Icon delivers a visceral fusion of industrial energy and dark drama during electrifying Glastonbury warm-up set
Gary Numan live at the Cheese & Grain, Frome, 27 June 2025
★★★★★
With three Glastonbury warm-up gigs in Brighton booked prior to Gary Numan’s landmark appearance on The Park Stage this weekend, the addition of a Frome date came somewhat out of the blue… not least for the Cheese & Grain itself. Speaking to Classic Pop ahead of the show, programme and production manager Robert Dahl said: “It’s funny because we saw the Brighton shows were happening, and Gary posted on his social media that they were looking for another warm-up but hadn’t been able to find one – which seemed ridiculous! Why no one had bitten his hand off was beyond me. So we jumped straight on to it and emailed his agent saying, ‘We’d very much like a Gary Numan show, please’. They were very receptive to the idea, because we’ve got a good history of doing Glastonbury warm-up shows.”
Having Emily Eavis as a patron has no doubt helped the (relatively) small venue play host to arena-sized headline acts such as Paul McCartney and Foo Fighters in the past. This week alone, it welcomed sold-out shows by CMAT and Wunderhorse with The Selecter playing too – but Numan’s appearance caused particular delight. “We’ve had a really nice cross section of gigs this year,” continued Dahl, “but Gary Numan was definitely one of the fastest-selling shows that we’ve ever had, and we could’ve sold the place out three or four times over. Gary is a name that we’ve always wanted to bring to the venue, but didn’t necessarily think we would. Having an icon like him on that stage is amazing, and we’re all very excited to have him here.”
Picture credit: Cara-Jayne Bentley
Sweet Dreams
As the venue fills with a diverse range of fans – from original silver-haired Numanoids to the charcoal-eyed teen goths – Classic Pop quickly asks Robert if there are any particular songs he’s hoping to hear? “Well, he’s got such a rich catalogue of incredible tracks. Of course, I would love to hear the obvious ones – Are ‘Friends’ Electric?, Cars, Down In The Park – but I really like his newer stuff from Intruder too, like I Am Screaming, The Gift, The Chosen, The End Of Dragons. But let’s be honest, whatever he plays, it’s gonna be great and I think everyone’s going to be blown away by it regardless.”
So on to the show, and special mention first must be made for local support act Sweet Machine. Drawing influence from the likes of John Foxx, Human League, OMD, Kraftwerk, Soft Cell and, undoubtedly, Gary Numan himself, the synthpop stylings of the duo’s original numbers all sound strangely familiar – not so much a tribute act, more an affectionate homage to full-on 80s pop.
Just as night follows day, the contrast between the light electronica of Sweet Machine and the industrial-strength onslaught of the main event is palpable. Hitting the stage with a blistering blast through Halo from 2006’s Jagged, before tearing into The Chosen from Intruder, Numan is greeted by an enraptured audience like the all-conquering hero he truly is. Welcome to Numan’s deliciously dark dystopian future.
Picture credit: Cara-Jayne Bentley
Deliciously Dark
Flanked by bassist Tim Slade and guitarist Steve Harris, the relentlessly recognisable opening refrain of The Pleasure Principle’s Metal is reimagined as a metallic monster before the singer straps on his guitar for a run through a mighty, melodramatic In A Dark Place. Stalking the shadows, the showman is visibly in his element – the peace of Glastonbury’s Park Stage won’t know what’s hit it. And one must wonder what some of the more casual followers in attendance tonight might be thinking too, before Numan reveals the ace up his tattooed sleeve: Cars. As David Brooks’ sublime synth heralds the opening to the groundbreaking UK chart-topper a sea of phone cameras capture the moment as Jimmy Lucido belts out the unremitting beat on the drums to ferocious effect.
Following earth-shattering renditions of Haunted and Everything Comes Down To This, the rock star icon turns proud-as-punch father when daughter Raven joins him on stage for her atmospheric Nothing’s What It Seems, before her younger sibling Persia provides vocals on a haunting My Name Is Ruin.
Picture credit: Cara-Jayne Bentley
Pleasure Principle
Too cold to hold when it topped the charts for four weeks in the summer of 1979, Tubeway Army’s timeless classic Are ‘Friends’ Electric? is simply too hot to handle tonight, as the intense heat inside the Cheese & Grain reaches pressure-cooker levels. “So it’s time to leave, you see it meant everything to me,” Numan talk-sings – and you get the impression that being on stage in this moment truly does mean everything. However, it’s not time to leave just yet, as the doom-laden one-two knockout punches of Down In The Park and M.E. sets everything up for the finale of Pray For The Pain You Serve and I Die You Die – the latter a delightful taste of what’s to come when Numan tours the 45th anniversary of Telekon in November.
With a polite, “Thank you very much, I really appreciate it,” Numan returns for a swift two-song encore of Films – the fourth and final Pleasure Principle outing we are treated to tonight – and closer Here In The Black. Taking time to share bottled water with fans at the front, Numan must relish the intimacy of nights like this.
Here In The Black
As fans escape into the cool black night, Classic Pop happens upon a smiling Robert Dahl, proud of a job well done: “I really think the Cheese & Grain’s industrial aesthetic suited Gary and I hope he enjoyed his time here in Frome.”
“Shows like this are vital because they highlight how there are venues outside of the big cities,” he continued. “Everyone is aware of the struggles live music and small grassroot venues like us face. Big names like Gary Numan certainly draw attention, but I’m very proud of the work we do every day of the year and all the shows we put on in Frome.”
Posters on the wall highlight an incredible array of Classic Pop friendly acts coming soon: Supergrass (11 July), Kate Nash (24 July), Teenage Fanclub (9 August), Heaven 17 (15 August), The South (20 September), Dodgy (10 October), Gary Kemp (11 October), Wendy James (14 October), Stewart Copeland (16 October), New Model Army (17 October), The Orb (13 December) and many more. For information click here
Pictures courtesy of Cara-Jayne Bentley
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