GARY NUMAN -Telekon Tour supported by his daughter Raven Numan-Birmingham O2 Academy

Gary Numan’s Telekon Tour wasn’t just a nostalgia trip — it was a vivid reminder of how forward-thinking and emotionally icy that 1980 album truly was. Performing Telekon in full, Numan brought a sense of theatrical focus and machine-age drama that made the record feel startlingly contemporary.

Raven Numan
Raven Numan continued her steady emergence as a compelling live performer on Saturday night with a focused and atmospheric set at the O2 Academy Birmingham. Performing ahead of her father Gary Numan’s Telekon show, she drew a sizable early crowd and held their attention with notable confidence.
Numan’s music — a blend of dark pop, electronic textures and understated industrial elements — suited the venue’s already moody staging. She established a cool, controlled presence, her vocals delivered with clarity against pulsing bass and sparse synth lines.
Visually, Numan kept things minimal: subdued lighting, limited movement, and an emphasis on atmosphere over theatrics. It proved effective. Her band, tight and unobtrusive, provided a strong foundation without drawing attention away from the spotlight.
At just 20, Raven Numan is still early in her career, but her Birmingham appearance underlined a performer who is developing quickly and confidently.

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And now for the main event… Walking onstage in moody red and black lighting that echoed the album’s iconic artwork, Numan set the tone instantly: claustrophobic, electric, and unapologetically synth-driven. From the opening pulses of This Wreckage to the brooding atmosphere of Remind Me to Smile, he leaned hard into the album’s tension — a portrait of an artist wrestling with fame, paranoia, and emotional distance.

What made this performance so effective was the live reinvention. Tracks that were once sleek and minimal now arrived with heavier percussion, deeper bass, and a more industrial edge. I Die: You Die hit with particular force, its chant-like chorus igniting the crowd into a unified surge of movement. I Dream of Wires meanwhile, became a highlight — colder, sharper, and somehow more human in its loneliness.
It was at the end of an emotional rendition of Please Push No More that Numan physically broke down and his wife Gemma came onto stage to comfort him. He then announced he had received some bad news on the morning of the gig but did not allude to what it was.
Numan’s stage presence is raw physicality as he prowled the stage with a ritualistic intensity, transforming the austere synth lines into something visceral. The band, tight and aggressive, gave the older material a muscular modern spine without losing its vintage electronic DNA.
After the Telekon album concluded, Numan delivered a selection of fan-favourite encores that bridged eras — from the stoic futurism of “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” to the evergreen pulse of  Down In The Park These moments didn’t overshadow Telekon; instead, they contextualised it, showing how much of his catalogue flows from that pivotal 1980 experiment.

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The Telekon Tour is more than a celebration of a classic album — it is a reclamation of it. Darker, heavier, and more emotionally resonant than the original recordings, Numan proved that Telekon remains a blueprint for electronic music with teeth. A stunning fusion of past and present from an artist still evolving.

1. This Wreckage
2. Remind to Smile
3. Remember I was Vapour
4. I Dream of Wires
5. Telekon
6. Sleep by Windows
7. A Game Called Echoes
8. Photograph
9. Please Push No More
10. Like a B-Film
11. The Aircrash Bureau
12. I’m an Agent
13. The Joy Circuit
14. I Die : You Die
15. We are Glass
16. Encore:
17. My Shadow in Vain
    (Tubeway Army)
18. Listen to the Sirens
    (Tubeway Army song)
19. Down in thw Park
    (Tubeway Armysong)