Back in 2022, Gary Numan stated that he really didn’t expect his comeback to take 41 years. Maybe four, he suggested with a laugh. Of course, Numan never quite left the spotlight – the ‘comeback’ in question only refers to his return to big stadiums. And in particular a return to Wembley – something of a symbolic and anxiety-ridden journey for Numan; coming full circle after previously announcing his farewell from live shows at the capital’s stadium in 1981.

Numan at the Agra Hall in Liepzig, June 2022. Photo by Stefan Bollmann, Wikimedia Commons.

Glastonbury at last

Fast-forward again to 2025, and Numan needn’t look back now. Fresh off the back of a stellar Glastonbury debut aged 67, he’ll be embarking on both a US and UK tour starting in the autumn.

But this – amazingly first ever – Glasto appearance wasn’t just a novelty because of how late in his life it happened. In fact, the turnout at the Park Stage to see the new-wave singer points towards a prevalence and relevance that can never fade.

Gothic icon?

At any of his new shows, you’ll find a crowd plenty full of silver hair, but balanced equally with plenty of young heads. Who, in fitting fashion, might also still have a deliberate silverish look in their hair.

Numan’s place as a goth artist has always been a touchy subject in the goth community. He came from humble, working-class roots, and his handling of fame was almost punk-like.

But his popularity amongst the masses and the unapologetic pop-appeal of tracks like Cars left him on the gothic side-lines for many years, in spite of his undeniable role in pioneering dark, electronic sounds. Even in a forum from 1999, Google users still bickered over the subject.

As a pretty avid Numan fan, I could dispute this by simply referencing the fact that he tried to sign gothic icons Depeche Mode after seeing them in 1979, as told to Amoeba in 2013. But now, to the kids of today, his status is totally undisputed anyway.

One TikTok video by silver dance creator Lunie Moon depicts her dancing expressively and enigmatically to Numan’s M.E. One young user in the comments stated: ‘I see my future and it’s bright.’

@luniemoon Post punk dystopia Sunday vibes. #garynuman #danceimprovisation #kitchendance #80smusic #dancelife #fitcheck ♬ M.E. – Gary Numan

Numanoids: the Numanites and Numanarti

The fairly recent introduction of TikTok and Instagram reels has been pivotal in younger people discovering his music. During the pandemic, the shared boredom of lockdown saw younger users form communities and shared meaning after becoming inspired by the lives, oral histories, or even just the vibe of certain older users, such as Lunie (above).

The masses of this content resulted in certain elements of goth and other subcultures becoming absorbed into an all-encompassing subculture, umbrella term, and stylised hegemony of ‘alternative’, or simply known as ‘alt’ – where it is often used as a self-describing label.

The fact that Numan has prevailed as a key alternative idol probably says enough about his relevance in goth and popular culture. Cars has been used in over 50,000 videos on TikTok, and features on 15,000 Instagram reels along with plenty more of his tracks hitting the thousands on both platforms.

Furthermore, there’s also the hugely popular samples of Numan out there, such as the use of not one – but two – samples in Basement Jaxx’ Where’s Your Head At. Such uses (honourable shoutout to the Suga Babes’ Freak Like Me) demonstrate how beloved and important his music is to all generations.

M.E’ is used in Where’s Your Head At‘s bassline and ‘This Wreckage’ for the bridge, for those interested.

On a fan level, one user calls Are Friends Electric a ‘retro banger’, whilst comments under videos of Numan posted by his daughters Raven and Persia state how much of a ‘flex’ it is to have him as a father, or call Numan an icon.

@ravennuman uh what the hellyberry #garynuman #fyp ♬ original sound – FreshOutTheCrate

@debussywoman Since dads song is trending rn @Gary Numan #garynuman #fypviralシ #fypシ ♬ original sound – FreshOutTheCrate

It’s clear that Numanoids are no longer just the hardcore fans that stuck with Numan throughout his live hiatus the (the -oids). They are now those who continued to be inspired by Numan, either abstractly as fans, or by creating work derivative of his gritty synth sounds (the –arti). The amount of eighties-reminiscent tracks and an ‘edgy’ wave is monumental, and truly dominates pop music at the moment.

But of course this in itself is still nothing new. Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor claimed to have listened to the track every day in the making of his band’s album Pretty Hate Machine. All roads lead back to Gary.

Even his daughters clearly find their father cool, both during and after growing up. All three have featured on stage multiple times in the past few years. Raven and Persia – his eldest and middle children – even had their own spotlight as artists during his Glastonbury show. Raven performed one of her own songs, which she co-wrote with her father, entitled Nothing’s What It Seems, while Persia contributed backing vocals to the song My Name Is Ruin.

I can tell you now, there’s not a whole host of dads out there who can wear that badge.

The new sound: he’s gone electric again

Numan’s new work brilliantly reflects both his own evolution and his absorption (or at the least recognition) of the changing world around him. His 2021 album, Intruder (which hit No.2 in the UK charts) features heavy use of guitars combined with industrial soundscapes. Whilst these sonics are distinctively him, and certainly resemble his 1980 album Telekon, it meets the ears as cinematic, eerie, and brooding. A fresh and fitting feel for the 2020s.

The future of Numan’s music will likely continue to reflect this mutual influence, where the new world and younger generations around him affect him as much as he might affect them. Speaking to BBC 6 Music, out of all his back catalogue he was most excited to play the new, unreleased song titled Nothing’s What it Seems, which he wrote with Raven.

@bbc6music Synth-pop legend @garynuman makes his Glasto debut a family affair. Listen on @bbcsounds | Watch on #bbciplayer ♬ original sound – BBC Radio 6 Music

Catch him while you can

Off the back of the US tour, and starting off with a show at the 02 Academy in Glasgow and finishing at Liverpool’s 02 this November, there’s plenty of opportunities along the way to catch Numan performing the classics with an extra chance to catch his inevitable next sound.

Find Gary Numan tour dates

For those interested, the run up to Numan’s Wembley homecoming is documented in the documentary Gary Numan: Resurrection, and you can fill in the other gaps with his 2017 autobiography ‘(R)EVOLUTION’.

Numan’s new album A Perfect Circle: Live is out now.

Finn Norris

Finn is a writer and musician. He has written on internet culture, technology, and reviewed music, film, and television. When not frantically tapping away he can be found kicking back with the simpler things: coffee, cats, and football.

The post Gary Numan, Gen Z and beyond: why all ages are tuning in appeared first on Silver Magazine.

Mods, rockers, skinheads, hippies, punks, goths – whether you subscribed to a specific subculture or not (maybe you’re more a fields of wheat type), the chances are that you ‘grew out of it’. Joined the rest of the norms, and moved forward into a more sedate look and life at some point. But that’s not the case for everyone.

Pauline Grace, 51, Goth, Birmingham

Young Pauline

I’m a lecturer, and when I first started working at the university it was constantly assumed that I was a student rather than staff because of how I looked. I’ve been dressing much the same way since the 1980s. I was a huge fan of the New Romantic sound, and the idea that music, fashion, and way of life could be something other than blonde highlighted hair and a suntan was deeply appealing to me.

I was also really influenced by punk even though I was too young for the movement. The anti-authoritarian swagger, and the fact that women were not meant to be pretty or quiet drew me in. I hated school, and was defined by the state as a ‘chronic non-attender’. But I would go to the local library instead and read DH Lawrence or Sylvia Plath. I was never going to be ‘trendy’ or ‘normal’, but my sense of adventure and artistic expression firmly found a home amongst my goth tribe. I loved the gender-bending nature of it, too – some of my boyfriends wore more makeup than me!

Pauline now

I do not give a flying feck what people think about my style

Before I became a lecturer, I was a youth worker, and my appearance helped me build relationships with young people who may also have been considered outsiders. A shared interest in alternative music helped, too. I still listen now to the bands of my youth – Bauhaus, Alien Sex Fiend, the Cure and The Sisters of Mercy.

The sense of freedom that I found in my teenage years has been amplified in my 50’s. I do not give a flying feck what people think about my ‘style’. I dye and cut my own hair, and although my obsession with black has lessened, I am still heavily influenced by the colour, and my old outfits – I still have my first pair of Dr Marten boots. They are in a sad state, but man, have they seen some action!

Ian Blyth, 73, Rocker, Stratford upon Avon

Ian then

I joined the rocker youth culture in 1962 after admiring a Triumph 350 motorcycle. I decided there and then that motorcycling had to play a part in my life. Then came a gradual slide into the world of the leather clad rocker. The jacket and jeans became a recognisable uniform, and identified youths of a like mind throughout the country.

The social scene was changing rapidly at the time, most noticeably the clashes between Mods and Rockers. I was quite happy to bask in the reflected notoriety of lurid press reports of mayhem caused by youths on motorcycles! My first clash with the ‘establishment’ was when I had a job with the Ordnance Survey. I could see nothing wrong with going into work on a Friday in my studded leather jacket and jeans, ready for the off at the start of the weekend. The OS was not quite ready for this though, and after a few months of my obstinately sticking to my unconventional dress code, we parted company.

The bikes and the culture have lasted a lifetime

Now I’m in my 70s, I don’t do group riding anymore, but I still own two bikes, and attend themed meetings at the Ace Café.  I still dress the part, and choose events that reflect the culture I grew up with – the 60s and the Cafe Racer bikers of the time.

Ian now

I have eight grandchildren and three great grandchildren, and while the ‘greats’ are too young to know what drives their great grandad, the grandchildren tell me to go for it. My contemporaries may wonder if I’m getting a little too old to be cavorting about on two wheels, but no one has actually inferred that I should sink sedately into my dotage.

I think the only limitations are my own inhibitions as, unlike in my youth, it concerns me now as to how I am perceived. There’s no rocking and rolling now, and to borrow a line from Blackadder, the days of roaring, rogering, gorging and puking are long gone, if they really existed in the first place. The bikes and the culture have lasted a lifetime though, and I hope will stay with me to the last.

Louise Bolotin, 58, Punk, Manchester

Louise then

At 18 I acquired the leather biker jacket I still wear. It turned 40 on my last birthday, and looks more battered than me. The jacket was a present from my parents, who hated how I looked and threw me out at 16 for dyeing my hair grass green. It’s my second skin and it’s rare I go out without it.

I was 14 in the summer of ’76, when punk splattered its way into public consciousness, and that was the start of cementing my look. I was already dressing myself with charity shop finds as I hated the ugly 70s sartorial norms of hippy flares or Bay City Rollers tartan. Never a girly girl, punk enabled me to be as butch as I pleased, and it pleased me a lot.  I made a lot of my own clothes back then, supplemented with 60s vintage.

My hair is currently metallic purple

In the past I toned down my look a bit for staff jobs, but after turning freelance, I donated the office wear to charity shops and I now dress as I please. My look has evolved over the decades – more grown up and polished, less overt punk but still ‘me’. My base uniform is the biker jacket, skinny jeans (or drainpipes as we called them back then) and Chelsea boots, with a rotating top half of funky print shirts, tunics or hoodies, plus a lot of animal print, although I also still wear my punk mohair from 1979.

Louise later

My hair is currently metallic purple and I get a lot of compliments in the street, from younger people as well as women of my age who sidle up to tell me they wished they had the balls to colour their hair. My husband loves how I look, but I really don’t care what anyone thinks – I’m very comfortable in my skin and dress only to please myself. I like what I see in the mirror. 

Since the first publication of this article, Louise sadly passed away from bowel cancer in 2022. You can read an obituary here. It was noted at her funeral that “she never put up with anything just because convention dictated that she should.” Louise Bolotin, 1961-2022

Chris Wheal, 54, Skinhead, London

Chris then

Riding motorbikes, as I have done since I left home aged 18 on Vespa scooter, means a skinhead cut has always been most practical for me. My look has always had to be compromise between what I wanted and what I could get away with. I once came home with a Mohican and my mum made my sister cut it off, but as I’ve got older, and society has become more accepting of different styles, I compromise less.

My mum taught me to sew when I was young, and I have modified my clothing ever since. I no longer taper cricket whites like I did when I was a teenager, but every new pair of Levis gets the legs taken in to make them into drainpipes.

My brief full-on skinhead spell coincided badly with the association of skinheads with the far right

Throughout my working life I’ve had to conform with suits and ties, but these days offices are full of people in different fashions. I might still smarten up with button-down collar shirts, but the jeans and DMs always get an airing – I first started wearing them at school when I convinced my mum that everyone else did. I do posses a suit, but it’s a Ben Sherman, and I bought a pair of oxblood brogue boots described as ‘Hard Mod/Smart Skin’.

Chris now

My brief full-on skinhead spell coincided badly with the association of skinheads with the far right National Front, so although I’d really got into reggae and ska, people would make the wrong assumptions. Never smart enough to be a Mod, I loved all the bands (I still go to see The Chords UK regularly). I was really a late punk. I saw Belfast punk rockers Stiff Little Fingers for the first time in 1981, aged 15, and last  year I went to Glasgow with my wife to see them two nights in a row.

When I look back and see photos of me in my black jeans and oxblood DMs on my wedding day 27 years ago, I wonder have I been consistent, or just boring? I do know though that by wearing the same clothes for all these years, I have come back into fashion three times…

Read Mark Little’s article on the Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test

Stella Ralfini, 73, Hippy, Hertford

Stella then

My dress style now, at 73, remains psychedelically bold, to express the colour of my hippy soul.

There was never a question of me toning down with age, and as a youngster, my parents loved the ‘Ban the Bomb’, flowers-in-hair young woman that I was. There was a point where I embarrassed my daughter, but these days she regards me as cuckoo but cool.

I am a bit too hippy for most guys though, which affects relationships. Whilst they accept me blinding them with my colourful clothes, they don’t tend to share my wanderlust sense of adventure, and have mostly never lived in a hippie commune, smoked cannabis or protested for world peace like I have, so they find me odd.

I will fight to keep hippy love alive until the day I die

In the 70s, I was working in the music business as personal assistant to the Rolling Stones – I like to think I balanced their wild side with my hippy calm! Earlier this year I published a book called Rock ‘N’ Roll Mayhem 1970, the proceeds of which will benefit people in Africa, because a hippy represents the embodiment of love, something sadly missing in today’s world.

Stella now, in her ‘70s dress

Had it not been for Covid, I would have been attending a very special hippy love gathering in Hyde Park last year.  I would have worn a dress which was made for me in 1970 and has lots of memories attached to it. I wore it when chatting to George Harrison about spiritual teachers in India, and at a party where Cat Stevens was strumming Peace Train.

Imagine droves of folk in their sixties and upwards dressed in hippy threads coming together to picnic, and share world love. That dream may have been temporarily suspended, but it will happen. And I will fight to keep hippy love alive until the day I die.

Kelly-Rose Bradford

The post It wasn’t a phase. I just never grew out of my subculture appeared first on Silver Magazine.