Dutch 1971 Bootleg Newspaper Article

Thanks to Mark. here’s the link to the complete article:

http://www.delpher.nl/nl/kranten/view?query=%22pictures+of+pink+floyd%22&coll=ddd&identifier=ddd%3A010957700%3Ampeg21%3Aa0262&resultsidentifier=ddd%3A010957700%3Ampeg21%3Aa0262

Here are two excerpts:

In the first one they provided a list of existing bootlegs, no doubt whetting the appetites of a couple of readers in the process.

Many of these are very familiar to us but a few seem to have sprung from someone’s imagination.

Bootlegs confiscated in Rotterdam. The Dutch made Santana LIVE IN ROTTERDAM and Rubber Dubber’s THE BAND LIVE AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL clearly visible. The text on the left talks about bootleggers taping the Concert For Bangladesh and threatening the original idea of raising further funds through the sale of the official live album when they were much faster in offering bootleg recordings.

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QUEEN ‘HOT SPACE TOUR ’82’ ETS 2511-13

The “10th Anniversary” theme is repeated on the labels, which state this as well.

Japan: 1983 – a 2006 auction claimed 400 copies were pressed.

Matrix: ETS 2511 A / B, ETS 2512 A / B, ETS 2513 A / B

ETS 2511 A: Flash (Tape intro) / Rock It (Prime Jive) / We Will Rock You (Fast) / Action This Day / Somebody To Love / Calling All Girls
ETS 2511 B: Now I’m Here / Put Out The Fire / Dragon Attack / Now I’m Here (Reprise) / Love Of My Life / Save Me
ETS 2512 A: Get Down Make Love / Guitar Solo / Body Language / Back Chat / Under Pressure
ETS 2512 B: Fat Bottomed Girls / Crazy Little Thing Called Love / Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting / Bohemian Rhapsody / Tie Your Mother Down
ETS 2513 A: Another One Bites The Dust / We Will Rock You / We Are The Champions / God Save The Queen [Cut] (103 minutes total length of this recording) / Staying Power+ / Under Pressure+ / Sheer Heart Attack+

Source: Audience recording from one of the two nights played at Fukuoka Kyu-den at the start of their Japan leg of the Game World Tour, usually attributed to the first night on 19 October 1982 – ‘+’ marked tracks come from an inferior sounding audience recording taped at National Bowl, Milton Keynes, UK on 5 June 1982. The Fukuoka tracks on the first five and the following sixth side have been intentionally misrepresented as having been recorded at the Los Angeles Forum on the 14th and 15th of September ’82 (two correct concert dates), going as far as editing the source tapes and removing all references to the band performing in Japan. This was standard practice for the UD / XL label as well as other Japanese vinyl bootlegs, as the interpretation of the law meant that while concert recordings from other countries could be pressed as records and sold in Japan, those derived from Japanese concert performances could not. Thankfully (for later identifying purposes), the Japanese bootlegger overlooked that Love of My Life had not been performed at any of the US concerts and Back Chat had been dropped after the first US show.

Quality: Quote from queenlive.ca: “the original LP remains the best version.” (for all the Fukuoka tracks).

ETS 2513 B: Flash (tape intro) / The Hero / We Will Rock You (Fast) / Play The Game / Calling All Girls / Body Language / Under Pressure / Bohemian Rhapsody

Source: Identified as coming from a different/second night at Fukuoka, 20 October 1982

 

Quality: While deserving of its ‘Ëxs’ rating, even better is the recording from Hankyu Nishinomiya Stadium (outside of Osaka, 24 October ’82) as pressed onto vinyl and released as GET DOWN (made in Italy would be my guess, first released in 1983 as well). There are big differences within each rating class after all.

****

This is the only Japanese bootleg I ever remember actually holding in my hands at a record fair in my country in the early 80’s. Being a poor university student, I was shocked by the large sum asked for this rarity and was reduced to lusting after it in suffered silence (which is definitely the reason I now have so many Queen live recordings on my hard drives).

Unfortunately, a copy of this title also fell into the hands of the worst CD bootleg label ever, Imtrat Records of Southern Germany, home of the abominable LIVE AND ALIVE/LIVE USA CD releases, flooding the music departments of department stores by the dozens with this cheaply produced crap. Ïmtrat produced about 250 titles from 1991 – 1993 under the interpretation of the copyright laws that these were legal, as long as the source tapes were recorded in the USA. “The anomaly in German law, that allowed absolute protection against unauthorized live performance CDs of a German artist but only protected foreign artists for performances in Germany…” [Bootleg, C. Heylin, p. 352]

I believe that Japan had the same copyright law and this is the explanation for the large number of Japanese concert recordings actively mislabeled as recorded abroad on the vinyl boots I have presented since early 2016.

The fate of European bootleg CD labels such as Imtrat, Swingin’ Pig, Oh Boy!, Living Legend, Perfect Beat, etc. was finally severely impacted after Phil Collins and Warner Brothers (Warner over a Prince title on Imtrat) sued and the European Court Of Justice in Luxembourg decided to extend copyright extension to all EC artists as already applied in the rest of Europe and even a recording of a US artist made in America could now be illegal if one of the musicians performing was European.

 

1971 Dutch Dylan Boot Comes With 1970 RS Article

I love it when past record owners hold onto contemporary articles and keep them with the record, like a time capsule.

The article, discussing the misadventures of its 20 year old producer “Steel” and the first UK produced bootleg, a bad sounding single LP ‘Best of’ version of G.W.W. taped from Ken & Dub’s original., was first published in the 19 March 1970 issue of Rolling Stone magazine.

The article is actually online for much better readability: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/dylans-great-white-wonder-bootleg-turns-up-in-london-19700319

The front of the album that the article was taped to (not the one discussed in the article, which I have never seen and there won’t be much to see anyway even if I had an image as the album had few markings apart from the matrix number GWW LP1 A/B): Reissue of the Dutch copy of the first Isle of Wight bootleg.

“Isle of Wight      The Peace/Piece versions
The Dutch release of this album came out in 1971.  It has a white cover with the title stamp, and a peace symbol in red or blue. It has a ‘Peace’ label that reads
“In concert on the island”  The matrix is 31 W-A/B  HM-PART – 1/2.  There was also a second issue that has a slightly larger stamp in purple.  (gwa 44Ba).
Later in 1971 another Dutch issue came out with an album that was pressed from the same master plates, however the package was completely different (gwa 44Bb). The front cover has a small red title stamp with no peace symbol.  The label now read ‘Piece’ instead of ‘Peace’.  It is not sure whether this alternate word is a play on the former, a spelling error, or a communications error.  The LP has a pink Piece label with the title “In concert on the Island”.  Another version of this LP came in the same cover as gwa  44Ba, with a label the same as gwa 44Ba… except that ‘Peace’ had been replaced by ‘Piece’! Obviously related … although it is not sure quite how or why.” (source: bobsboots.com) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From The Ventures to Stadium Rock: Western Rock Bands Touring Japan 1962 – 1972 – An Introduction to Bootlegging in Japan in the 1970’s – featuring Pink Floyd’s “Osaka Triple” and a comprehensive overview of Led Zeppelin ‘Live In Japan ’71/’72’ original vinyl Bootlegs

When a promoter booked half of surf/instrumental group The Ventures (the budget was too small to also send their bass and drum players, which would have to be supplied by local hired guns) in 1962 for an Asian tour supporting pop crooners Bobby Vee and Jo Ann Campbell , it seemed like an insignificant decision. However, for modern pop culture in Japan, it was the first spark leading to a significant bonfire. Japanese youth embraced these new culture gap-free sounds produced by electric guitars and the “group sounds” movement was born.

The following link provides an in depth look at the Ventures’ Japan success story:

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2008/08/07/music/the-ventures-still-rocking-after-50-years/#.VK-d4MnVruc

I believe one music phenomenon we have to thank the Ventures for is the “Live in Japan” album, Their first one was released in 1965:

 

 

This was soon followed by similar live albums by artists such as the Spotniks, the Shadows, Miles Davis and a number of MOR artists. I believe it would not be too far fetched to say that the first bootlegs made in Japan were efforts to provide an unofficial ‘Live In Japan’ souvenir album when the record companies had no plans to do so.

Looking at further influences by bands from the UK & USA, the first vocal group to have visited Japan were the Liverpool Five (none of the members were actually from Liverpool, which probably underlines how much of a influencing force the Beatles had become by then), who had won a contest to represent the UK during a series of concerts in Tokyo during the 1964 Olympic Games. None of the Japanese bands who performed as part of this “World Surfing Festival” had a vocalist. “Playing to sell-out crowds of over 8,000 at the Korakuen Ice Palace and other venues, the lead singers’ vocals caused a stir among musicians in the audience and was almost certainly responsible for the decision of several of the new eleki bands that sprung up in the next few months to begin recruiting vocalists and move towards a sound and approach that would increasingly diverge from that of the Ventures.”

The Animals were the next and first internationally well known band to tour Japan, on the strength of their first world wide success “House of the Rising Sun” and coinciding with the release of their second album ANIMAL TRACKS in May of 1965.

Animals 1965 Japan Tour Book

Next up, were of course the Beatles in the summer of 1966, with enough ticket applications received to fill the Budokan 21 times. As far as I can tell, the next group to play at the Budokan were the Monkees in the fall of 1968. Then, it appears we had a bit of a gap until the new breed of UK & US blues rock bands perfected their acts.

***

A Woodstock like large festival to be named “Fuji Odyssey” never got off the ground series of mini-festivals called “Rock Carnival” started in December of 1970, presenting local and Western artists (John Mayall participated in the first one). Part of the tour schedule for Western artists for 1971 follows.

February 1971: Blood, Sweat and Tears

March ’71: B.B. King [Rock Carnival # 3]

 

 

April/May ’71: Free [Rock Carnival # 4]

 

From an eye witness account: “This event started at midnight in the now defunct Sankei Hall, Ohtemachi. It was a festival style, all night event where many Japanese bands were to play. I scarcely remember most of the bands’ names but I remember that the unit of Narumo Shigeru and Tsunoda Hiro was the final act. After many bands had sequentially played, it was about the time when the first train was leaving, Free appeared. That was nothing but the coolest.

Each of their sounds and each of their motions were rock itself. When its thirty-minute show was over (or that might be more than sixty minutes, but it felt like thirty minutes for me), the rotating stage turned (you seldom see this these days but there used to be at that time) and the day’s main act, Narumo Shigeru and Tsunoda Hiro came out. However, enthusiastic applause for Free never stopped. The stage turned again and Free appeared, the whole audience was driven into a state of feverish excitement. Although I had gone to see some concerts before this, let me say, this was my first experience of the real rock concert.”

Nine songs were issued years later on the Japanese ‘fake Idle Mind bootleg’ Reminiscence (ca. 1977), making it the earliest audience tape recorded in Japan and pressed on a Japanese rock bootleg.

 

June ’71: Chicago’s first Japan Tour

July ’71: Grand Funk Railroad [Rock Carnival # 6]

Composite of two photos taken by Koh Hasebe at the Tokyo concert

The superstars of 1971 – I believe they were the second band to play at Shea Stadium after the Beatles – had already outgrown the Budokan and were the first to play at a baseball stadium in a line up with three other bands in front of a crowd of 35,000. Unfortunately, summer is the rainy season in Japan and it poured on concert night. The same conditions repeated, when Emerson, Lake & Palmer played Korakuen stadium the following year together with Free. An audience recording from the Osaka Stadium performance exists but was not pressed on bootleg.

“I am talking about the band that was on everyone’s lips in its heyday, the marvelous Grand Funk Railroad (G.F.R.), and their legendary Tokyo concert of 1971. I was excited to hear of G.F.R.’s impending arrival in the summer of 1971 in Tokyo. I was a young man of twenty-two years of age at that time. Back then, there weren’t any large halls expect the Budokan, and I was concerned where and how they would play with their huge amount of equipment, and finally, they chose the sacred home of Japanese baseball, Korakuen stadium. Since even Budokan was very large for us those days, it was even more exciting having the concert in the much larger baseball stadium.

The concert was scheduled to start on Saturday, July 17th, 1971, at 5pm. I turned up around 2 o’clock, and hung around seeing many dirty yet cool young people, and I felt an electrifying atmosphere in the stadium.
When the time came and I entered the stadium, I was amazed to see what looked like every speaker in Japan stacked in large walls around the massive stage, which was set up near second base on the baseball field. And before the stage was a big board plastered with “GRAND FUNK RAILROAD” in huge letters.
The concert began, and after long forgotten Japanese bands warmed the crowd up, the time for G.F.R. to hit the stage finally arrived. All of a sudden the sky became dark and a strong wind blew the G.F.R. board off the stage. However, with the sound of an explosion of a reckless running railroad train on the big screen on the stage, the band appeared to the cheers of their adoring fans. And they played up a storm, like the hard rain and strong winds that accompanied them.”

 

August ’71: Hakone Aphrodite Festival (Pink Floyd’s first visit to Japan on a bill with Buffy St, Marie the 1910 Fruit Gum Co. and Strawberry Path, The Mops,  Happenings Four, Yosuke Yamashita and the Masahiko Sato Trio. They also made time for a performance at Osaka’s Festival Hall.

All of these were all taped and an ambitious compilation bootleg was produced in 1972 or later– Pink Floyd (KP339-KP344), also known as Osaka/Tokyo Triple and PINK FLOYD JAPAN 70-71′, ‘LIVE IN TOKYO/OSAKA 1972, one of the most valuable early Japanese bootlegs ever and the first ever Japanese 3 LP bootleg (and pretty much for the rest of the decade as I cannot recall another until the 80’s when they were pretty common). This used to be one of the most valuable Japanese bootlegs with auction prices reaching $2,000 and 2000 Euros.

Two tracks from from the first day at Hakone were presented on this set.

In depth information can be found here: http://www.concerts-db.com/index.php?list=city&choice=Hakone

“Hakone is to the southwest of Tokyo and it takes 2 hours from Tokyo by car. Many people visit there and enjoy playing golf and tennis, and sightseeing . The open-air concert entitled ”71 Hakone Aphrodite’ was held at the open space called ‘Seikei Gakuen Jofudai ‘ by Lake Ashi on Aug.6 & 7, 1971. It is said that 30,000 people gathered there. Pink Floyd appeared in the evening (6:00 pm) on Aug.6, 1971 and played ‘Atom Heart Mother’, ‘Green is the colour’, ‘Careful With That Axe, Eugene’, ‘Echoes’, ‘Cymbaline’ and ‘A saucerful Of Secrets’.”

“There were two stages, the main and the sub, and the audience was moving between the two for their favorite bands. The place was filled with an easy feeling. Of course, our target was Pink Floyd. And we thought Pink Floyd might be last, after sunset. So we hung around and enjoyed nature’s euphoria, drinking beer and looking on while bands played. Finally, 1910 Fruit Gum Company’s show was over, and it got dark enough; the time for Pink Floyd had come. Then, suddenly, dense fog began to form. I’m not sure that it was usual in that area or not. And surprisingly, it became nature’s miraculous stage effects. In that psychedelic atmosphere (you may say it was too good to be true. But it was true), their first, and maybe their best performance in Japan had started. Listening to their song “Echoes” in the fog was the coolest of the cool!”

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rRHZS-MLn4

Ticket for the concert at Osaka Festival Hall. A further two songs from this performance were selected for the OSAKA TRIPLE package.

***

September ’71: Led Zeppelin’s first triumphant Japan tour inspired a number of Japanese vinyl bootlegs and possibly may be credited with kickstarting the local bootleg industry:

 

 

The rare SUPER-STARS! double, a copy of which recently sold for $1,500, as reported on this blog. Released between the very end of 1971 and very early 1973, if I had to make a guess and a candidate for one of the earliest Japanese rock bootlegs [I would love for someone with greater knowledge on the topic to correct me or contribute].

SUPER STARS (LED ZEPPELIN IN TOKYO)
No label
Side 1: Immigrant Song/Heartbreaker medley incl. Bouree, Feelin’ Groovy/Since I’ve Been Loving You/Out On The Tiles Intro-Black Dog/What Is And What Should Never Be
Side 2: Dazed And Confused medley incl. I Got A Feeling
Side 3: Celebration Day/That’s The Way/Going To California/Tangerine
Side 4: Whole Lotta Love medley incl. Boogie Chillun, Cocaine, Rave On, Your Time Is Gonna Come, I’m A Man, The Hunter, Hello Mary Lou, Pretty Woman, How Many More Times
Recording: Good mono audience. Runs a bit fast. Source: Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, Japan Sept. 24 ’71.

 

SEPTEMBER 24 – NIPPON BUDOKAN, TOKYO, JAPAN (FRIDAY, 2pm)

Recording Includes: [ supposed to be not recorded: Band Announcements ] Immigrant Song [ 1:57 – cut ] >> Heartbreaker (<< Bouree, Feelin’ Groovy..) [ 6:53 – cut ], Since I’ve Been Loving You [ 7:27 ], Out On The Tiles Intro [ 0:12 ] >> Black Dog [ 5:27 ], [ cut ], Dazed And Confused (<< I Got A Feeling..) [ 24:03 ], [ cut ], Celebration Day [ 4:56 ], That’s The Way [ 6:30 ], Going To California [ 7:08 ], Tangerine [ 3:45 ], [ cut ], What Is And What Should Never Be [ 4:29 ], [ cut ], Instrumental Intro [ 0:59 ] >> Whole Lotta Love (<< Boogie Chillun, Cocaine, Rave On, Your Time Is Gonna Come, I’m A Man, The Hunter, Hello Mary Lou, [ cut ], Pretty Woman [ cut ], How Many More Times..) [ 25:43 ].
Source: Incomplete good 2nd audience recording. Nearly 107 minutes.
Details: Again, the sound is muffled, somewhat mushy in places and distant. This one seems to be also bit boomy here and there. However, this source is much more bright. The real problem here is lots of crackle from vinyl and original tape – it overloads the intimate atmosphere of recording. Furthermore, on the original LP What Is And What Should Never Be is placed right after Black Dog.  Bootleg LP Reference source: Super Stars (Led Zeppelin In Tokyo) (no label)

***

 

The similarly extremely rare IN CONCERT on the OG label, which I would place with a 1973 production date. A copy recently failed to attract a single bid (starting bid had been GBP 500).

IN CONCERT
OG-660
Side 1: Since I’ve Been Loving You*/Out On The Tiles Intro-Black Dog*/Stairway To Heaven*
Side 2: Going To California*/Whole Lotta Love (*)/(an excerpt from Whole Lotta Love medley) The Hunter, Hello Mary Lou, Pretty Woman, How Many More Times**/Communication Breakdown medley incl. Hey Hey What Can I Do?**
Recording: Fair-Good mono audience. Runs fast. Source: (*)Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, Japan Sept. 23 ’71 except (**)Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, Japan Sept. 24 ’71. Comments: Japanese bootleg. Very rare.

 

SEPTEMBER 23 – NIPPON BUDOKAN, TOKYO, JAPAN (THURSDAY, 6:30pm)

Recording Includes: Since I’ve Been Loving You [ 7:05 ], [ cut ], Out On The Tiles Intro [ 0:12 ] >> Black Dog [ 5:21 ], [ cut ], Stairway To Heaven [ 8:55 ], [ cut ], Going To California [ 6:05 ], [ cut ], Whole Lotta Love [ 1:08 – cut ].
Source: Incomplete fair to good 1st audience recording. Near 31 minutes.
Details: A significantly distant and somewhat flat sounding source, with some hiss throughout. Bootleg LP Reference source: IN CONCERT

SEPTEMBER 24 – NIPPON BUDOKAN, TOKYO, JAPAN (FRIDAY, 2pm)

Recording Includes: (an excerpt from Whole Lotta Love medley): The Hunter [ cut ] >> Hello Mary Lou >> Pretty Woman >> How Many More Times >> Whole Lotta Love [ 11:50 – cut ], [ cut ], Communication Breakdown (<< Hey Hey What Can I Do?..) [ 5:33 – cut ].
Source: Incomplete fair to good 1st audience recording. 17 minutes.
Details: Muffled and distant, not clear at all. Bootleg LP Reference source: IN CONCERT

 

***

 

In 1974, the OG label debuted the “on stage mic’d” source, with emphasis on John Bonham, often mistaken for a soundboard.

LIVE IN JAPAN 1971
OG-798/799
Side 1: Immigrant Song/Heartbreaker medley incl. Feelin’ Groovy, Bouree/Since I’ve Been Loving You
Side 2: Tangerine/Moby Dick
Side 3: Stairway To Heaven/Celebration Day
Side 4: You Shook Me/Whole Lotta Love/Communication Breakdown medley incl. Just A Little Bit/Organ Solo/Thank You
Comments: There were at least four different pressings/versions of this double album (original red labels, as shown here. Orange labels with a different design and lettering. Black labels and the UFO version).

This source is discussed here: http://forums.ledzeppelin.com/index.php?/topic/14227-osaka-71-aud-vs-sbd/

***

October ’71: Elton John

A soundboard from his October 1^st show later surfaced.

****

1972 

February 1972: CCR

March 1972: Pink Floyd return for their first proper tour and play 6 concerts. The following descriptions are taken from collectorsmusicreviews.com:

Taiikukan, Tokyo, Japan, March 6   “Two recordings exist, a partial FM source featuring a large portion of the Dark Side suite and a complete audience recording…”

Taiikukan, Tokyo, Japan, March 7   “There are three sources for this concert in varying degrees of sound quality…”

Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan, March 8   “The first gig in Osaka has been widely bootlegged, and at least four  sources exits for this concert.” The bulk of the OSAKA TRIPLE vinyl set was taken from one of these sources.

Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan, March 9   “There is one main source for the second night in Osaka…”

 

Side 1: Cymbaline *, A Saucerful Of Secrets **                                                                                                   Side 2: Fat Old Sun *, Atom Heart Mother
Side 3: One Of These Days, Careful With That Axe Eugene                                                                                 Side 4: Echoes
Side 5: Speak To Me, Breathe, On The Run, Time, Breathe (Reprise), The Great Gig In The Sky                        Side 6: Money, Us And Them, Any Colour You Like, Brain Damage, Eclipse

Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan – March 8th, 1972 plus * Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan – August 9th, 1971,                 ** Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan – March 9th, 1972

” …the first tape of this show to surface on LP in the early seventies.  This is a straight transfer of the classic three LP Japanese set Pink Floyd (KP339-KP344).  It was originally released with three individual plain white covers and two posters placed inside a brown paper bag with sticker. 

Later variations were released under the name Pink Floyd Japan 70-71, Live In Tokyo / Osaka 1972 and Tokyo Triple.  The bulk of the material comes from the March 8th, 1972 Osaka show, but “A Saucerful Of Secrets” is from the Osaka show on March 9th, 1972 and “Cymbaline” and “Fat Old Sun” date from their first tour of Japan on August 9th, 1971, also in Osaka. The sound quality is, compared to the others, very muffled and dull and barely enjoyable.” [review by collectorsmusicreviews.com]

 

Furitsu Taiikukan Hall, Kyoto, Japan, March 10   “There is one source for the Kyoto show…”

Nakanoshima Sports Center, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan, March 13   “The final gig in Japan for 16 years has four know recordings that circulate in varying degrees of completeness…”

 

***

 June ’72: Chicago return for their second tour of Japan in support of Chicago V. All of their Osaka performances are taped by CBS/Sony for a Japan only live album. Recorded by hooking up two eight track machines, the final result surpasses the official Live At Carnegie Hall

***

 July ’72: ELP supported by Free play Korakuen Stadium in Tokyo and at Osaka’s Koshien Stadium

Three songs from Free’s opening set are included on the aforementioned Reminiscences album:

 While one track by the headliner’s was issued on the surprisingly easy to find OG release 21st CENTURY SCHIZOID ROCK OG-630

“Total duration: 34:28  A very fragmented album of an average audience recording.
Track 1 – 4 is from an unknown show, most likely between April and June 1971.
One can hear Keith Emerson talking about ‘a new album’ (Tarkus) which will be released – he says – in August; ‘maybe earlier’. The last track – Lucky Man – is from the Korakuen Stadium / Japan – show in July 1972.
Some copies of this album included two bonus tracks with Free, who supported ELP on the 1972 Japan-tour.
Alt. track list: 1.TAKE A PEBBLE (ELP) 2.KNIFE EDGE (ELP) 3.ALL RIGHT NOW (FREE) 4.FIRE AND WATER (FREE) 5.BARBARIAN (ELP) 6.GONG (ELP) Matrix number 707 (print) ”

***

August ’72: Deep Purple play three shows (rescheduled from May). The band reluctantly agrees to have the shows recorded for a ‘live in Japan only’ album. Famous last words…

 ***

October’72: Led Zeppelin return for their second and last ever Japan tour to play six concerts. None of them reach the critical acclaim of their first visit.

This is also reflected in the Japanese bootlegs that this tour yielded or rather the immediate lack of. The OG label presented this unnumbered but visually appealing one disc release of the Osaka October 9th show around 1975 as one of their last releases:

 

Recording Includes: [ supposed to be not recorded: Band Announcements ] Rock And Roll [ 3:38 ], Out On The Tiles Intro [ 0:13 ] >> Black Dog [ 5:01 ], Over The Hills And Far Away [ 5:49 ], Misty Mountain Hop [ 4:35 ] >> Since I’ve Been Loving You [ 7:23 ], Dancing Days [ 3:26 ], The Song Remains The Same [ 5:15 ] >> The Rain Song [ 7:24 ], [ cut ], Dazed And Confused (<< Down By The River, The Crunge..) [ 26:57 ], Stairway To Heaven [ 9:23 ], Moby Dick [ 15:43 ], [ cut ], Whole Lotta Love (<< Everybody Needs Somebody To Love, Something’s Got A Hold On Me, (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, Leave My Woman Alone, Lawdy Miss Clawdy, Heartbreak Hotel, Wear My Ring Around Your Neck, Going Down Slow, The Shape I’m In..) [ 28:57 – cut ], [ cut ], Stand By Me [ 6:14 ], Immigrant Song [ 3:36 ].
Source: Incomplete very good 1st audience recording. 143 minutes.
Details: This is clear recording. Page’s guitar is fairly prominent in this source but it doesn’t overwhelm the other instruments. There is some hiss though. [all detailed comments taken from argenteumastrum.com]

“Bron-Y-Aur Stomp” was taken from a different concert recording: OCTOBER 4 – OSAKA FESTIVAL HALL, OSAKA, JAPAN (WEDNESDAY, 6pm), thus the following might apply: “1st source, taped by Yoshiaki Sumitomo (speed issues in few places – he also recorded Osaka October 4th, 1972 1st source)”

This release was copied by Vicky Vinyl ca. ’76/’77 and is much better known as:

***

 

Ca. 1979 a further tape was acquired in Japan, this time from the start of the tour at the Budokan. The following are vinyl releases containing the first source:

 

Red labels – first or second issue? Apologies for the bad quality, this is the only one I have found.

OCTOBER 2 – NIPPON BUDOKAN, TOKYO, JAPAN (MONDAY, 6:30pm)

“Recording Includes: Band Announcements, Rock And Roll [ 3:37 ], Over The Hills And Far Away [ 5:22 ], Out On The Tiles Intro [ 0:12 ] >> Black Dog [ 4:41 ], [ cut ], Misty Mountain Hop [ 4:32 ] >> Since I’ve Been Loving You [ 7:07 ], Dancing Days [ 3:20 ], Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp [ 4:23 ], The Song Remains The Same [ 5:14 ] >> The Rain Song [ 7:11 ], [ cut ], Dazed And Confused (<< The Crunge..) [ 20:55 ], [ cut ], Stairway To Heaven [ 8:59 ], [ cut ], Whole Lotta Love (<< Just A Little Bit, Everybody Needs Somebody To Love, Boogie Chillun, My Baby Left Me, Killing Floor, I Can’t Quit You Baby..) [ 21:17 ], [ cut ], Heartbreaker (<< Bouree..) [ 6:00 ], [ cut ], Immigrant Song [ 3:46 ] >> Communication Breakdown [ 4:17 ], [ cut ], Band Announcements [ cut ].
Source: Almost complete very good to excellent 1st audience recording. 126 minutes.
Details: The tape contains rather little hiss and is recorded very close to the stage with all the instruments well balanced and with genuine clarity. The only drawback of this source is the bass line, which sounds a bit mushed.”

LIVE AT THE BUDOKAN
REMEMBER N5518
Side 1: Rock & Roll/Over The Hills & Far Away/Out On The Tiles Intro-Black Dog/Misty Mountain Hop/Since I’ve Been Loving You (26:15)
Side 2: Dancing Days/Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp/The Song Remains The Same/Stairway To Heaven (26:48)
Side 3: Dazed & Confused medley incl. The Crunge (21:18)
Side 4: Whole Lotta Love medley incl. Just A Little Bit, Everybody Needs Somebody To Love, Boogie Chillun, My Baby Left Me, Killing Floor, I Can’t Quit You Baby/Heartbreaker medley incl. Bouree (27:11)
Recording: Very good stereo audience. Source: Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, Japan Oct. 2 ’72. Comments: Japanese bootleg. Deluxe black & white cover.

Ken’s Toasted Records copied the Remember title in the US, around 1980 – but got the date wrong. It was reissued on white PVC and also included in the massive FINAL OPTION box:

LIVE IN TOKYO 10/2/72
TOASTED RECORDS 1901 A-D
Recording: Very good stereo audience. Comments: US bootleg. A reissue of LIVE AT THE BUDOKAN (Remember N5518). Deluxe color cover. Some copies on colored vinyl. Also available in the mid-1980’s on US label Amazing Stork Records (if you are wondering why this has “The Rain Song”, see below for the material from the 3rd of October also included) with some copies pressed on colored vinyl. Part of THE FINAL OPTION box set.

**

A very rare record, the New OG Label edition, which unlike the Remember version includes “The Rain Song” (the discogs entry, however, omits this song).  The cover art quotes LIVE IN JAPAN 1971 OG-798/799, it seems.

LIVE AT BUDOKAN 72
NEW OG 1149-50 A-B
Recording: Very good stereo audience. Comments: Same material as LIVE AT THE BUDOKAN (Remember N5518) but in a different order plus The Rain Song. Comes with an article about the concert from a Japanese magazine.

Matrix / Runout (Side A machine stamped): OG 1149 A 〄 a 19223 (A) 1H
    Matrix / Runout (Side B machine stamped): OG 1149 B 〄 a 19224 (B) 1H
    Matrix / Runout (Side C machine stamped): OG 1150 A 〄 a 19225 (A) 1H
    Matrix / Runout (Side D machine stamped): OG 1150 B 〄 a 19226 (B) 2J

 

**

Source 2:

“Recording Includes: Stairway To Heaven [ 8:08 – cut ], [ cut ], Whole Lotta Love (<< Just A Little Bit, Everybody Needs Somebody To Love, Boogie Chillun, My baby Left Me, Killing Floor, I Can’t Quit You Baby..) [ 21:06 ], [ cut ], Heartbreaker (<< Bouree..) [ 5:57 ], [ cut ], Immigrant Song [ 3:31 ] >> Communication Breakdown [ 4:27 ].
Recording: Incomplete very good 2nd audience recording. Almost 45 minutes.
Details: A good defined and clear tape taped not far away from the stage. No signs of distortion here. However recording suffers a bit from bass frequencies which dominating throughout, [oversaturating] rather significantly whole content.”

A release on the LLX ‘label’ (the same folks who had brought the world SUPER-STARS! ). When was this issued? The discogs entry claims 1973 but I doubt this. It also says there that every known copy has a different cover slick.  

LIVE IN TOKYO OCT. 2-3 1972 BUDOKAN BIG HALL
LLX 1233-4-5-6  Matrix / Runout (all sides machine stamped): LLX 1233/4/5/6 IN
Side 1: Rock & Roll (3:16)*/Out On The Tiles Intro-Black Dog (4:14)*/Over The Hills & Far Away (5:42)*/Misty Mountain Hop (4:48)*/Since I’ve Been Loving You (8:10)*
Side 2: Dancing Days (3:31)*/Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp (4:39)*/The Song Remains The Same (5:42)*/The Rain Song (7:42)*
Side 3: Whole Lotta Love medley incl. Just A Little Bit, Everybody Needs Somebody To Love, Boogie Chillun, My Baby Left Me, Killing Floor, I Can’t Quit You Baby (20:28)**
Side 4: Stairway To Heaven (8:22)* & **/The Ocean (4:16)*/Heartbreaker medley incl. Bouree (6:05)**/Immigrant Song (3:56)**/Communication Breakdown (4:12)**
Recording: Very good mono audience. Source: (*)Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, Japan Oct. 3 ’72 except (**)Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, Japan Oct. 2 ’72. Comments: Rare Japanese bootleg. Stairway To Heaven is spliced with two different sources.

***

Fifth source:

Recording Includes: Band Announcements, Rock And Roll, Over The Hills And Far Away, Out On The Tiles Intro >> Black Dog, Misty Mountain Hop >> Since I’ve Been Loving You, Dancing Days, Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp, The Song Remains The Same >> The Rain Song, Dazed And Confused (<< The Crunge..), Stairway To Heaven, Whole Lotta Love (<< Just A Little Bit, Everybody Needs Somebody To Love, Boogie Chillun, My Baby Left Me, Killing Floor, I Can’t Quit You Baby..), Heartbreaker (<< Bouree..), Immigrant Song >> Communication Breakdown.
Source: Almost complete very good 5th audience recording. 128 minutes.
Details: This audience source is a bit distant and muddy, with the balance and the sound clearing a bit in time. Plant’s voice sound rough on occasions.

LED ZEPPELIN 71-72
DIGGER 71A-B 72A-B
Side 1: Tangerine (3:43)*/Stairway To Heaven (9:04)*/Celebration Day (4:50)*/What Is And What Should Never Be (4:17)*/Moby Dick (1:30)*
Side 2: That’s The Way (6:29)*/Going To California (7:24)*/Over The Hills And Far Away (6:04)**
Side 3: Rock ‘N’ Roll (3:34)**/Stairway To Heaven (8:50)**/Whole Lotta Love (conclusion 2:20)**
Side 4: Immigrant Song (3:55)***/Communication Breakdown (4:17)***/The Song Remains The Same (5:12)***/The Rain Song (7:15)***
Recording: (*) (**)Good to Very good mono; (***)Very good mono. Audience. Source: (*)Hiroshima-ken Taiikukan, Hiroshima, Japan Sept. 27 ’71; (**)Osaka Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan Oct. 4 ’72; (***)Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, Japan Oct. 2 ’72. Comments: Brown record mailer with rubber stamp and obi. Contains a large black & white poster, postcard and a real female rubber stamped panty. Because of this quite often this set is called “Panty” box. What’s very interesting, at least some copies also have bonus tape with another source for Hiroshima date (actually, it is source no. 4). Rare.

Digger seems to have been a label from the 1980’s specializing in Led Zeppelin releases; a forerunner to the CD bootleg labels who carried on this obsession from the 1990’s. See below for the Osaka source from October 4th.

****

OCTOBER 3 – NIPPON BUDOKAN, TOKYO, JAPAN (TUESDAY, 6:30pm)

Recording Includes: [ supposed to be not recorded: Band Announcements ] Rock And Roll [ 3:04 ], Out On The Tiles Intro [ 0:12 ] >> Black Dog [ 4:53 ], Over The Hills And Far Away [ 5:33 ], Misty Mountain Hop [ 4:50 ] >> Since I’ve Been Loving You [ 7:30 ], [ cut ], Dancing Days [ 3:25 ], Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp [ 4:33 ], [ cut ], The Song Remains The Same [ 5:19 ] >> The Rain Song [ 7:30 ], [ cut ], The Ocean [ 4:04 ].
Source: Incomplete very good 1st audience recording. 57 minutes.
Details: A bit distant and somewhat flat sounding tape, with rather nice atmosphere.

Found on: Live In Tokyo Oct. 2-3 1972 Budokan Big Hall (LLX 1233-4-5-6) & Tokyo 10/2/72 (Amazing Stork Records):

**

Source 2:

Recording Includes: Band Announcements, Rock And Roll [ 3:07 ], Out On The Tiles Intro [ 0:12 ] >> Black Dog [ 4:56 ], Over The Hills And Far Away [ 5:37 ], Misty Mountain Hop [ 4:58 ] >> Since I’ve Been Loving You [ 7:36 ], Dancing Days [ 3:30 ], Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp [ 4:27 – cut ], The Song Remains The Same [ 5:25 ] >> The Rain Song [ 7:41 ], Dazed And Confused (<< The Crunge..) [ 27:17 – cut ].
Source: Incomplete good to very good 2nd audience recording. 83 minutes.
Details: A bit distant and tiny but still decent quality. The real problem with this source is that it was surfaced only on vinyl, which is very scratchy, with a lot of noise throughout and even after some declicking job the sound isn’t too clear. What worse, near the end of Dazed another song can be heard playing from underneath, and from that point sound deteriorates significantly into mush.

Privately Cut Japanese Acetate (no title, no label) [no image available]

 

****

OCTOBER 4 – OSAKA FESTIVAL HALL, OSAKA, JAPAN (WEDNESDAY, 6pm)

Recording Includes: [ supposed to be not recorded: Band Announcements ] Rock And Roll [ 3:30 – cut ], Out On The Tiles Intro [ 0:12 ] >> Black Dog [ 4:52 ], Over The Hills And Far Away [ 5:23 ], Misty Mountain Hop [ 4:35 ] >> Since I’ve Been Loving You [ 7:11 ], Dancing Days [ 3:22 ], Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp [ 4:31 ], The Song Remains The Same [ 5:16 ] >> The Rain Song [ 7:11 ], Dazed And Confused (<< San Francisco instrumental, The Crunge..) [ 23:10 – cut ], Stairway To Heaven [ 9:18 ], Whole Lotta Love (<< Everybody Needs Somebody To Love, Boogie Chillun, Got A Lot O’Livin To Do, Let’s Have A Party, You Shook Me, The Lemon Song..) [ 22:21 ].
Source: Incomplete very good 1st audience recording. 108 minutes.
Details: Taped from 5th row and a really good sounding audience recording. All the instruments are up front and well balanced with the audience in the background. There is some distortion on bass line.

LED ZEPPELIN 71-72
DIGGER 71A-B 72A-B

Side 2: That’s The Way (6:29)*/Going To California (7:24)*/Over The Hills And Far Away (6:04)**
Side 3: Rock ‘N’ Roll (3:34)**/Stairway To Heaven (8:50)**/Whole Lotta Love (conclusion 2:20)**

****

OCTOBER 5 – NAGOYA-SHI KOKAIDO, NAGOYA, JAPAN (THURSDAY, 6:30pm)

Recording Includes: [ supposed to be not recorded: Band Announcements ] Rock And Roll, Out On The Tiles Intro >> Black Dog, Misty Mountain Hop >> Since I’ve Been Loving You, Dancing Days, Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp, The Song Remains The Same >> The Rain Song, Dazed And Confused [ cut ], Stairway To Heaven, Whole Lotta Love (<< Everybody Needs Somebody To Love, Boogie Chillun, I Feel So Good, Let’s Have A Party, You Shook Me..), Mellotron Solo (<< Sakura Sakura..) >> Thank You.
Source: Incomplete fair to good 1st audience source.
Details: A distant, muddy and somewhat hissy tape that sounds like it was recorded under the towel but almost no serious distortion here. It still holds the dynamics and some fragments are brighter a little bit.

 

SQUEEZE ME
ASS RECORDS
Side 1: Out On The Tiles Intro-Black Dog (5:09)/Misty Mountain Hop (4:16)/Since I’ve Been Loving You (7:11)
Side 2: Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp (4:35)/The Song Remains The Same (5:05)/The Rain Song (7:20)
Recording: Fair-Good mono audience. Source: Nagoya-shi Kokaido, Nagoya, Japan Oct. 5 ’72. Comments: Rare Japanese acetate.

In the 1980’s there was this incredibly rare Japan acetate as the final vinyl offering from the tour before the era of CD bootlegs took over. This copy was offered on eBay in August of 2014 and sold for over $900.

etymology and changing meaning of the word ‘bootleg’

The terms ‘boot’ and ‘leg’ have been joined ever since working boots that reached above the ankle, probably since the 1620’s.

The term found it’s way into public jargon, as evidenced by its appearance in newspaper articles around the late 19th century. As it was still relatively new, it was ‘tried out’ in different contexts:

[from: Investigation of the state prisons and report thereon, New York (State). Prison Commission, The Commission, 1876]

Related to the above, the term “bootleg soup” survived to this day and stands for a concoction based on leftovers (sometimes of questionable origin?). That certainly gives us an idea what that coffee must have tasted like…

***

Ten years later and the term has now firmly acquired a negative meaning, probably due to stories from the Old West about weapons, such as a knife, hidden in the upper part of a boot. I doubt it came from bottles of ‘moonshine’ actually being transported in this manner, as has often been suggested.

In 1889, a definition linking the term to illicit trade can be found:

[B. R. Porter, Probate Judge of Anderson County, Kansas, in The Economics of Prohibition, 1890, re-quoted from an 1889 report in The Voice]

***

The first case of linking the term to describe records/music that I have found, comes from a work of fiction: RENO FEVER by Dorothy Walworth Carman, published in 1932

I wonder what the implied meaning, exactly.

***

10 years later, “the American Federation of Musicians, at the instigation of union president James Petrillo, started a strike against the major American recording companies because of disagreements over royalty payments. Beginning at midnight, July 31, no union musician could record for any record company.” [wikipedia]

Needless to say, someone saw a business opportunity and the term “bootleg” became linked with being a strike breaker.

***

Finally, in the 1950’s, ‘bootleg records’ started to refer to ‘pirate/unauthorized records’:

[Record Changer magazine, December 1951 issue]

 

RECORD ‘PIRACY’ CHARGED IN SUIT; Columbia and Louis Armstrong Allege Paradox Bootlegged ‘Jolly Roger’ Series RECORD ‘PIRACY’ CHARGED IN SUIT

January 31, 1952 – BUSINESS FINANCIAL 

The first major blow against alleged “pirates” and “bootleggers” in the record industry was struck yesterday. Columbia Records, Inc., and Louis Armstrong, jazz musician, filed a complaint in New York Supreme Court against Paradox Industries, Inc., for the alleged re-recording of Columbia’s Armstrong “Jolly Roger” series and the sale of it under misleading brand labels. […]

[The New York Times]

***

Finally, in 1969, the arrival of the rock bootleg:

****

Reinventing itself – the meaning in 2014:

Busted! FBI Raids 1976 + 1980 Part 2: Piece de Resistance

Vicky Vinyl had bounced back from her initial bust and kept making bootlegs. By 1978 she reissued older and pressed new releases on the Slipped Disc – Piste records, claiming to come out of France.

 

“One of the reasons [Bruce Springsteen’s] 1978 Tour is so well-remembered, and often viewed as the peak of Springsteen and the E Street Band in concert, is that several complete shows were broadcast live on progressive rock and album-oriented rock radio stations. These included the July 7 show at West Hollywood’s The Roxy, broadcast on KMET, the August 9 show at Cleveland’s Agora Ballroom, broadcast on WMMS, the September 19 show at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey, broadcast on WNEW-FM, the September 30 show from the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, broadcast on about 20 Southeastern stations, and the December 15 show from the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, broadcast on KSAN-FM. These broadcasts were mixed by Jimmy Iovine and of high audio quality, and were listened to at the time by a larger audience than attended the concerts. ” [wikipedia – Darkness Tour]

“[Springsteen] had already aired ‘Point Blank’, ‘Independance Day’, ‘The Ties That Bind’ and ‘Sherry Darling’ in widely taped radio broadcasts, which even now were being pressed to bootleg disc: something, which as of July 1978, Springsteen had insisted ‘doesn’t really bother me.’ His introduction to ‘Sandy’ [actually, it was his introduction to ‘Racing In The Street] at the December 15 Winterland show, suggesting the Jersey girls would get to hear this particularly fine version ‘through the magic of bootlegging’, rather implied he still didn’t. But by 1979 he was no longer so keen on these clandestine copyists. Or more accurately, perhaps Jon Landau on behalf of Bruce Springsteen was less keen on them. ” [Heylin in E Street Shuffle: The Glory Days of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band]

It was only logical that bootleggers were going to take Springsteen at his word and provide the magic he had spoken about at the Winterland show, full knowing all of America that cared would get to hear it. Vicky Vinyl and partner Jim Washburn started with 450 numbered copies of a 3 LP box set called LIVE IN THE PROMISED LAND, containing the complete broadcast.

First edition identified by four digit numbering not going over 450, Slipped Disc labels and matrix numbers of BS2978.

Surplus records from the first pressing were then issued in the beautiful gatefold sleeve with the stunning inner photo and the front saying “Winterland. 1978”.

“Actually, it is not clear if the box edition is a sort of limited edition or a cheaper package of advanced / early copies. The gatefold foldout edition is in fact more attractive than the box edition, and I guess there can be not much more than 450 around, maybe even less. So, they are both ‘originals’ in my opinion, even if for some strange reason, the box edition is considered much rarer….” [brucespringsteen.it]

Re-pressings include

– Box set with insert, photo from gatefold edition

– Raring Records – Matrix BS2925, with yellow / green insert wrap and custom RR or GLC labels, black vinyl

– FULL TILT or KING TOOT labels, some on red vinyl

– gold / yellow vinyl with blank labels

– Picture disc of sides 5/6, 450 copies

 

As the package obviously sold well, they then booted the Passaic, NJ recording as another triple box:

Original version is a box set with a five digit numbered slip sheet with Slipped Disc labels and the matrix marking SPRING A – F. Limited to 2000 copies, so number must be up to that only.  Numbers are either stamped or found on a round or square sticker. Likely, the first copies # 1 – 200 had the numbered stickers and from then on a stamped number was used.

Later edition with a higher number in a four digit format.

 

Different insert. Copied inserts exist as well. Among the label variations the following exist: ‘Blockhead’, blank, Full Tilt, Side 1-6 #, the above TMOQ ‘smoking pig’ ones and more. Later re=pressings are often reported to have slight sound deterioration.

These two box sets caused CBS Inc. to file charges claiming “infringements of copyrights in 43 cases, unfair competition, unjust enrichment, unauthorized use of name and likeness and interference with economic advantage” in July of 1979. The suit additionally accused Waters of producing the bootlegs Fire, “E” Ticket and Cheap Trick’s California Man 78. 

While Vicky Vinyl/Andrea Waters “had no time for Springsteen’s music” to quote Heylin and these box sets were just a means for her to finance more Rolling Stones releases, things were quite different for Jim Washburn, the store manager of Beggar’s Banquet – her Anaheim record store. He was a Springsteen fan and had been with Lou Cohen when Springsteen was presented with a copy of THE JERSEY DEVIL after the Santa Barbara gym concert on 1 November 1975, observing ‘The Boss’ enthusiastic reaction to having been bootlegged for the first time.

Washburn: “Throughout the course of the [1979] lawsuit, I couldn’t believe that Springsteen was behind it. He must be uninformed, this guy who was going on stage and talking … about how lawyers shouldn’t run the world. I wrote him a letter – wrapped in a rare Ronettes picture sleeve – in which I asked to meet with him, and if he still thought I’d wronged him after explaining our side, I offered to do anything I could to make it up to him. I delivered it to the desk of the Sunset Marquis in Hollywood when he was staying there, and it was promptly turned over to his attorneys, who were not terribly nice about it. Having slept on sidewalks to get Springsteen tickets and all that … I still couldn’t believe Mr. Populist Rocker had gone corporate. As the suit was winding to a close, Springsteen was again in town for a series of concerts [Springsteen played four shows at the L.A. Sports Arena, 30 October to 3 November 1980 ]. I spent all the money I had getting a room at the Sunset Marquis in the hopes of talking to him. Which I did when he showed up poolside, and he made it clear that that’s what he had lawyers for, and to leave him alone.” [Heylin, E Street Shuffle: The Glory Days of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band]

In 1981, finally nailed down on the issue in an interview by Creem magazine, Springsteen said:

“Dave Dimartino: Why did you change your opinion about bootlegs?

Bruce Springsteen: I felt that there was a point there where, when it first started, a lot of bootlegs were made by fans, there was more of a connection. But it became, there was a point where there were just so many. Just so many that it was big business. It was made by people who, you know, they didn’t care what the quality was. It just got to the point where I’d walk in and see a price tag of $30 on a record of mine that, to me, really sounded bad, and I just thought it was a rip. I thought I was getting ripped, I wrote the music, the songs – it all came out of me! And I felt it was a rip, and the people who were doing it had warehouses full of records and were just sitting back, getting fat, rushing and putting out anything and getting 30 fucking dollars for it. And I just got really mad about it at one point. “

In the end – December 1980, Waters pleaded guilty to one count of copyright infringement and was fined $5,000 for that. Awarded to Springsteen in the civil suit were 43 times $50,000 for each violated music copyright, adding up to $2,150,000 and CBS received $1,500 and court costs of $105,573. However, neither party could collect on the judgement as Waters and Washburn had already declared bankruptcy, aided by the relatively long time span between the FBI bust and CBS’ filing their civil suit for damages.

As described in Heylin’s BOOTLEG book, the FBI had had been given Water’s name several months prior already, when a Canadian retailer, Michael Mess decided to name her, Ken, Kurt Glemser and John Wizardo as the real people behind “a Long Beach bootleg ring”. A Malcolm Moore was identified as responsible for pressing the K&S titles. On 22 February 1980, the FBI and RCMP raided 150 people in the same day, from Georgia to California to Ontario, Canada, trying one and for all to stamp out this bootleg business. While some players were stopped, we know today that it did little to stem the tide. As Heylin puts it: “… the FBI failed to severe the cord between manufacturer and punter.”, and producers abroad, especially Europe and Japan were just getting started. However the bust of 1980 wiped out most of the second generation labels/producers, with the exception of Ken, who had moved to Spain by that time.

Canadian police evidence number stamp applied following the raid and confiscation at the Hot Wacks Press office in 1980. Item later purchased from Kurt Glemser after he received it all back.

Jim Washburn later pointed out in OC Weekly that, “despite the headlines about the $2.1 million ruling, the glut of other bootleggers’ Bruce boots was just beginning.”

****

I was sent this list for the UL, dated May 1980 and the question is, could Andrea ‘Enthal’ be an alias used by Vicky Vinyl?

 

Busted! FBI Raids 1976 + 1980 Part 1

19 October 1976: The Sound Recording Amendment to U.S. copyright law for the first time extends copyright protection to sound recordings. Unfortunately, it combines both counterfeit and ‘pirate’ recordings in the same category as “misappropriated” recordings, “making bootlegs the legal equivalent of any pirate album containing commercially released material in alternative packaging” (Heylin, BOOTLEG, p. 125). In addition, for the first time the owner of any exclusive right (for example, mechanical reproduction) can now claim action for infringement. This right previously lay with the copyright owner of a work exclusively. As a result, record companies could now instigate legal proceedings without the cooperation of the artist.

“Vicki Vinyl was busted, a guy who was distributing Wizardo Records was busted, a number of stores were busted, my friend back east was busted – he was sending me the King Kong and Contraband Records in trade for my records. There were a whole bunch of people busted in December 1976.” [Lou Cohan in Heylin, BOOTLEG, p. 125]

The FBI, however had a lot to learn and were operating on some false beliefs, for example that there was a ‘Mr. Big’ somewhere behind this, controlling it all and in return for talking deals were offered.

“Wizardo, now working in tandem with Vicki Vinyl, managed to wriggle out of a first rap with a little kiss’n’tell. He promptly started up again, assigning new releases to the 500 series, only to be hit a second time. This time operations were forcibly put on hold by court action. Cohan, who was also busted at the end of 1976, was lucky that the FBI did not manage to gather all the available evidence.” (Heylin, BOOTLEG, p. 126)

As Lou Cohen was a volume dealer with an impressive catalog with product sourced from other bootleggers the FBI thought that this was their “Mr. Big”: “As for my own personal bootlegs, the most I ever pressed was 4,000 of any one title, the average was around 2,500 … [but] I would trade my bootlegs with other bootleggers, including a guy on the East Coast [in Darby, PA], so that by the time the FBI busted me in December of 1976 … I carried hundreds of titles, but only about twelve to ffteen of my own. I only made, I think twenty-two bootlegs. Hot Wacks says I made about ten, because I changed label titles, I changed what was scratched in the vinyl, to try and confuse the FBI.” [Lou Cohan in Heylin, BOOTLEG, p. 127]

While Wizardo’s second bust forced him to appear in court and close up shop for good, Cohan paid $1,000 to a lawyer, who made the whole issue disappear. Cohan retired his label name Hoffman Avenue Records and started up again using a pressing plant not listed as such in the yellow pages and continued until the end of 1977.

If anyone deserved the title “Mr. Big”, it was certainly Ken but Ken was never caught. Heylin’s book has ‘Eric Bristow’ recount an anecdote when the California State Police almost busted Ken in Westminster in Orange County, CA when a neighbor called the cops on him claiming Ken dealt in stolen property. Incredibly, Ken managed the cops to only leave with some samples and his lawyer basically blackmailed the police into dropping the case for not arresting Ken on the spot! To the best of my knowledge, a couple of the raided samples are the only items ever to come up for public auction:

 

From the auction description:

“Dylan Police Evidence
Police Evidence Sticker on Back Sleeve
Spine Also has 3 White Labels on It with Bob Dylans Name, LP Name & Cat #

TMOQ Record was A Legendary Bootleg Label Based In Westminster California back in the 70’s
Then when One day the Westminster Police Dept. Shut them down and this is one of the records that
was seized and held as evidence with the label from the police stamped and labeled.

If you check Popsike.com Under “TMOQ Evidence Room” you will also find
some Labels from this same seize and that has the same label from the Westminster
Police with Stamp & Lot #. Which Sold for $577”