This website seems to be the only one where something gets updated with any degree of frequency, so I'll post here and see if anyone notices or bites.

First, let me establish my Numan credentials. Been a massive fan since '79; got a copy of absolutely everything ever released in the UK (on all formats too!); seen Numan play live almost 100 times from the 1980 Teletour right up to the first and last nights of the recent Dead Moon Falling tour. I've even met Numan a bunch of times, but I'm NOT one of those suck-ups who think they're 'in' with Numan or his entourage. You know who you are!

So, I'm NOT a Johnny-come-lately wannabe/newbie fan with an attitude problem, but I have some issues with what's going on with Numan. I'm not looking for anyone to dish out lip in my direction, just interested in anyone else thinking or feeling the same. Here goes:

1. What is Gary's obsession with Fenton all about? The guy's a talentless, NIN obsessed wannabe, whose claim to fame (if you can call it that) is being a "techno DJ". A DJ - someone who plays OTHER PEOPLE'S RECORDS!!! Just because you add a bit of drum machine and a few Star Trek sound effects over SOMEBODY ELSE'S RECORD, does NOT make you a musician. The guy's not qualified to be on the same planet as Numan, let alone work with him and yet Gary seems to fawn over this guy. WHY??????

I am reminded of Gary's work in the mid '80s, specifically when he made Berserker and The Fury. He used a production team called The Wave Team (Ian Herron & Mike Smith if I recall correctly) and became heavily dependent upon them to create new sounds and basically drive the heart of the Numan toy box back then, the PPG Wave synth. Gary subsequently said that he became TOO dependent upon those guys to the point where he felt he couldn't make an album without them. Is this where Gary's obsession with Fenton is going? This clown seems to have come from nowhere and now appears to be indispensable. News of his own move to the US has just pushed me over the edge. I just don't get it and it's really bugging me.

Gary was brilliant before Fenton came along and he'll be brilliant after he's effed off.

2. Somewhat Fenton related, but what happened to Ade Orange? There's a post on the internet citing the reason Ade is no longer part of the Numan camp (http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_did_ade_orange_leave_Gary_numans_band). Is this correct? If so, what the hell happened for Gary to dump Ade who'd been with Gary 20+ years? I've met Ade Orange many times and always thought he was a top bloke. I'll admit my liking for Ade Orange fuels my intense dislike of Fenton, but at least Ade Orange is a musician unlike Fenton.

3. Gary's appearance is really bugging me these days too. When he played live, he used to be so well turned out. He really looked the part. Now when he plays live, he looks like he just got up. He looked very smart on The Pleasure Principle tour and I hoped he'd turned the corner and gone back to presenting himself in a polished a professional manner. But nope, he's gone back to slobsville again. Ugh! And his hair is just ridiculous now. That floppy mess is worse than the mop on Robert Smith's head. Does Gary not remember how mercilessly Smith was mocked for that look?

4. The new songs on the DMF tour left me cold. I remember the first few shows of the Metal Rhythm UK Tour back in '88. There'd been some kind of cockup with the pressing or distribution of the new album and the tour actually started BEFORE the album had been released. The opening song was Respect which we'd never heard before. It was such a thrill to hear something new which, at that point, wasn't even on record yet. Hearing the new songs on the DMF tour made me think we've heard this all before so PLEASE do something different. Gary's music used to be its own genre. Now he seems stuck doing his own interpretation of an already well established genre and it's getting tedious. It's as if he's deliberately going after NIN's audience since they've packed it in. And has Gary actually done the unthinkable by writing a chorus even he can't sing? Both nights on the DMF tour he backed well away from the mic during the high parts of the chorus in I Am Dust. Check it out on Youtube too. It's painful to watch.

Final whinge to follow in separate post.