NEW SONG: LIKE A B-FILM

Gloryoski! It was a fortnight ago when commenter Echorich in an offline thread told me that Gary Numan had released an unreleased “Telekon” track to herald a 45th Anniversary DLX RM of that album later this year. The song was called “Like A B-Film” and was said to be an “unfinished” track from the “Telekon” album sessions that had never see the light of day prior. Within seconds, I had that track purchased and reaching my grateful ears. But technically, you don’t have to pay a cent to hear it since the embed is in Numan’s Bandcamp store and I am embedding it…now!

It began with the era’s patented Polymoog drone, but a drum fill led into the CR78 rhythm box ticking off a laid-back metal beat. The slow attack and portamento endemic to the “Telekon” sound was all over this with a trowel! Hearing a random bar of this was a case of “cut it, and it bled ‘Telekon.” The “Telekon” album was a peak Numan album for me in 1980, and one of the “Big Six” for me to this day.

The Numan qualities of stately, beautiful melodies and wooshing Polymoog leads were all over this track. I enjoyed the syncopation of his vocal as Numan was consciously avoiding rhyming meter and here he found ways to emphasize rhythm in his vocal in a completely different way. Maybe it felt a little tentative in the lyric, but the music bed felt like a cut ready to add to the running order of the album. It’s really cool that this little surprise is reaching our ears in 2025! Along with three further unreleased tracks in a re-designed “Telekon” 45th Anniversary edition.

TELEKON: 45TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

Gary Numan: Telekon 45th Anniversary – UK LP/CD [2025]

1. This Wreckage
2. The Aircrash Bureau
3. Telekon
4. Remind Me to Smile
5. Sleep by Windows
6. I’m an Agent
7. I Dream of Wires
8. Remember I Was Vapour
9. Please Push No More
10. The Joy Circuit
11. Like a B-Film
12. Please Push No More (Early Version)
13. The Aircrash Bureau (Early Version)
14. I’m an Agent (Early Version)

The classic Numan album was played by Ye Old Monk and his high school pals incessantly during the spring of 1980 period when it was released in America in a reconfigured edition that swapped “Sleep By Windows” for the non-LP single “I Die: You Die.” There was one friend [Dave] that I would visit that year and he was always playing “Telekon” on a loop at all times!

The new edition has “Like A B-Film” along with early versions of “”Please Push No More,” “The Aircrash Bureau,” and “I’m An Agent” as bonus tracks. The “Like A B-Film” track is out there on the usual places. I bought mine at the iTunes store immediately. Had I known that Numan had a Bandcamp store, I would have bought it there instead! But c’est la vie!

The album will be released on December 12th on DL and LP. The CD follows on Jan 30, 2026, shockingly! There is a black 2xLP as well as one ins sparkle vinyl [see above] that referenced “I Dream Of Wires” and though it’s sold out on Numan’s website, his Bandcamp store still has an allotment! Here’s how it shapes up.

• Download – $9.99
• CD – $13.58
• Black 2xLP – $36.53
• Sparkle Vinyl 2xLP – $56.08

So is this a case of “I Buy: You Buy?” Having popped for “Like A B-film” as a DL, I’m content to rest on my “Telekon” laurels with my vintage Japanese “Asylum” CD pressing with lots of other bonus tracks [but not “Like A B-Film”]. But to anyone that is bereft of their own personal copy of “Telekon,” buying this new edition is a must-have, so DJ push that button!

TELEKON 45 UK TOUR

Any day now, UK readers have the option of a UK tour where all of “Tekelon” will be played in its entirety, if not exact order. That’s an album that I would have no problem hearing played in full. The dates are as follows, and at this stage of the game, maybe some of these are sold out? If so, please have my apologies for only mentioning this now, but I live in a cave.

GARY NUMAN | TELEKON 45TH ANNIVERSARY | UK TOUR

• Nov 11 | Glasgow, O2 Academy | Glasgow. UK
• Nov 12 | Newcastle, O2 City Hall | Newcastle. UK
• Nov 14 | Leeds, O2 Academy | Leeds. UK
• Nov 15 | Birmingham, O2 Academy | Birmingham. UK
• Nov 16 | Bristol, Beacon | Bristol. UK
• Nov 18 | Cardiff, Uni Great Hall | Cardiff. UK
• Nov 19 | Bournemouth, O2 Academy | Bournemouth. UK
• Nov 21 | London, Eventim Apollo | London. UK
• Nov 22 | Brighton, Centre | Brighton. UK
• Nov 23 | Southend, Cliffs Pavilion | Southend. UK
• Nov 25 | Nottingham, Rock City | Nottingham. UK
• Nov 26 | Cambridge, Corn Exchange | Cambridge. UK
• Nov 27 | Norwich, UEA | Norwich. UK
• Nov 29 | Manchester, O2 Apollo | Manchester. UK
• Nov 30 | Liverpool, O2 Academy | Liverpool. UK
• Dec 2 | Dublin, 3Olympia | Dublin, Ireland
• Dec 3 | Belfast, Waterfront Hall | Belfast, UK

GARY NUMAN SPRING 2026 NORTH AMERICAN TOUR

And finally, US fans get their chance to see Numan in a spring tour of 2026 that sees the wacky funster first on an 80s Cruise, hobnobbing with his old pals, OMD as well as a bevvy of other New Wave and 80s acts [Berlin, Men Without Hats, Heaven 17] on the high seas embarking from Port Canaveral, Florida to Nassau, Grand Bahama Island, and Falmouth over the course of a week. That’s some serious Monk-bait right there…if I were a cruise ship guy. I’m certainly not, nor do I have the thousands to drop on such an event, but if it’s in your court, volley that ball!

I’ll make do with the rest of the North American tour that sees Numan actually playing in my own city of Asheville for the second time ever. Sure, sure. I’ve gone on record as to being well over the current “Kerrang-era” Numan but I’ve extended the invite to a friend and if he takes the bait, I will be buying us both tickets for the show in March. So let’s keep an eye on those tour dates!

GARY NUMAN |SPRING 2026 | N. AMERICAN TOUR

• Feb 27 | The 80’s Cruise 2026 | RC Adventure Of The Seas
• Feb 28 | The 80’s Cruise 2026 | RC Adventure Of The Seas
• Mar 1 | The 80’s Cruise 2026 | RC Adventure Of The Seas
• Mar 2 | The 80’s Cruise 2026 | RC Adventure Of The Seas
• Mar 3 | The 80’s Cruise 2026 | RC Adventure Of The Seas
• Mar 4 | The 80’s Cruise 2026 | RC Adventure Of The Seas
• Mar 5 | The 80’s Cruise 2026 | RC Adventure Of The Seas
• Mar 7 | Ft Lauderdale, FL, Culture Room | Ft Lauderdale, FL. USA
• Mar 8 | St Petersburg, FL, Jannus Live | St Petersburg, FL. USA
• Mar 9 | Orlando, FL, Plaza Live | Orlando, FL. USA
• Mar 11 | Athens, GA, 40 Watt Club | Athens, GA. USA
• Mar 12 | Asheville, NC, The Orange Peel | Asheville, NC. USA
• Mar 13 | Charlotte, NC, The Underground | Charlotte, NC. USA
• Mar 14 | Baltimore, MD, Baltimore Soundstage | Baltimore, MD. USA
• Mar 15 | Wilmington, DE, The Queen | Wilmington, DE. USA
• Mar 17 | McKees Rocks, PA, Roxian Theatre | McKees Rocks, Pittsburgh, PA. USA
• Mar 18 | Glenside, PA, Keswick Theatre | Glenside, Philadelphia, PA. USA
• Mar 19 | Jersey City, NJ, White Eagle Hall | Jersey City, NJ. USA
• Mar 20 | Peekskill, NY, Paramount Hudson Valley Theater | Peekskill, NY. USA
• Mar 21 | Rochester, NY, Water Street Music Hall | Rochester, NY. USA
• Mar 23 | Montreal, QC, Theatre Beanfield | Montreal, QC. Canada🍁
• Mar 24 | Toronto, ON, The Concert Hall | Toronto, ON. Canada🍁
• Mar 26 | Cleveland, OH, House Of Blues | Cleveland, OH. USA
• Mar 27 | Grand Rapids, MI, Elevation at The Intersection | Grand Rapids, MI. USA
• Mar 28 | Columbus, OH, Newport Music Hall | Columbus, OH. USA
• Mar 29 | Indianapolis, IN, The Vogue | Indianapolis, IN. USA
• Mar 30 | Milwaukee, WI, Pabst Theater | Milwaukee, WI. USA
• Mar 31 | Minneapolis, MN, First Avenue | Minneapolis, MN. USA
• Apr 2 | Denver, CO, ReelWorks | Denver, CO. USA
• Apr 4 | Pioneertown, CA, Pappy & Harriet’s | Pioneertown, CA. USA
• Apr 5 | Tucson, AZ, Rialto Theatre | Tucson, AZ. USA
• Apr 7 | Napa, CA, Uptown Theatre | Napa, CA. USA
• Apr 8 | Menlo Park, CA, The Guild Theatre | Menlo Park, CA. USA
• Apr 9 | Fresno, CA, Warnors Theatre | Fresno, CA. USA
• Apr 10 | Santa Ana, CA, Observatory | Santa Ana, CA. USA
• Apr 11 | San Luis Obispo, CA, Fremont Theater | San Luis Obispo, CA. USA

The North American tour seems separate from the UK’s “Telekon-themed” event, and given that “Telekon” wasn’t a number one US album [US #64] I tend to doubt that he will be playing the album in its entirety for North Americans. But I certainly wouldn’t look askance at his slipping in a handful of “Telekon” cuts into his upcoming tour. Let’s hope for the best and if I attend we’ll discuss the aftermath here as usual.

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