REPOST: Madonna - Unauthorised Live Vol 1 & 2 Torino, Italy (1987) Bootleg

(U.S  1979 - Present)
.

28 years ago on September 4th, Madonna performed in Torino, Italy. The concert performed at the Communale Stadium was a monumental television event. It was broadcast live on TV in Italy, France, Germany, Spain and Austria. In Italy alone, the broadcast was watched by an estimated 14 million households. The Who's That Girl Tour ended 2 days later in Florence, Italy on September 6th.

In early summer 1987, two beautiful eyes started popping out from posters in the streets of major cities in the USA asking to the public: Who’s That Girl?
A few weeks later Madonna was on the road with her first world tour, the one that has consecrated her as the world’s leading female star of the ’80s.

Madonna surprised the world with extravagant clothes and accessories and a selection of songs from her first three albums in a heartfelt show that was broadcasted worldwide live from Torino, Italy on September 4, a show that later combined with footage from the other Italian show in Florence and bits from Tokyo, became the famous VHS tour souvenir Ciao Italia.

When Madonna closed her Who’s That Girl Tour in Italy, it became a national celebration. Tickets were immediately sold out and to prevent huge masses of people moving to Torino or Florence from other parts of the country, Rai, the Italian national tv channel contacted Madonna to broadcast her first Italian concert live on television. [extract from madonnatribe.com]
. 
Dressed To Express Yourself
Madonna's second tour, appropriately named the 'Who's That Girl Tour', is built around the power of costume to invoke thought and ultimately pose the question 'Who's That Girl'. Madonna used seven costumes and a variety of roles and attitudes to compliment the moods of the songs. As the sequence of personas paraded across the stage, the audience
pondered the question and quite often discovered that the answer was more complicated than it seemed..

Madonna has always tried to be thought-provoking and entertaining and the image of Madonna attired in a brazen bustier while packing a pistol gave the sell out crowds at her Who's That Girl concerts plenty to think about (see left)
.
Dressed in a brazen black bustier, Madonna opened the show as the seductress. As the show progressed, she became alternately comical and thought-provoking. She poked fun at herself by dressing up in a goofy hat and glasses for a few songs, but then turned serious with 'Papa Don't Preach.' Surrounded by images of the pope, president and the White House, Madonna made it clear where she stood on the issue of a woman's right to control her own body.
.
Her performance of 'Live To Tell' didn't use a costume or other props to make a statement, instead drawing its strength from a single, powerful moment at the end of the song, when she slumped to the ground. For a brief moment, the pose suggested despair, and then the singer rose slowly but nonetheless triumphantly.

Madonna sizzles on stage

.
The Who's That Girl Tour was far more successful than the film of the same name. Approximately two million people on three continents paid top dollar to experience Madonna's musical extravaganza, which reportedly made as much as $500,000 per show. Madonna's challenge to herself was to make a stadium show personal. Anyone who has ever attended a concert at a stadium knows how far removed the audience feels from the performer(s) on stage. By keeping her show visually exciting, Madonna succeeded in making her performance more accessible to the people in the far reaches of the stadium.
.
An actress, a singer, a song writer and a world-class entertainer, Madonna is also a caring individual who has done benefit performances for a number of causes, from famine to AIDS to rain forests. While on her Who's That Girl Tour, Madonna's Madison Square Garden performance of 13 July 1987 raised over $400,000 for the American Foundation for AIDS Research (AMFAR).

Madonna's 'Who's That Girl' 1987 Tour Dates

She was the first major star to stage a large-scale fundraiser for this fatal disease, and she would continue to lend her support to fight AIDS with another benefit three years later at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles, where she received the AIDS Project Commitment to Life Award. [extract from Madonna, by Marie Cahill, Bison Group, 1991. p60-68]
.
This post consists of MP3 (320kps) ripped from my Australian JOKER Bootleg CD - acquired from a Garage Sale some time ago when I started to take interest in what Madonna had to offer, other than provocative 'fashion statements' !  Also included is full artwork and a selection of tour photos, sourced from Marie Cahill's book on Madonna with thanks.
.

UPDATE:

Finally found the second half of this concert released by Joker Records - Vol 2, so I'm reposting this Unauthorised Bootleg for your enjoyment.  

The only criticism I have of this bootleg is that the guitar and bass seem to be quite distant at times, indicating that the engineer sitting behind the soundboard did some pretty poor mixing on the night. 
.
Track Listing Vol 1

01 - Like A Virgin / Can't Help Myself
02 - Where's The Party
03 - Live To Tell
04 - Into The Groove
05 - La Isla Bonita
06 - Who's That Girl?
07 - Holiday

Track Listing Vol 2

01 - Open Your Heart

02 - Lucky Star

03 - True Blue

04 - Papa Don't Preach

05 - White Heat , Perry Mason Theme

06 - Causing A Commotion

07 - The Look Of Love

08 - Dress You Up

09 - Material Girl

Personnel:
Madonna (Vocals)
David Williams, James Harrah (Guitar)
Jai Winding, Patrick Leonard (Keyboards)
Kerry Hatch (Bass)
Jonathan Moffett (Drums)
Luis Conte (Percussion)
Debra Parson, Donna DeLory, Niki Haris (Backing Vocals)
.

Madonna Unauthorised Link (208Mb) New Link 08/08/2026

REPOST: Madonna - Unlicensed Live Vol 1 & 2 (1990) Bootleg

(U.S 1979–present)
.

In 1990, Madonna continued to explore and develop her own ideas about ambiguity in gender and sexuality, a feminist agenda in which a woman is in control of her body, her role and her life. Although she examined this theme in her "Like A Prayer" video, it was most fully expressed in her audacious four-month twenty-seven-city 'Blonde Ambition' tour, which established her as a modern-day Amazon, her erotic and exotic routines invariably ending with the woman on top. She strutted the stage in contemporary armor, Jean-Paui Gaultier's cone-shaped bustier, presenting an enduring image of Madonna at superwoman, her dancers playing musclebound slaves utterly subservient to her will. Yet the French designer's description of the garment that will be forever identified with the singer can also be applied to her own psychology; as he said, 'A tough outer shell protects hidden vulnerability.' [extract from 'Madonna' by Andrew Morton, Bantam Books, 2001. p164]
.

Blond Ambition Tour
While riding high on her success in Dick Tracy, Madonna kicked off her third and most imaginative tour to date on 13 April 1990. When tickets went on sale, 2500 were sold in one minute-a new record in the entertainment industry. The Blond Ambition Tour opened at Chiba, Japan's new Marine Stadium, to enthusiastic reviews. The futuristic out-door venue at Chiba provided a fitting locale for the show, a highly theatrical extravaganza. The surrealistic atmosphere was heightened by the rain that began to fall just as the show opened. Adhering to the philosophy that 'the show must go on,' Madonna braved the downpour, and though the show had to be briefly interrupted a few times to sweep the rain from the stage, the audience was delighted that the singer was willing to carry on. Three years earlier high winds had forced Madonna to cancel her Tokyo show, and she wanted to avoid another cancellation at all costs.

The tour coincided with the release of Madonna's latest album, 'I'm Breathless', the title of which provides a clever tie-in with her starring role as Breathless Mahoney in Dick Tracy. Described on the album sleeve as 'music from and inspired by the film Dick Tracy,' I'm Breathless is a departure from what Madonna has done before With the notable exception of "Vogue",' which seems written specifically for the top 10, the music evokes the era of torch songs and swing tunes. Her voice, too, is different. The bright chirp of "Holiday" is now deeper and darker. Three songs from the album -"Sooner or Later," "Now I'm Following You," and "Hanky Panky" - were featured in the glitzy 'Blond Ambition' show.

Madonna's latest tour had been likened to a Broadway production, With the band relegated to the sidelines, the emphasis is indeed on the action that unfolds on the stage. The show brings to life her songs and videos. Her performance is an exercise in precision, a ballet, rather than a rock concert. With its sexy costumes and suggestive banter, it is also intended to shock. "Like A Virgin" found Madonna sprawled on a bright red bed. As  she rubbed her hands over her body, her two male companions massaged the fake, pointy breasts that were attached to their bare chests. As choreographer Vince  Paterson explained, '[Madonna] wanted to make statements about sexuality, cross-sexuality, the church and the like.' An essential part of the message was delivered by Madonna's exotic costumes, one of which was a pinstriped man's suit with cutouts for her breasts. 'I like the mixing of femininity and masculinity,' explained designer Jean-Paul Gaultier. 'Of course with Madonna, the femininity explodes through the masculinity. It's a little bit surrealistic. It's kind of an obsession in America, you know, the pointed breast.'

Madonna has always been known and even criticized for the blatant sexual imagery of her shows. Her image has invited criticism from feminists who believe that she portrays women in a negative light. Madonna, however. believes that her message is just the opposite. "People have this idea that if you're sexual and beautiful and provocative, then there's nothing else you could possibly offer. People have always had that image about women. And while it might have seemed like I was behaving in a stereotypical way, at the same time, I was also masterminding it I was in control of everything I was doing, and I think that when people realized that, it confused them. It's not like I was saying "Don't pay attention to the clothes-to the lingerie-I'm wearing." Actually the fact that I was wearing those clothes was meant to drive home a point that you can be sexy and strong at the same time. In a way, it was necessary to wear the clothes.'

In other words, the Boy Toy is not a sex object; she is the boss, the woman warrior, equipped with armored under-wear. Blond Ambition is about female power. She does after all, knock down her chorus line of men. 'It's a great feeling to be powerful. I've been striving for it all my life. I think that's just the quest of every human being: power.'

  The Japanese press concentrated on writing about Madonna's sexual shenanigans to the point of ignoring other aspects of the show, but the response in Japan was a decidedly positive one: Madonna reportedly earned $14 million for just nine shows. They may have loved her in Japan, but the welcome Madonna received elsewhere was far less cordial. In Toronto, police asked her to tone down her show. When she refused they set themselves up in the stadium with binoculars, presumably ready to rush to the stage and arrest her if she committed any illegal acts in the course of her performance. In Italy, Catholic groups in Rome and Turin called her show vulgar and blasphemous and demanded that Madonna's concerts be banned. Many church officials were especially disturbed by Madonna's routine use of a crucifix as an article of costume jewelry. The reaction was an intensified version of the controversy that had surrounded her 'Like A Prayer' video the year before. Protesters in Italy were successful in forcing the state-run television network to stop running the video.

As is her nature, Madonna held strong to her position. She called a press conference and invited the church leaders to 'Come and see my show and judge it for yourselves. My show is not a conventional rock concert, but a theatrical presentation of my music and, like the theater, it poses questions, provokes thought and it takes you on an emotional journey. This is what I call freedom of expression and thought. By preventing me from doing the show, you would be saying you do not believe in these freedoms.' Church leaders declined her invitation, but the show went on as scheduled.

Controversy goes hand-in-hand with being an artist. A work of art-be it a novel, a sculpture or a performance-challenges the intellect. As an artist who strives to be thought-provoking and entertaining, Madonna has never shied away from controversy, and will undoubtedly continue to do so with her future creative endeavors [extract from Madonna, by Marie Cahill, Bison Group, 1991. p84-88. See below]
.

This updated post consists of MP3 (320kps) ripped from my Australian AMCOS CD Bootlegs and now presents the 'full show'.  It only took me 12 years to hunt down the second half of the show (Vol 2) !  
Full album artwork is provided, along with artwork for the Italian 'Maverick Bedtime' bootleg release which features the full show on one CD (see below). The recording itself comes from the 'Dallas Show at the Reunion Arena' in the USA, held on May 7, 1990.  The quality of the recording is very good with exceptional vocal clarity. (Please note that I have edited the opening track "Express Yourself" by removing a minute of annoying sound affects which would have supported the visual component of the shows introduction. I also chose to remove over 2 minutes of excessive audience applause at the end of "Holiday" to improve your listening experience and save your sanity).

** New Complete Concert **

Vol 1 Track Listing:
01. Express Yourself
02. Open Your Heart
03. Causing A Commotion
04. Where's The Party
05. Like A Virgin
06. Like A Prayer
07. Live To Tell
08. Oh Father
09. Papa Don't Preach

Vol 2 Track Listing:

01. (Sooner Or Later) I Always Get My Man
02. Hanky Panky
03. I'm Following You
04. Material Girl
05. Cherish
06. Into The Groove
07. Vogue
08. Holiday
09. Keep It Together

.
.The Band:
Madonna - Vocals
Kevin Kendricks, Jai Winding - Keyboards
Carlos Rios, David williams - Guitar
Darryl Jones - Bass
Jonathan Moffet - Drums
Luis Conte - Percussion
Donna Delory, Niki Harris - Backing Vocals
.

Madonna Link (219Mb) 

New Link  15/07/2026
.

Black Sabbath - Paranoid in New Jersey 'Asbury Park, Aug 5th 1975' (2020) Bootleg

(U.K 1968–2006, 2011–present)

In the annals of Black Sabbath bootlegdom, there are two unofficial documents of the original-lineup era that stand above the rest as utterly essential for their sound quality and the band’s performance. One is Warpigs - Paris 1970, and the other is this recording from Aug. 5, 1975, from Asbury Park, New Jersey. 

The show was held in the Convention Hall, a 3,600-seat indoor exhibition center located right on the Boardwalk of the beach town, and the band were in the US promoting the yet-to-be-released LP 'Sabotage', and as one can hear in the renditions of “Hole in the Sky,” “War Pigs,” “Spiral Architect” and on and on, the band was pure stoned fire.

Captured at what I’d gladly argue was his peak as an actual singer, if not as a frontman, vocalist Ozzy Osbourne engages the crowd and nails each song, even if he flubs the lyrics here and there, as on “Symptom of the Universe” early in the 100-minute set. With solos from guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward — sadly nothing from the bass; it would be amazing to have a Geezer Butler solo captured in such fidelity — the band is both vibrant and poised, and whether they’re ripping into “Supernaut” or jamming out an early version of what would become “Rock ‘n’ Roll Doctor” on 1976’s Technical Ecstasy, Black Sabbath absolutely laid waste to Asbury Park (it would take the shore town decades to recover) and, seemingly, everyone in the vicinity. As Ozzy says at the beginning of “Hole in the Sky”: “Are you high?” Cheers. “Are you High?” Louder cheers. “So am I.”

Asbury Park, New Jersey

I won’t doubt the veracity of that claim, which is to say, he probably was high. Black Sabbath‘s adventures in weed, cocaine, booze, etc., are well documented, and as they were about to release their sixth album, they were about to enter the period in which that excess of excess would begin to take its toll, eventually leading to the split with Osbourne and a collaboration with then-Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio. 

Of course, they would put out 'Technical Ecstasy' and 1978’s 'Never Say Die' before that happened, and both of those albums certainly have their moments, but there’s a reason the legendary fan t-shirts (see right) says 'You can only trust yourself and the first six Black Sabbath records', and it seems that no small part of that reason is because by the time they were six and then eight years removed from their genre-defining 1970 self-titled debut, they were fried on multiple levels. “Are you high?” Cheers. “So am I.”

That of course is just one example of choice banter from Ozzy throughout. He talks about the “new album” a lot, tells the crowd he loves them multiple times, and at the end of the set, says on behalf of himself and the band behind that the New Jersey crowd is, “a good bunch of people.” 

It’s the kind of thing that would rarely make it onto an official live release, since it so directly ties it to the place and the specific date, but in hearing it some 45 years after the fact, it brings the listener that much more into the moment of what was happening that night, at that time, at that particular gig. And that’s the thing about the Convention Hall show. It was a stop on the tour. They’d have another show the night after and/or the night after that. This could’ve been Black Sabbath any other day of the week, and they’re utterly lethal. Even the slow-rolling beginning section of “Megalomania” sees them dominating.

There are various stories about this show. One that it was a radio broadcast specially organised for the KBFH. Another is that it was recorded and intended for release as a live album that was subsequently shelved. I don’t know how true any of that is or isn’t — neither is outside the realm of possibility; it’s not like the rumor is it was actually recorded by time travelers who wanted to do the future a favor and record the best show the band ever played — but I know that this set is just as essential as any official live record Sabbath ever put out, if not more so, and that it demonstrates the power in Black Sabbath‘s delivery at the time. They were dead on.  [Extract from The Obelisk]

This post consists of FLACs (sourced from a reel to reel mastering recording) and includes artwork for both vinyl and CD releases. It should be noted that this particular release has a shortened version of Sabbra Cadabra (with the removal of a 10 minute drum solo which quite frankly was over the top) and the removal of a medley which comprised of  'Orchid, Rock & Roll Doctor & Don't Start (Too Late)'. I suspect this was done to make it a single CD release.  The original vinyl release was of course much shorter, with only 9 of the 14 tracks found on this 2020 CD release (see * tracks below).

Track Listing

01 Killing Yourself To Live *

02 Hole In The Sky *

03 Snowblind *

04 Symptom Of The Universe

05 War Pigs *

06 Meglaomania

07 Sabbra Cadabra

08 Sometimes I`m Happy

09 Supernaut

10 Iron Man *

11 Black Sabbath *

12 Spiral Architect *

13 Children Of The Grave *

14 Paranoid *

Black Sabbath were:

Bass Guitar – Terry 'Geezer' Butler

Drums – Bill Ward

Lead Guitar – Tony Iommi

Vocals – Ozzy Osbourne

Black Sabbath Link (507Mb)

Redhouse - Live at the Southside Six Hotel, Moorabbin 31-5-1975 (Bootleg)

(Australian 1972 - 1978)

The very well-known, well-travelled and heavily rocking 'Red House Roll Band' were Geelong’s most successful outfit in the early 70s. Formed in 1972, they provided a very theatrical stage show (along the lines of Alice Cooper) with band members dressing up in skeleton suits or Superman outfits.

Original band members were: 

John Ferguson – Lead Guitar/Lead Vocals, Malcolm Donnelly – Lead Guitar/Vocals, Jack Green – Bass/Vocals and Monty Osewald/Claude Ragone – Drums

Red-House-Roll-Band 1972-73

Fully professional for most of that period they appeared locally at the Barwon Heads, Torquay, Sundowner and Golf View Hotels. In Melbourne they appeared at the Croxton Park, Waltzing Matilda, Southside Six and Whitehorse Hotels as well as the weekly dances at Powerhouse and suburban Town Halls.

They toured country Victoria and nationally to Perth, Sydney and Newcastle. A big highlight was a Melbourne Town Hall gig with Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs. This powerhouse band re-formed to play at the 2019 Geelong Musos’ Reunion with Alan Williams on bass/vocals.

They supported most of the major artists of the time and also appeared at the famous Sunbury Music Festival.

In 1973, the band signed a record deal with Atlantic, which resulted in the single "O Lucky Man" (B-Side was Movin' On). Taken from the British feature film of the same name, the band's version of Alan Price's song became a regional hit. But the band went into hibernation and re-emerged in late 1975 under the shorter name 'Redhouse', with a completely revised line-up comprising Jack Green, John Dallimore, Jacques De Jongh and Gary Crothall. 

Redhouse 1975

Here's some tracks (ripped to MP3) from Redhouse recorded live at the Southside Six Hotel, Moorabbin, Victoria on a drunken Saturday afternoon (or night, can't remember) 31-5-1975. 

Taped on a cheap cassette player, the taper must have been sitting next to John Dallimore's amp 'cause you can hear mainly guitar and not much else. Therefore the recording isn't great, but it is what it is and captures the band during the early stages of their development before they hit the lime light under the shortened name 'Redhouse', releasing their hit album "One More Squeeze" in 1976. [See earlier post]

Track List:

01 - China Grove
02 - Zubulu
03 - BHP
04 - Upsetter
05 - Love is Strange
06 - Boogie 1
07 - Hotfeet
08 - Endless Lady
09 - Got Away
10 - Lovely Lady
11 - Aint Gonna See You Babe
12 - Boogie 2
13 - Demons Eye
14 - Let it Rock

* Thanks to Keith at Midoztouch for RIP

Redhouse Were:
John Ferguson (lead vocals, guitar),
John Dallimore (lead guitar, vocals),
Jacques De Jongh (rhythm guitar, vocals),
Gary Crothall (drums),
Jack Green (bass)

Bonus Single (1973)  FLACs

01 O Lucky Man - Redhouse Roll Band

02 Movin' On - Redhouse Roll Band

Redhouse Link (185Mb)

Redhouse Videos

1. Redhouse Roll Band - Live in Geelong (featuring 17 yr old John Dallimore)

2. Red House Roll Band audio from Blind Date TV show with some cool stills of the band .

Red House Roll Band live in 1974 playing “China Grove” on Melbourne’s channel 7 - Blind Date program. The audio was recorded straight from the TV set to a cassette tape recorder at the time the program was aired. And, the pics are some that I had on a small strip of washed out coloured proofs that I had archived. From left to right in the first pic: (top row) John Ferguson vocals & guitar, John Dallimore guitar (and below) Peter Quince drums, and Jack Green bass - hope a few people might enjoy this piece of history that dates back almost 50 years [Thanks to John Ferguson for posting this video on his facebook]

3. This video clip was taken at the Sundowner Hotel in Geelong on super 8 movie film by Peter Nell - the sound track is one of several original songs that were recorded in 1974 (at Greg Bee’s studio) in Geelong on a 4 track tape recording unit and was supplied by Rodney Kenyon who had hung on to the original tapes. The song is called, “Scarborough Beach Song”. John Ferguson wrote the song in Perth W/A while on tour with the band, in admiration of the beautiful sunsets that he saw on the WA ocean skylines. The lineup in the poster below (from L to R back) Peter Quince, Jack Green (from L to R front) John Dallimore, and John Ferguson

Elvis Costello - Unlicensed [KBFH Live at the The Spectrum, Philadelphia, 11 August 1984] (1994) Bootleg

(U.K 1970 - Present)

In 1984, Elvis Costello and the Attractions released their album 'Goodbye Cruel World' and toured to support it. The album was their last with the original lineup of the Attractions, and it was recorded during a period of tension and disagreement, resulting in a commercially-oriented pop album. The tour included new arrangements of older songs, the single "The Only Flame in Town," and additions like Gary Barnacle on saxophone.

This post features a combined King Biscuit Flower Hour / Grizzly Growl broadcast of a concert with Elvis Costello And The Attractions at the The Spectrum, Philadelphia, 11 August 1984.
Nick Lowe and His Cowboy Outfit (which also featured Paul Carrack and Martin Belmont) opened the show.

This particular concert, in various forms, has been the source of a number of different bootlegs over the years. Unfortunately, none of them are complete. Although 28 songs were played, the known bootlegs contain anywhere from 11 to 23 songs. This particular release only contains 11 tracks, however if you want to hear a 23 track rendition of the concert, then I suggest you pop over to Wolfgang's website which features the legendary archives of concert promoter Bill Graham (born Wolfgang Grajonca).

Recorded on the tour promoting his 'Goodbye Cruel World' LP, this classic King Biscuit Flower Hour performance shows the musical transition Elvis Costello was going through during the mid-80s. His band, the Attractions, had received a facelift with the addition of Gary Barnacle on sax that brightened up many of the new songs in the show, and Costello himself somehow juggles his trademark new-wave sound with the more sophisticated and complex songs he had begun writing and recording at the time.

The classic Attractions line-up consisted of Steve Nieve on keyboards (who, on this tour only, called himself Maurice Worm for some unknown reason), Pete Thomas on drums and Bruce Thomas on bass. Costello and the Attractions had been popular for nearly seven years when this tour was launched, but he had already written and recorded ten albums of mostly short songs. Needless to say, there was a wealth of material to choose from on this tour and some of his greatest songs are featured here. At the time, Costello was enjoying one of the last chart hit singles he would have in his career with "The Only Flame In Town." (see pictured above)

Specific highlights include "Watching The Detectives", "Girls Talk" and "Allison", and of course the always energetic "Pump It Up."

Review (Taken from the Elvis Costello Wiki)

Another Grizzly Growl / KBFH broadcast (why on earth tape two consecutive nights from an artist known for varying his sets considerably during the course of a tour?) and so we get a similar performance and sound which is obviously very clear and professional but just a little too familiar. The band launch into “Let Them All Talk” along with Gary Barnacle’s sax squeals and the pace seems a little modest for an opening track.

A powerful “The Greatest Thing” follows by a frolicking “Mystery Dance” (missing here) though the teasing of the audience with prolonged pauses isn’t yet developed here. The song immediately segues into “Shabby Doll” but the original masters of this recording fail to completely remove the song “Shabby Doll” so we just get a couple of seconds of Bruce’s bass note before the edit takes us into “Girls Talk”. The next two following tracks could not be more marked in terms of verve and musical frission with memories of 1977 and 1978 recalled with “Lipstick Vogue” neatly seguing into “Watching The Detectives”.

Concert Ticket Stubb

I actually bought a transcription L.P. of the KBFH recording of this concert in the late eighties for an absolute fortune - probably pre-1986 (before I got married!) and I’ve just played it for the first time in decades and I’m impressed by the quality of the vinyl at that time.  [Review by area51GM]

This post consists of FLACs ripped from my 'Unlicensed' CD Bootleg, featuring 11 tracks from this KBFH FM broadcast, and uncludes full album artwork. This bootleg has been released under various titles, and some of their respective covers are shown below.

Track List

01 Let Them All Talk 2:56

02 Greatest Thing 3:08

03 Girls Talk 4:01

04 Lipstick Vogue 4:22

05 Watching The Detectives 6:04

06 Club Land 5:52

07 Everyday I Write The Book 4:23

08 The Flame In Town 3:37

09 Getting Mighty Crowded 3:31

10 Allison 4:10

11 Pump It Up / Ain't That A Lot Of Love

/Tears, Tears And More Tears   8:12

Elvis Costello & The Attractions:

Elvis Costello - vocals, guitar; 

Steve Nieve - organ; 

Bruce Thomas - bass; 

Pete Thomas - drums;

Gary Barnacle - sax, flute.

Elvis Costello Link (296Mb)

REPOST: Rose Tattoo - Live at Hordern Pavillion (1978) Bootleg

(Australian 1976-1985)
.

Rose Tattoo's performance at Sydney's Hordern Pavilion for Live-to-air broadcast on the soon-to-be national broadcaster, 2JJ. The performance is some time in 1978, and clearly well before the release of their first album in November of that year, given the amount of covers (including a most obscene version of Willie Dixon's "Hoochie Coochie Man"!) they play. This often circulates as being from 1976. An excellent, and I think unique, early Tatts soundboard show, there are a few pops and flashes of static, and the sound is not crystal clear, but it's a very good recording overall. A second of static/silence in track 3 has been eliminated by substituting the same notes from elsewhere in the song.

There seems to be an awful lot of good rock and roll that comes from Australia. Maybe a lot of it gets overlooked in the US because Australia is so far away and we just don’t hear about the bands that work for years but don’t get the big breaks like AC/DC or Silverchair.

Rose Tattoo is one of those bands that never really got that big break in America. They came out of Sydney, Australia, following in AC/DC’s footsteps. The Tatts officially got together in 1976, three years after AC/DC, and released their debut album in 1978, again, three years after AC/DC had led the way with their debut.

I mention the AC/DC connection for a couple of reasons: The bands’ histories are somewhat tied together in that AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd had played briefly in a band called Buster Brown with Rose Tattoo’s singer “Angry” Anderson. The Tatts also made their first public appearance at the rock club Chequers, where several years earlier AC/DC had kicked off their own career. As Rose Tattoo were getting started, they received a fair amount of support from their “older brothers” in AC/DC. Harry Vanda and George Young, who had also produced AC/DC, produced Rose Tattoo’s first four albums. And George Young is, of course, older brother to Malcolm and Angus Young.  

The following is  an extract from 'Angry: Scarred For Life' by Karen Dewey, Iron bark Publ, 1994 
In 1978, ACDC were huge in Australia and were just beginning to take off overseas. They were being handled by Alberts of Sydney, so with all the common gigs, it didn't take long for the Alberts producers to take an interest in Rose Tattoo. They came along to a gig one night, and within a week, Rose Tattoo had an offer to join the Alberts stable.
Angry was totally committed. He loved the lifestyle. He loved Rose Tattoo. He loved the boys club. As he says, it was a special time in the music industry. "In those days there was a real brothers in arms mentality. There was a real camaraderie. You know, members of Sherbert used to come and watch the Tatts. So did members of Ted Mulray Gang, John Paul Youngs band at the time, and other bands who seemingly had nothing in common with us. And vice versa. I've always loved Sherbert, but the reason I so publicly put shit on them in those days was because Angry Anderson, the frontman for Rose Tattoo, would not be expected to love Sherbert, where in truth, I loved pop music. Also, I liked Sherbert because I thought they were better than a lot of the other bands around at the time."Rose Tattoo cut their first single with "Bad Boy (for love)" on the A side, and "Snow Queen" on the B side. Almost as soon as the single was finished, lan Rilen decided to quit the band. That made an opening for Geordie, who'd been hanging around on and off since the band had first started. With Geordie, the boys recorded their first album...it was released under the name of "Rose Tattoo" in Australia, but overseas it had a more punchy title. The importers called it "Rock n' Roll Outlaws".
As soon as the album was out, Rose Tattoo hit the road. They spent the next year living literally out of a suitcase, touring the length and breadth of Australia. They played at just about every pub and club in every small town. They were a small-time band, so they still had to rough it with most things. "First we travelled in a kombi, then in a series of cars...later on when the band got more of a profile we hired cars and vans. I can remember, like so many other people in this country, doing trips to Melbourne where you'd pack the van or the truck so that there was three feet between the top of the stack and the roof where you could put mattresses and the band could sleep. 
.
In the early days we only had one roadie, and Geordie and I used to do the rest. We enjoyed it because it was such physical work."They were very much a boys' drinking band. They were seen as brute macho, so they were recognised as blokes' territory. In all the early photographs, it's hard to spot a female face in the first few rows of the audience. There's just rows of men, reaching out to Angry, faces twisted with the noise, and the heat and the push from the crowd behind.

They started making big news. Towns geared up for their arrival weeks in advance. In many places having Rose Tattoo arrive in the main street was something like playing host to a freak show. Angry and the boys looked out of place enough in the city, but in some of the country towns, they stood out so severely they looked more like they came from another planet. Loyal fans turned up everywhere, and word travelled quickly about the sensation they were causing at live gigs.
The band went through good times and bad times. "We broke up and reformed all the time...we were irrational, taking lots of drugs, doing lots of booze, living on the road. We shuffled members, and we'd have a disagreement and walk out saying 'That's it', but two weeks later we'd be crying on each other's shoulder and looking forward to the next tour."  (p97-98)
Just as the first album was climbing slowly up the charts, Rose Tattoo got a new manager. His name was Robbie Williams. He was a committed rock promoter, who had tremendous faith in the band. He believed wholeheartedly they could make it to number one worldwide. He had absolute confidence in Angry as a dynamic frontman, and he believed he had the talent and charisma to be the next big name in rock.
.

.
Once with the band, Robbie decided he was there for the long haul. Rose Tattoo weren't an easy band to manage. They were unreliable, irrational, and usually drunk, but he believed in the band, so he ended up staying until the very last gig years later.
The band's profile grew, and as they got bigger, Angry's stage antics got wilder. He became as extravagant and as outrageous as the crowd wanted him to be. They'd yell for blood, sweat and tears, and Angry would deliver. He was the tragic, drunken outlaw, the bad boy of rock and roll at his worst. No one knew what to make of him. He was dangerous, radical, and stupid. He had one trick on stage that shocked even the hardest fans. "When we wrote the album there's this song on it called 'Suicide City'. It's about Canberra because Mick told me that there was this article talking about how Canberra has the highest suicide rate of any Australian city. 

So we wrote a song about it. We used to do this as the last song in the set. So what I used to do...I'd sometimes put a plastic bag over my head till I passed out. All the audience can see is the eye sockets, and the plastic bag pumping in and out over the mouth. The crew would all rush over after I'd passed out, and thump my chest."
He had another trick too, which was just as obscene. "At the end of 'Suicide City' it gets into a really crazy thing. It's supposed to be insanity, and I'd strangle myself with the microphone cord until I passed out."
This was the dark side, the madman. It was the side that frightened everyone, even Angry himself. Pete used to talk about it, saying there was something magic in the drama of rock and roll. He used to say, "You know you've made it as a rock performer when the crowd comes just to see whether or not you die." As Angry says now, there's no doubt that's why some of the fans were there. If it ever happened, they wanted to play their ghoulish part in history. And, the fact was, if there was an Australian rock star likely to go to those extremes on stage, Angry Anderson would surely have taken honours on top of the list. (p102-104)
.
This bootleg post contains FLACs sourced from the web many moons ago (thanks to the original uploader) along with full album artwork and all photos displayed above. This is truly a rare early recording of the Tatts when they were just starting out, and thanks to blog follower jrgardy the date for this gig has been identified as Jan 1st, 1978 (see Setlist), a gig not to be missed.

      New Improved Rip !
.
Track Listing
01. Astra Wally
02. Bad Boy For Love
03. Hoochie Coochie Man
04. You Really Got Me
05. Sweet Love

Only a 26 minute show but very rare radio broadcast at the time when founding member, bass player Ian Rilen was around
.
Rose Tattoo Link (174Mb)
.

REPOST: Robin Trower - Live In Concert, New George's San Raphael, CA - KRQR-FM Broadcast (1988) - Ex SB

(U.K 1973-Present)

.
Robin Trower's career has spanned more than four decades, starting first with Procol Harum and then as a solo artist in the early 70's. He is one of the finest guitarists in Rock n' Roll history. Throughout his long and winding solo career, Robin Trower has been called the "White" Hendrix due to his uncanny ability to channel Hendrix' bluesy / psychedelic, Fender Strat-fueled playing style. This of course was what attracted me to his music in the first place as I am a huge Hendrix fan also. However, by the dawn of the '80s, it became quite obvious that Trower's stardam was rapidly fading, as each album sold less than its predecessor. A brief union with ex-Cream bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce spawned a pair of releases, 1981's B.L.T. and 1982's Truce, before Trower returned back to his solo career. The mid-late '80s saw Trower try and expand his audience with several releases that attempted to update his blues-rock style (such as 1987's slick produced Passion), but none returned the guitarist back to the top of the charts. Nevertheless, I believe this 2nd incarnation of Trower's band was as good as that first one which featured the lengendary James Dewar on vocals. In fact, Trower's album, 'Living Out of Time' (2004), featured the return of veteran bandmates Dave Bronze on bass, vocalist Davey Pattison (formerly with Ronnie Montrose's band Gamma) and Pete Thompson on drums - the same lineup as the mid 1980s albums 'Passion' and 'Take What You Need'.
The FM concert provided here features the same band members, and the recording was made on Trowers promotional tour for his then up and coming 'Take What You Need' LP. The concert was played at New George's San Raphael on 27-01-1988 and broadcast by a San Francisco FM radio station - 97.3 KRQR. This is a good show...KRQR used to do weekly live broadcasts from New George's for a short period of time in '88, the majority of which were local acts. This was one of the big names that they managed to broadcast. There were also shows by Paul Collins (The Beat), Eddie & The Tide, and Soft White Underbelly (a.k.a. Blue Oyster Cult). A small correction worth noting: the town actually spells it "Rafael," not "Raphael."

.I particularly like this concert as Trower's guitar playing is not self indulgent and he gets down to business immediately by giving the audience what they want, "Too Rolling Stoned" starts the concert and then the band proceeds to provide a mixture of new material blended in with the old. Davey Pattison's vocals are very strong and he is able to reproduce the old material with uncanny similarity to that of Dewar. Trower's guitar work is nothing short of brilliant and is consistently supported by his rhythm team with 'David Bronze' on bass and 'Pete Thompson' on drums. The combined tracks 'Day Of The Eagle / Bridge Of Sighs' are spectacular, with Trower demonstrating total control of feedback and guitar work that almost mesmorizes the listener. The new material is strong and tight, showing that the band was well rehearsed at the time. This is probably one of the best soundboard recordings I have heard and almost out does his earlier commercially released live material on 'Trower Live!' and 'Beyond The Mist'. All in all, this is a classic set and should not be overlooked if you are a Trower fan.

The rip was taken from Cassette in FLAC format (thanks to Draftervoi at Voodoo Wagon) and includes customised artwork, along with artwork from alternate bootleg releases (see below)

New Improved Rip and Artwork

.Track Listing

01 Too Rolling Stoned
02 Love Attack
03 Day of the Eagle
04 Bridge of Sighs
05 Second Time
06 No Time
07 Take What You Need
08 Rock Me Baby
09 Tear It Up
10 Little Bit of Sympathy

11 Lady Love

12 Into The Flame

Band Members:
Robin Trower - Guitar
Davey Pattison - Vocals
Dave Bronze - Bass
Pete Thompson - Drums

Robin Trower Link (692Mb) 

New Link 04/10/2025