As "Gary Numan Android In La La Land" (2016 release; 85 min) opens, it is "October 2013, Los Angeles", and Gary Numan is getting ready to perform at a sold-out show. We then go to "One Year Earlier, Deep In the English Country Side", and Gary is hanging out with his family (wife and three young daughters) as Numan tells us that he wants to move to the US with his family, more specifically to Los Angeles, where he once lived in the 1980s for a while. We then go back in time even further, to his commercial peak years in the late 70s and early 80s. At this point we are 10 min into the documentary.
Couple of comments: this is co-directed by Steve Read and Rob Alexander ("Off the Rails"). The documentary is remarkable on several levels, none more so that the reclusive Gary Numan seemingly gives unfettered access to the film makers into not only his working life (he is working on what would become the 2013 "Splinters" album), but even more so into his personal life. Most of the documentary was filmed in a 12 month period stretching Fall, 2012 to Fall, 2013 and covers the family's move to LA and how they adjust there, and then how everything leads up to the release of "Splinters" and the kickoff of the correlating world tour. Along the way, Numan openly discusses his many ups and downs over the years, including the painful falling out with his dad, and dealing with depression. Let me state upfront that I am about the same age as Gary Numan, and that my first time seeing him in concert was September 28, 1979 at the Hammersmith Odeon in London (with OMD as the opener). I've seen him multiple times since, including all of his appearances in Cincinnati (where I live), most recently in 2018.
"Gary Numan Android in La La Land" was released in 2016 but really covers events from 2012-13, yes pretty much a decade ago. 2013's "Splinter" was universally hailed. Since then, Numan's profile has only risen, with the 2017 sequel "Savage" being his first album to reach the top 3 in the UK album charts, and to reach the US Billboard 200 at all, in 35 years! This documentary was "suggested" to me based on my viewing habits, and is currently streaming on Paramount+, where I caught it just last night. If you are a Gary Numan fan, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion. You won't be disappointed.