Gary Numan performing live on stage, singing into a microphone with one hand over the chest. The artist has short black hair and dark eye makeup, wearing a distressed, grey long-sleeve tunic with shredded fabric details against a dark, smoky background. — Gary Numan plays Middlesbrough Empire in Middlesbrough, United Kingdom on March 17, 2018. Credit: Tracy Daniel / Shutterstock

Known early for his mostly synthesizer-centered albums and songs, Gary Numan’s later career has rocked into harder territory.

Numan scored a synthesizer-heavy No. 1 U.K. hit “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” with his band Tubeway Army in 1979 and in 1980 reached No. 9 in the U.S. with his synth single “Cars.”

But following the mid-1990s and a series of slow-selling, R&B-inspired LPs, Numan bounced back in popularity with a guitar-heavy Exile album in 1998. Since then, he’s come back with a vengeance, releasing six Gothic-rocked tinged albums including 2021’s Intruder.

This weekend in St. Petersburg, Numan brings his newer synth-guitar hybrid hard rock sound and spring tour to Jannus Live.

Gary Numan

Time Sun., March 8, 8 p.m.

Location Jannus Live, 200 1st Ave. N, St. Petersburg

On a break after Caribbean cruise ship shows for ‘80s music fans, Numan told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that the setlist in St. Petersburg will be mostly newer album tracks rather than “hit” singles.

“I try to find things that I really enjoy doing. It’s important for me that when I look at the setlist that I’m excited about each song that comes along,” he said. “I don’t want it to become a ‘job’ because it’s what the crowd expects me to do. Once I’m doing that, I’ll fucking give up.”

Numan added that he and his five-piece band will play a mix of songs from his synth-heavy albums Replicas, The Pleasure Principal and Telekon, with the rest being mostly from albums Splinter, Savage (Songs from a Broken World) (2017), and Intruder .

In addition, Numan said he may perform a new song with his 23-year-old daughter Raven, who’s released a series of her own singles. He says being on stage in front of legions of fans—longtime and new—isn’t just work, it’s a “need.”

“I wanted to do this since I was a little kid. It’s been my whole life; it’s kind of what I wake up for—what I’m breathing for,” he added. “All I’m doing really is sort of living the life I’ve dreamt of and chosen, and I just want to share that.”

Tickets to see Gary Numan play Jannus Live in St. Petersburg on Sunday, March 8 are still available for $50.69.