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Gary Numan has clarified why he said “fuck those people” in response to critics of his planned set of drive-in gigs.
Numan will embark on a UK tour in August and September as part of the line-up for Utilita’s ‘Live From The Drive-In’ series. The 12-date set of socially distanced drive-in gigs will attempt to safely stage live music shows during the coronavirus pandemic following similar experiences that have already taken place in a number of other countries.
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Read more: “Each car felt like a small venue”: how it feels to play a socially distanced drive-in gig
On Saturday night (June 27), Numan shared a lengthy response on Facebook to numerous fan questions about the ‘Live From The Drive-In’ tour. He explained that, while multiple artists will play at each outdoor venue on one allotted day, fans can only buy tickets to attend each individual show — rather than it being like a festival.
“As I’ve said before I think these shows are a bold and ingenious way of giving people a temporary respite from having no live shows at all,” Numan wrote.
“It isn’t perfect, it’s not what we want to see become the norm, but for now it’s very much better than no live music at all. I applaud the effort that’s gone in to this from everyone involved.”
More info on the Drive-In questions. Each day is split into a series of separate ‘events’. My show will be one of them….
Posted by Gary Numan Official on Saturday, June 27, 2020
Numan then referenced “some of the shitty comments coming my way” from those people who have been critical of his participation in the tour, adding: “But, fuck those people.”
“I’m happy to be doing it, I think it’s a good thing in a horrible time and I’m proud to be involved. My only fear, as the virus appears to be soaring again (here in the US anyway), is that it all gets cancelled or I’m suddenly banned from travelling.
“Trying to organise this is proving to be more difficult that my previous 40 years of touring combined, but I really want it to work.”
Last night (June 28) saw Numan expand on his “fuck those people” comments with a follow-up post on Facebook in which he attempted to clarify who he was addressing.
“First of all, it clearly referred to the people that had sent me shitty comments, and by that I don’t mean people that simply didn’t think the Drive-In shows were a good idea,” the ‘Cars’ singer wrote. “I mean SHITTY comments. Here’s just one of the many delightful responses that came in after I announced the tour: ‘Fuck you Numan you money grabbing c**t.’
“Lovely.”
Numan continued: “Don’t think the shows are a good idea? Fair enough (although I disagree). Think they’re too expensive? Fair enough (We all have different circumstances, and I don’t set the price anyway). Want to wait for ‘normal’ gigs to return? Fair enough (Patience is a virtue).
“But, if you write to me and say things like the comment above, and all you get is a ‘Fuck those people’, I think I’m demonstrating admirable restraint.
Let me explain my ‘Fuck those people’ comment yesterday. First of all, it clearly referred to the people that had sent…
Posted by Gary Numan Official on Sunday, June 28, 2020
Numan concluded: “Now, as a rule, I don’t read comments. But, even though I’ve asked them not to, my children sometimes do, and they see things like the comment above. So, to avoid any misunderstanding, Fuck THOSE people.”
The likes of The Streets, Kaiser Chiefs, Dizzee Rascal, Beverley Knight, KT Tunstall, Embrace and the Lightning Seeds are also set to perform as part of the Utilita ‘Live from the Drive-In’ tour.
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