my mind: after a mighty crescendo, and as the song slowly eases its way back down to rest, Numan and Nash turn to the band to bring the track to a close. (I just about captured the moment in today's photo.)

For a moment, I was as giddy watching it as I was thirty-nine years ago.

*The other support act was a 'burlesque' pop band called Shock, whose personnel featured Carole Caplin, who who went on to become the style and fitness advisor to Tony and Cherie Blair.

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Reading: 'Touching The Void'.