More than four decades after prematurely bowing out of live performance at Wembley Arena, Gary Numan is returning to the scene of the supposed farewell with A Perfect Circle: Live, a new live album capturing his 2022 headline show at the OVO Arena. The album is out 25th July.
Numan’s original “retirement” gig at Wembley took place in April 1981, when he was just 23. He returned to performing only 18 months later, but it would take another 41 years before he reclaimed that particular stage. The new release, recorded at that long-awaited comeback show, features a full live set and arrives alongside a preview track: a live version of ‘Intruder’, the title track from his 2021 album.
In written reflections accompanying the release, Numan doesn’t hold back:
“When I retired… I undoubtedly did lasting damage to my career… Rebuilding that damaged career back to a level that could see me playing at Wembley once again became an ambition that was to last another forty-one years.”
“Before the show I cried like a baby, overwhelmed in the moment… I don’t think I’ve ever been happier or more grateful.”
A Perfect Circle: Live will be available on triple vinyl with a gatefold sleeve, as a 2CD and Blu-ray set, and digitally.
While Numan’s career never vanished entirely – his cult following remained intact – his mainstream resurgence began in earnest in the 2010s. A run of dark, muscular albums including Splinter (Songs From A Broken Mind), Savage (Songs From A Broken World), and Intruder saw him break back into the Top 20 and twice reach number two in the UK albums chart. These records, more industrial than synthpop, earned fresh critical acclaim and brought new generations to his live shows.
The Wembley performance was a culmination of that journey. As he puts it:
“It was undeniable proof that even though I’d fallen from the mountain… I had crawled my way, slowly but surely, back up it once again.”
Numan will play Glastonbury’s Park Stage on 28th June, his first ever appearance at the festival, nearly 48 years after his debut with Tubeway Army. He’ll also play a string of sold-out warm-up shows in Brighton and Frome.
A Perfect Circle: Live Tracklist:
‘Intruder’
‘Remind Me To Smile’
‘Halo’
‘Metal’
‘Ghost Nation’
‘The Gift’
‘Films’
‘Pure’
‘Resurrection’
‘Down In The Park’
‘Dead Sun Rising’
‘Is This World Not Enough’
‘Everyday I Die’
‘A Black Sun’
‘My Name Is Ruin’
‘Cars’
‘Me! I Disconnect From You’
‘Love Hurt Bleed’
‘The Chosen’
‘We Are Glass’
‘Jo The Waiter’
‘M.E.’
‘A Prayer For The Unborn’
‘Are “Friends” Electric?’
Editors’ Picks
- A Perfect Circle Live
- Gary Numan
- Glastonbury 2025
- Industrial Music
- Live Album
- OVO Arena Wembley
- Synthpop
