Gary Numan: Master of Time
Words by Mickey McCarter
Photos by Katherine Gaines
Time has been good to Gary Numan, the storied synth-driven post-punk Englishman who woke up the UK with his iconic No. 1 single “Are Friends Electric?” in 1979. Today, Gary, now a Los Angeleno, performs the ground-breaking song live alongside other late ’70s gems, and he’s rightfully hailed as an innovator of the first order, as seen recently at Baltimore Soundstage.
In a sold-out show at Baltimore Soundstage on March 14, a crowd dominated by enthusiastic Gen X folks danced and swayed the night away as Gary and his band visited on a 2026 North American tour. Gary last released a studio album in 2021, but his performances are so in demand that he can rove from city to city with a mix of his very early tunes and his 21st century more overtly industrial numbers to well-deserved acclaim.
To my immense satisfaction, the record that shined the most at Baltimore Soundstage was 1979’s The Pleasure Principle, technically Gary’s first solo album after he broke up Tubeway Army, the outfit he created to start his career. Early in the show, Gary performed “Metal,” “Films,” and “ME” from that album, and he hit the enduring pop hit “Cars” wit his 21st century take on it at the two-thirds point of the show.
Watch Gary Numan perform “Cars” live at OVO Arena Wembley via YouTube:
When performing, Gary loses himself in the music. He uses his body like an instrument, thrashing in time to the rhythms of the songs. He whips his head and throws his hands into the air. He’s clearly keeping himself in shape; women in the crowd bobbed for position to catch a look at a flash of his ruggedly handsome face. Again, time has been good to the man!
In the ensuing decades since 1979, Gary also has emerged as an authentic and well-spoken person, giving friends and admirers a full picture of a humble guy who loves his family and means well. Gary is a family man, and this is one of the defining characteristics of who is is today. And so, the audience was pleased to welcome daughter Raven Numean to the stage in the middle of the concert for a performance of her own “Nothing’s What It Seems.” While Raven gave the show a touch of new, however, the crowd was very happy to get back to Gary’s legacy and modern classics.
In the latter half of the show, highlights included selections from Splinter: Songs from a Broken Mind (2013) and Savage: Songs from a Broken Road (2017), notably “Is This World Not Enough” and “My Name Is Ruin,” respectively. He closed the main set with “Are Friends Electric?” — that remarkable Tubeway Army song from the excellent album Replicas. He wrapped with a two-song encore, circling back to Savage for “Ghost Nation” at the end.
Watch the official music video for “My Name Is Ruin” by Gary Numan on YouTube:
Gary Numan was in very fine form in Baltimore in a picture-perfect show. The concert captured everything that makes the man so compelling nearly 50 years after his first album. He’s one of a kind and clearly a master of time.
Here are some photos of Gary Numan performing live at Baltimore Soundstage on March 14, 2026. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Katherine Gaines.
