Budgie - Apollo Theatre, Oxford, England (1982-05-03) Bootleg

(U.K 1967-1988, 1995-1996, 1999-2010)

In the late seventies, like so many others, Budgie struggled with the onset of punk and several line-up changes provided further instability. By 1978 Bourge and drummers Phillips and Pete Boot, had gone - replace by guitarists John Thomas and drummmer Steve Williams. The band became increasingly more polished and their later work less distinctive.

The band soldiered on in the eighties buoyed by the resurgence of interest in things metal, with an appearance at the Reading Festival in August, 1982 and cult popularity in the States, boosted by Metallica's patronage. While any denim wearing Budgie fan will tell you that Budgie’s early 80's album releases didn't quite compare to their earlier work, the material still sounds great when the boys played it live.

They also built a particular following in Poland, where they played as the first heavy metal band behind the Iron Curtain in 1982.

As a warm up for these major concerts, Budgie continued to feather their nest in the UK by playing local venues, including the Apollo Theatre, in Oxford, England, which is featured in this post.

Much of Budgie's resurgent success in the 80's can be attributed to John Thomas who took over the axeman role from Budgie's temporary guitarist Rob Kendrick. An ex-George Hatcher player, "JT" injected the band with a new lease of life. Signing to RCA, their momentum was accelerated by the birth of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal which lead many younger rock fans to discover their back catalogue. 

Over a 3 year period, Budgie released an E.P 'If Swallowed Do Not Induce Vomitting', and three albums (Power Supply / Nightflight / Deliver Us From Evil). The Apollo concert features tracks from the EP and the first 2 albums from the 80's - Power Supply & Nightflight, and a few of their classics like Breadfan & Napoleon Bona Part. Steve Williams also struts his stuff by opening the concert with a short drum intro.

One annomaliy that I've noted is the absence of the track "Truth Drug". There was a 45 single release featuring this live track recorded at the Apollo concert (see photo below), yet the taper for this Bootleg does not mention it being played [see notes included]. I do know that Budgie included the track in their performance at the 82 Reading Festival, so it seems strange why it is missing here. Something doesn't quite add up?

This post consists of FLACS ripped from a TDK AD-C90 Cassette Master captured by an Aiwa Walkman and microphone. The quality of the recording is exceptional and was recorded from a seat in the stalls (per ticket scan). The taper did not record or remember the name of any support act.  Limited artwork is included.

Thanks to the HMR forum for the rip.

Notes by taper:

At the tape flip, side 2 opens with one of the performers saying "the Queen". Whatever was said before this, I don't know. It makes little sense on playback, but I have left it in anyway. The cheers at the end of side 1 were slightly faded out in order to smooth this join. There may be a total of 30 or so seconds missing here, with the tape being wound to the end, flipped, and 5 seconds of leader on side 2. I put the track marker for "She Used Me Up" to coincide with this flip - therefore it is a few seconds early, before the song actually begins.
Before the encore, I paused the tape. I removed this sharp transition with an overlapped fade-out, and fade-in of the 2 portions of audio. This is now quite smooth.

Track List:
00. Drum Intro 1:30
01. Forearm Smash 8:11
02. Crime Against The World 5:58
03. Napoleon Bona Parts 1 & 2 7:22
04. Breaking All The House Rules 7:08
05. I Turned To Stone 7:07
06. My Baby's On Fire 4:38
07. Superstar 3:56
08. She Used Me Up 3:33
09. Panzer Division Destroyed 6:29
10. Wildfire 8:31
Encore:
11. Breadfan 9:25

Budgie Apollo Theatre Link (495Mb)