Gary Numan is heading to the Crystal Palace Bowl this summer, and he’s back in bigger venues than ever.
The electronic pioneer will headline the South London landmark on Thursday 6 August as part of Palace Bowl Presents, a brand new festival series bringing twelve events to one of London’s most storied open air stages between 30 July and 16 August.
Joining Numan on the night will be Marc Almond, performing songs from Soft Cell alongside his solo material, plus electronic heavyweights Ladytron.
For anyone unfamiliar with the Crystal Palace Bowl’s history, this is a venue that’s hosted everyone from Pink Floyd to Bob Marley, who played his final London show there. Established in 1961, the Bowl became famous for its Garden Party events, pulling in everything from prog to punk, rock to reggae. It’s a fitting stage for an artist whose influence stretches just as wide.
Numan’s fingerprints are all over modern music. Prince, Nine Inch Nails, Queens of the Stone Age, Foo Fighters, Jack White and countless others have cited him as an influence, collaborated with him, or sampled from his catalogue. The man essentially rewrote the rules for electronic music in the late seventies and hasn’t stopped pushing since.
Palace Bowl Presents has also announced Bastille and The Wombats performing headline sets on Thursday 13 August, along with the inaugural Gospel Garden Festival on Sunday 2 August featuring Kirk Franklin, Tasha Cobbs Leonard, Fred Hammond and Mercy Chinwo in UK and London exclusive appearances.
Tickets go on general sale at 10AM on Friday 20 February via www.palacebowlpresents.co.uk, with Mastercard holders getting preferred access to some of the best seats. Local residents in SE19, SE20 and SE26 postcodes can also grab discounted tickets, which is a nice touch.
If you’ve been waiting for a reason to see Numan in an iconic setting, this is it.
