Living Ornaments '79

Living Ornaments '79 (1981) is a live album by British musician Gary Numan recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon on 28 September 1979. It was also released as a limited edition box set with Living Ornaments '80 (1981). An expanded (21-track) version was reissued on a double CD in 1998 before a remastered version was again reissued in 2005. The nine tracks of the original Living Ornaments '79 were included on 1979: The Live EPs, a disc available to those who bought the expanded, 2-disc version of The Pleasure Principle from Numan's website in 2009.

Living Ornaments '79
Live album by Gary Numan
Released	April 1981
Recorded	Hammersmith Odeon, London, 28 September 1979
Genre	New wave, synthpop
Length	71:10
Label	Beggars Banquet Records
Producer	Gary Numan
Gary Numan chronology
Telekon (1980) Living Ornaments '79 (1981) Living Ornaments '80 (1981)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Release Magazine

Living Ornaments '79 is one of two official live albums from Numan's 1979-1980 tour (billed as "The Touring Principle"), and is a record of the tour's first leg. In 2008, Numan's record label released Engineers, recorded during the tour's final leg (May 1980).

Track listing

All songs written by Gary Numan except where noted.

Original version

Side one

1. "Airlane" – 3:12
2. "Cars" – 3:20
3. "We Are So Fragile" – 2:33
4. "Films" – 3:45
5. "Something's in the House" – 4:08

Side two

1. "My Shadow in Vain" – 2:50
2. "Conversation" – 7:45
3. "The Dream Police" – 4:12
4. "Metal" – 3:25

Remastered version

Disc one

1. "Intro" – 2.32
2. "Airlane" – 3.07
3. "Me! I Disconnect From You" – 3.02
4. "Cars" – 3.25
5. "M.E." – 4.42
6. "You Are in My Vision" – 3.11
7. "Somethings in the House" – 3.55
8. "Random" – 3.38
9. "Everyday I Die" – 3.36
10. "Conversation" – 7.51
11. "We Are So Fragile" – 2.46

Disc two

1. "Bombers" – 5.30
2. "Remember I Was Vapour" – 4.51
3. "On Broadway" (Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) – 4.38
4. "The Dream Police" – 4.19
5. "Films" – 3.49
6. "Metal" – 3.25
7. "Down in the Park" – 5.38
8. "My Shadow in Vain" – 2.34
9. "Are 'Friends' Electric?" – 5.33
10. "Tracks" – 3.10

Personnel

• Gary Numan – vocals, producer
• Billy Currie – keyboards
• Cedric Sharpley – drums
• Chris Payne – keyboards, viola
• Paul Gardiner – bass
• Rrussell Bell – guitar, percussion, keyboards
• Tim Summerhayes – engineer, remix
• Phil Thornalley – assistant engineer
• John Dent – digitally master
• Peter Gilbert – photographer
• Robert Ellis – photographer

Charts

• Original album #47 (UK Albums Chart)
• Living Ornaments '79 and '80 box set #2 (UK Albums Chart)

The Touring Principle video

In 1980, an edited version of the 28 September 1979 concert was released on video under the title The Touring Principle '79 and "special video effects" of the time were added to the recording. The songs featured on the video were "Me! I Disconnect From You", "M.E.", "We Are So Fragile", "Everyday I Die", "Conversation", "Remember I Was Vapour", "On Broadway", "Down in the Park", "My Shadow in Vain", "Are 'Friends' Electric?", and "Tracks". The concert itself was preceded on the original cassette by the promo video for "Cars". In 2009, The Touring Principle '79 was released on DVD with the same track listing and with the video effects removed (although the original video version with the effects is included as a bonus feature). The DVD does not feature the "Cars" video although it does include a 34-minute interview with Numan in 2009, recalling his memories of the original 1979 tour.

References

• Living Ornaments '79 at Discogs (list of releases)
• LIVING ORNAMENTS 79 LP numanme.co.uk
• Paul Goodwin (2004). Electric Pioneer: An Armchair Guide To Gary Numan