Gary Numan reportedly broke down in tears while on stage, saying that it was because he had received the “worst news ever”.
The singer was performing at the O2 Academy in Birmingham over the weekend (Saturday November 15) when the moment took place. During a rendition of his song ‘Please Push No More’, he briefly paused the set while visibly emotional.
The Independent reports that his wife Gemma O’Neill came on stage to comfort him, and the ‘Cars’ singer told fans that he had been given “the worst news ever” that same morning.
While he did not share what the news was about, he did tell the audience that he would give them more information once he had time to come to terms with it.
Fans of Numan have been quick to offer words of support, taking to social media to share their concern for the singer and best wishes for him and his family.
“Gary Numan @ Birmingham O2 tonight. Absolutely, utterly outstanding. I mean the guy never misses imo but tonight was so, so good,” one fan wrote, adding: “Rough to see him so upset during ‘PPNM’ – not looking forward to hearing the reason in the coming days. Can’t be good. Absolute pro to battle on.”
“Very worrying to see him so emotional. Whatever it is…. It does not look good,” another concerned fan wrote, while someone else added: “Hope he’s ok. Very emotional gig.”
Find more fan responses below.
Gary Numan @ Birmingham O2 tonight. Absolutely, utterly outstanding. I mean the guy never misses imo but tonight was so, so good. Rough to see him so upset during PPNM – not looking forward to hearing the reason in the coming days. Can’t be good. Absolute pro to battle on. #numan
— HumanoidLogicMachine (@Liquid_Engineer) November 16, 2025
Oh no. Hope everything is OK. Thats so sad.
— Helen catchpole (@Helencatchpole2) November 16, 2025
Tremendous turn out. Very worrying to see him so emotional. Whatever it is…. It does not look good. 🥲
— Anil Tailor (@AniltailorT) November 16, 2025
It’s was a great show. Raven was amazing too. Hope he’s ok. Very emotional gig.
— Mrs B (@queenmary70) November 16, 2025
Hope Gary Numan is ok do we know if he’s ok heard he was super emotional last night
Can’t wait to see him Norwich on my birthday— Donna Steel (@FoxRaven28) November 17, 2025
The tour dates continued on Sunday (November 16) with a gig in Bristol, however the British singer did cancel his meet-and-greet with fans at that show due to “ongoing difficulties”.
Numan is currently on his ‘Telekon’ tour, celebrating 45 years since the release of his 1980, chart-topping album of the same name. He also recently confirmed that he had played 1,000 live shows, and took to social media to talk about what the milestone meant to him.
“Playing 1,000 shows is quite something, and yet if someone had said it was 5,000 the number would still have felt low, given the extraordinary effort, sacrifice, commitment(and stress) that’s been poured into those shows over the years,” he shared.
“Each tour is a life within a life, a world within a world. Each one a unique adventure. I have been touring my entire adult life, from a nervous, out-of-my-depth, sulky young man to something entirely different today. It’s a life like no other, and I feel privileged to have reached the 1,000 show milestone, and honoured to have shared that journey with so many of you.”
To mark his 1,000th show, which took place at the Electric Ballroom in Camden, London, Numan has shared a live recording of the gig. Visit here for more information.
