GARY NUMAN + AGENCY-V – CONCORDE 2, BRIGHTON 23.6.25
Numanoids within striking distance of Brighton (or indeed from further afield) can probably barely believe their luck that their favourite artiste Gary Numan has chosen to play not one but three warm-ups for Glastonbury Festival at the town’s relatively small Concorde 2 venue. He also plays Frome Cheese and Grain on Friday 27th June, prior to playing Glastonbury’s Park Stage on Saturday 28th June. The next time Gary Numan plays in Brighton on 22nd November, it will be at the 5,000 capacity Brighton Centre. As can be imagined, tickets to see him at a venue with a capacity of 650 sold out very quickly.
However, before we are entertained by Gary, support comes from Agency-V. The three members of the band have all been active on the electronica scene for a few years, without breaking through to mainstream success. That may be about to change though. One or two of their recorded songs have something of a ‘generic 1980s’ sound about them. This is absolutely not the case live. Their sound is much beefier and their industrial rock side is much more to the fore. The guitar in particular adds to the muscularity of the music. From the outset there’s something about them that says “we mean business”.
‘Who We Used To Be’ is a new and unreleased song. At one point the guitar and keyboards solo in unison, which adds to the power of the sound. Keyboardist Lloyd Price has a worried look on his face for much of the set. If he is worried then he shouldn’t be: what’s coming out of the speakers is sounding pretty good. For ‘We Can Erase You’ guitarist Peter Steer switches from a Yamaha SF-700 Superfighter (as used by Stuart Adamson in the Skids) to an Epiphone Les Paul. The crunchier guitar sound suits the song, and coincidentally makes it sound as if it could have come from the first Tubeway Army LP! They cover ‘Stupid Girl’ by Garbage, and more than do it justice. However, their own material is excellent and they really don’t need to be playing covers. Throughout the set, singer Marie Williamson’s vocals are crystalline yet dispassionate. Her icy coolness suits the songs to a tee.
Agency-V are a band who really should be going somewhere. I have a chat with Lloyd Price after the gig, and he tells me that their next gig is supporting Ultra: Foxx (an Ultravox tribute band!) at the Fiddler’s Elbow in Camden on Saturday. I can’t believe that Agency-V are supporting a tribute band. They’re far better than that. It could be worse I suppose: they could be supporting a puppet show. Apart from that, they play Stratford Cart & Horses on 13th September, supporting Inertia. I don’t like to make predictions about band’s futures, but Agency-V are going to be big. It’s just that nobody knows it yet.
Agency-V:
Marie Williamson – vocals
Lloyd Price – synths and programming
Peter Steer – guitar
Agency-V setlist:
‘Dangerous Ground’ (from 2025 ‘Never Meant To Be’ album)
‘Freaking Out’ (from 2025 ‘Never Meant To Be’ album)
‘Pray For The Sun’ (from 2025 ‘Never Meant To Be’ album)
‘Who We Used To Be’ (unreleased)
‘We Can Erase You’ (from 2025 ‘Never Meant To Be’ album)
‘Stupid Girl’ (Garbage cover) (from 2025 ‘Never Meant To Be’ album)
‘Give It Up’ (from 2025 ‘Never Meant To Be’ album)
‘This Time’ (from 2025 ‘Never Meant To Be’ album)
Cometh the hour, cometh the man, and pretty much on the dot of 9pm Gary Numan and his band take the stage. Opener ‘Halo’ is pleasingly industrial sounding, and that song very much sets the tone for the evening. During ‘The Chosen’ the lighting more or less makes the band invisible. I pity any photographers in the pit. Their job isn’t being made easy! Drummer Jimmy Lucido is in the corner of the stage, stage left. For some reason I always find it a bit disconcerting when the drummer is on one side of the stage. I guess I feel that the proper position for a drummer is to be centre at the back of the stage. Obviously this has no adverse affect on the sound of the band, but it does kind of make the band look lopsided.
During ‘Metal’ Gary tries to get the crowd to clap along. However at this fairly early stage in proceedings there are surprisingly few takers. At one point he appears to almost hang over the crowd, which must be an optical illusion, right? Recently I saw it in writing that Gary Numan is 67. It somehow didn’t look right. I think in my mind Gary stopped ageing at some point in his early fifties. So this might just mean that he’s in receipt of his state pension. Still, he must give hope to anyone else in their sixties!!!!
It can’t be denied that Gary Numan ‘does’ atmosphere very well. The music and the performance thereof conspire to take the audience somewhere else. It’s a wonderful way to escape the ever more worrying outside world. For ‘Pure’ Gary is toting a Gibson Les Paul, just like the one he’s photographed holding on the inside sleeve of the first Tubeway Army album. Tonight I’m pretty sure Gary plays more guitar than I’ve ever seen him play. In three years’ time it will be the 50th anniversary of the aforementioned Tubeway Army album. Maybe Gary subconsciously has that in mind. ‘Cars’ is fairly faithful to the original version, but in an industrial rock kinda way. Thankfully Gary doesn’t repeat the excruciating dance that he performed on ‘Top Of The Pops’ back in the dim distant past. It’s probably on YouTube if you really want to know what I’m talking about. Dance or no dance, the song’s an undeniable highlight.
I must confess that I prefer Gary Numan’s industrial rock incarnation rather than his former electropop musical persona. The music somehow seems more ‘real’ and certainly more mature. He sounds like he means it, whereas that wasn’t necessarily the case in his youth. Also, his vocals are far better than they were back in the day.
Gary is joined by his daughter Raven to perform one of her new unreleased songs, ‘Nothing’s What It Seems’, which is an impressive slab of gothic industrial rock. I wouldn’t say that it’s influenced by Raven’s dad’s work per se, but it nonetheless fits in well with it. Gary adds few vocals, but bashes away on his Les Paul beside his daughter while she does the vocal heavy lifting. ‘My Name Is Ruin’ demonstrates what a hell of a frontman Gary has developed into over the years. He has the audience hanging on his every word and every movement that he makes. There’s plenty of light and shade in Gary’s music, as demonstrated by ‘A Prayer For The Unborn’. For the middle eight the song is borne entirely by the keyboards, before the whole band comes crashing in again. Great stuff!
‘Are ‘Friends’ Electric?’ is clearly going to be the final song of Gary’s Glastonbury set (this is a warm-up – remember?). As with ‘Cars’ it’s a faithful albeit industrial rock infused version. It’s not the last song played tonight however. Having got the Glastonbury set out of the way, Gary can now play what he likes! However, it can’t be denied that ‘Down In The Park’ from Tubeway Army’s ‘Replicas’ album is something of a crowd-pleaser! Gary is back on Les Paul for ‘In A Dark Place’ from the appropriately titled ‘Jagged’ album. The set ends with ‘I Die: You Die’ from ‘Telekon’, which Gary will be touring in November to mark the 45th anniversary of its release. It’s such a long time ago! It barely seems possible.
Naturally, 650 rabid Numanoids aren’t going to let him go just like that are they? Of course not! There’s a maelstrom of applause until the great man and his band return. Gary is on keyboards for ‘M.E’, and again briefly for ‘Here In The Black’. This has been something of a masterclass tonight. If any younger bands are unsure about how industrial electronica should be done, well, this is how.
Gary Numan:
Gary Numan – lead vocals, keyboard, guitar
Steve Harris – electric guitar
Tim Slade – bass
David Brooks – keyboards and programming
Jimmy Lucido – drums
Raven Numan – vocals
Gary Numan setlist:
‘Halo’ (from 2006 ‘Jagged’ album)
‘The Chosen’ (from 2021 ‘Intruder’ album)
‘Metal’ (from 1979 ‘The Pleasure Principle’ album)
‘Love Hurt Bleed’ (from 2013 ‘Splinter (Songs From A Broken Mind)’ album)
‘Pure’ (from 2000 ‘Pure’ album)
‘Cars’ (from 1979 ‘The Pleasure Principle’ album)
‘Haunted’ (from 2006 ‘Jagged’ album)
‘Everything Comes Down To This’ (from 2013 ‘Splinter (Songs From A Broken Mind)’ album)
‘Nothing’s What It Seems’ (with Raven Numan) (unreleased Raven Numan song)
‘My Name Is Ruin’ (from 2017 ‘Savage (Songs From A Broken World)’ album)
‘A Prayer For The Unborn’ (from 2000 ‘Pure’ album)
‘Are ‘Friends’ Electric?’ (from 1979 ‘Replicas’ album)
‘Down In The Park’ (from 1979 ‘Replicas’ album)
‘In A Dark Place’ (from 2006 ‘Jagged’ album)
‘The Gift’ (from 2021 ‘Intruder’ album)
‘I Die: You Die’ (from 1980 ‘Telekon’ album – cassette version)
(encore)
‘M.E.’ (from 1979 ‘The Pleasure Principle’ album)
‘Here In The Black’ (from 2013 ‘Splinter (Songs From A Broken Mind)’ album)
Thank you for a fantastic review, cannot wait till November
Great reading as always Nick!
Funny how some people still look down on tribute bands — meanwhile, I’ve spent years touring the world as a professional musician in them. It’s paid for three kids’ private schooling and three houses. While some critics write condescending reviews, we’re out here filling venues, building careers, and making serious money. A lot of tribute acts gross more than the original bands ever did. If that’s not success, what is? Snobbery doesn’t pay the bills — talent and hard work do.