High Voltage!

Electro God Numan takes Campus by Storm

It was a night that will live long in the memories of all that witnessed it. The pioneer of electronic music Gary Numan played to a packed-out Campus marking the eleventh show of his Pleasure Principle Tour 2009.

It’s been exactly 30 years since Numan burst onto the New-Wave scene with his fourth single ‘Are Friends Electric?’ reaching the number one spot, and the 51 year old showed no signs of slowing down.

 Glam-Rock band Dirty Harry opened the night, fronted by sassy female singer Victoria Harrison, they got the crowd going with a contrasting mix of sweet and raw rock songs. The Frontwoman was on the top of her game as she dangled provocatively into the crowd before writhing on stage to acclaimed single ‘Dirty Boys and Girls’. It was high tempo start and the perfect opening for the man himself.

Dressed typically in all black, the King of SynthPop emerged on stage in a cloud of smoke, starting his set with a dark-themed synthesised melody before thanking the crowd for their warm reception.

In an energetic performance Numan combined his Electronic roots with his recent Goth metal phase producing brilliant Synth melodies and soaring vocals; But the highlights were the eagerly anticipated nods towards the past and the crowd voiced their appreciation by bellowing every word as Numan performed his most famous song ‘Cars’.

The show gathered momentum as the night wore on,  ’You are in My Vision’ and ‘When the Machines Rock’ went down a storm with the fervent audience and by the time the set reached it’s inevitable conclusion of ‘Are Friends Electric?’ the atmosphere itself was Electrifying.

Grinning from ear-to-ear, the singer couldn’t hide his delight as he made his way from the stage to a chorus of ‘NU-MAN, NU-MAN’, leaving him with a touching reminder that however long he still performs we will always be there, echoing back every word.