On This Day 22/11/1984 Gary Numan

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On this day, 22 November 1984, Synth legend Gary Numan played Cardiff St David’s Hall on The Berserker Tour. Support was provided by Hohokam and Larry Lieberman.

Released on 9 November 1984, Berserker iwas his first album to be released under Numan's own record label, Numa Records.

Gary Numan's recording contract with his previous record label Beggars Banquet had ended with the release of 1983's studio album, Warriors. Disillusioned with record companies, Numan decided to create his own record label, Numa Records, to give himself full control over his recordings, production and marketing. Numan was now free to take his music into a harder direction without interference.

Berserker presented a harder synth, hi-NRG-inspired rock sound than Numan's previous studio albums, with an abundant use of sampling and the distinctive sound of the PPG Wave synthesiser. It developed on the electro-funk sound of Warriors, marking a change from the prominent fretless bass on his previous three studio albums but retaining the female backing vocals and occasional saxophone.

Lyrically, the album has a haunting, dystopian theme.

The poignant track "A Child with the Ghost" was Numan's tribute to his friend and former bassist Paul Gardiner, who died in February 1984 from a heroin overdose. The track was also covered by the duo Tik and Tok on their studio album Intolerance (which featured Numan) the same year. The industrial undertones of the Berserker album would be more fully explored on Numan's next studio album, The Fury (1985).

Numan appeared on the cover (and throughout the subsequent tour) as a white-skinned, white-clad "Iceman" with blue makeup and hair. The album was named after a series of science-fiction novels by Fred Saberhagen, which Numan had read at school.

Gary Numan -Vocals      Rrussell Bell -Guitar, Tambourine, Keyboards, Violin, Guiro, Drum Pads   Cedric Sharpley -Drums & Congas      John Webb -Keyboards & Saxaphone      Chris Payne -Keyboards & Viola      Andy Coughlan -Bass, Drum Pads      Karen Taylor -Backing Vocals

Setlist - The Berserker Tour Concert

01 - Berserker

02 - Metal

03 - Me! I Disconnect From You

04 - Remind Me To Smile

05 - The Secret

06 - Sister Surprise

07 - Music For Chameleons

08 - The Iceman Comes

09 - Cold Warning

10 - Down In The Park

11 - This Prison Moon

12 - I Die: You Die

13 - My Dying Machine

14 - Cars

15 - We Take Mystery (To Bed)

16 - We Are Glass

Encore 1.

17 - This Is New Love

18 - My Shadow In Vain

Encore 2.

19 - Are 'Friends' Electric ?

On This Day 07/09/1987 Gary Numan

On this day, 7 September 1987, synth-pop pioneer Gary Numan played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall, the opening night of his Exhibition Tour. Support was provided by West Won.

In 1987, Numan's old label Beggars Banquet released the best-of compilation Exhibition, which reached No. 43 on the UK Albums Chart, and a remix of "Cars". The remix, titled "Cars (E Reg Model)" charted at No. 16, Numan's final top 20 hit until the 1996 re-release of the same song.

He entered the music industry as frontman of the new wave band Tubeway Army. After releasing two albums with the band, he released his debut solo album The Pleasure Principle in 1979, topping the UK Albums Chart. While his commercial popularity peaked in the late 1970s and early 1980s with hits including "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars" (both of which reached number one on the UK Singles Chart), Numan maintains a cult following. He has sold over 10 million records.

Numan faced intense hostility from critics and fellow musicians in his early career, but has since come to be regarded as a pioneer of electronic music. He developed a signature sound consisting of heavy synthesiser hooks fed through guitar effects pedals, and is also known for his distinctive voice and androgynous "android" persona. In 2017, he received an Ivor Novello Award, the Inspiration Award, from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors.

Band Members

Gary Numan - Vocals

Rrussell Bell - Guitar

Greg Brimstone - Drums

John Webb - Keyboards

Chris Payne - Keyboards

Nick Davis - Bass

Emma Chalmers - Backing Vocals

Valerie Chalmers - Backing Vocals

Setlist

01 - Call Out The Dogs

02 - I Die: You Die

03 - Creatures

04 - I Can't Stop

05 - Me! I Disconnect From You

06 - Tricks

07 - The Sleeproom

08 - My Breathing

09 - Strange Charm

10 - Cars

11 - Metal

12 - Sister Surprise

13 - This Disease

14 - We Take Mystery (To Bed)

15 - We Are Glass

16 - Are 'Friends' Electric ?

Encore 1.

17 - Down In The Park

18 - My Shadow In Vain

Encore 2.

19 - Berserker