80s music icon almost cancelled long-overdue Glastonbury debut over hearing fears

An 80s music icon has revealed his long-overdue Glastonbury debut almost didn’t happen.

Gary Numan played an electrifying set on the Park Stage on Saturday night, even bringing out his daughters, Raven and Persia, for a tune each.

His name sat on the bill alongside some real music greats this year, as Sir Rod Stewart, Neil Young, Charli XCX, Olivia Rodrigo, and The 1975 all played major slots at Worthy Farm in 2025.

However, Numan, 67, was close to cancelling his gig over health fears.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain today as he reflected on the weekend, the singer told Susanna Reid and Ed Balls: ‘It was amazing.

‘I was very, very nervous during the day. Very nervous.

‘I’m actually going deaf, so we had some warm-up shows, and I was struggling with those to hear things properly. We got that sorted out.’

‘But at one point, I was thinking about cancelling it,’ he confessed. ‘Just [thinking] it’s gonna be a nightmare, it’s gonna be a disaster, you know? Because I can’t hear properly.’

Thankfully, all was ironed out before the big show.

‘The closer it got, the less nervous I became, strangely enough. By the time I actually did it, I was enjoying myself. It was good fun.’

Numan is widely considered a pioneer of electronic music, but despite a career spanning five decades, this year was his first time at Glasto, to the surprise of fans.

As he took to the stage and received a roaring reception, though, many watching at home believed he should’ve been given a bigger stage.

Taking to X, @little_missneat complained: ‘Really polished set from Gary Numan at @glastonbury worthy of a later slot on a bigger stage so crowd could have been more lively. Still got it for sure, one of the highlights from this year.’

@johnventers1 echoed: ‘Gary Numan should have been on a bigger stage.’

Hailing Numan as ‘absolute class’, @chunnb declared him a ‘highlight of the weekend’.

‘Gary Numan deserves a bigger stage this is epic’, agreed @villanK7, while @TQQNarmy added that he should be 2027’s headliner.

Numan – whose full name is Gary Anthony James Webb – entered the music industry as frontman of the new wave band Tubeway Army and released two albums with them.

In 1979, he released his own debut solo album, The Pleasure Principle, which topped the UK charts.

His commercial popularity peak came in the early 80s with hits such as Are Friends Electric? and Cars, both of which hit number one.

To this day, he has maintained a cult following, having sold over 10million records.

His last album was Intruder in 2021, which was his 19th. He toured the US and the UK with the record, and last year, he announced a string of shows in celebration of the 45th anniversary of his debut.

While Glasto ’25 became a widely political affair, Numan, recognisable via his unique vocals and androgynous stage persona, has distanced himself from politics in recent years, at least publicly.

He was previously outspoken with his support for the Conservatives and Margaret Thatcher after she was elected but later admitted regret, calling it ‘a noose around [his] neck’.

Numan went on to say he considers himself neither left nor right wing, having not supported either Tony Blair or David Cameron, explaining further: ‘I’m not a socialist, I know that. I don’t believe in sharing my money.’

It comes as investigations are underway into the BBC’s broadcasting of Bob Vylan’s set, which included leading the crowd in chants of ‘Death, death to the IDF (Israel Defence Forces)’.

Directly after this, Irish rap trio Kneecap, including member Liam O’Hanna, who appeared in court earlier this month on charges of a terror offence, took to the stage and led chants of ‘Free Palestine’.

On Monday, Avon and Somerset Police said it had launched a probe into both performances after reviewing video footage and audio recordings, with a senior detective appointed to lead the investigation.

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