Gary Numan The Dome Brighton 3rd June 2012

This was something of an anniversary gig for me. The last time I saw Gary Numan in Brighton was in 1984 at the same venue on the 'Berserker' tour. On that night, as tonight, he opened the set with the same 'Berserker' and just for a moment I am left standing, thinking what on earth happened to the intervening 28 years!! One difference is standing to my left in the form of my son Rudi, who at 14 is just one year younger than when I was here in '84.

The Dome is slightly different nowadays. In 1984 it was mostly seated, as well as I remember after taking a backward tumble during the opening song as the cinema style seat closed up on me!

Tonight I was here mainly to see some old friends and for Rudi's sake. He is now into the industrial music scene and this is the general direction that Numan has moved in over the last 10 years or so.

High points of the evening for me were 'That's Too Bad' and 'Bombers' (regular visitors to this blog will appreciate that early Tubeway Army mean a lot to me).

'That's Too Bad'

The Dome Brighton 3rd June 2012

A very poignant moment came with a rendition of 'Love Needs No Disguise' (a Dramatis track for which Numan guested on vocals) which was dedicated to Ced Sharpley, Gary's long standing drummer, who suffered a fatal heart attack recently. For this tribute, another couple of early Numan stalwarts, namely Rrussell Bell and Chris Payne, were invited onto the stage.... yet more echoes of 1984. They were later to return to the stage for 'Are Friends Electric?' and thus the evening drew to a close.

'Love Needs No Disguise'

The Dome Brighton 3rd June 2012

Once again, since the mid-90's (when Numan massively reassessed his career  and managed to get it back on track) I left the gig reminded of what a pioneering musician he was both musically and visually.

'Absolution'

The Dome Brighton 3rd June 2012