Greg Lake 10 November 1947 – 07 December 2016 / DEBUT GL 3008 triple LP

Where would prog-rock be without him?

Japan: 1982

Side A: Fanfare / Nuclear Attack / Long Goodbye     
Side B: The Lie / Lucky Man     
Side C: Retribution Drive / I Remember Paris     
Side D: In The Court Of The Crimson King / Love You Too Much     
Side E: 21st Century Schizoid Man / You Really Got A Hold On Me     
Side F: In The Court Of The Crimson King / Epitaph / Get Thy Bearings

Sides 1 – 5: Greg Lake and Gary Moore taped from the audience at 1981’s Reading Festival on 30 August 1981. This was hist first ever performance as a solo artist. Side 6 is King Crimson recorded live 19 August 1969 by BBC Radio‘TOP GEAR’, hosted by John Peel (here misidentified as 11 May ’69). This is also on side 1 of this Japanese bootleg (click the link).

Sunday 30th August line up:   

    Andy Alan’s Future
    Reluctant Stereotypes
    Afraid of Mice
    The Enid
    Desperadoes
    .38 Special
    Wishbone Ash
    Greg Lake
    Nine Below Zero
    The Kinks

Afterwards Greg commented:

“Well it was a very nerve-wracking experience, really. I think for me, because it was the first show and it was 20,000 people or whatever it is, 30,000 people. And, um, I realized that I’m starting again. For me this is a new beginning.

One of the things I was happy to see was the very young people were enthusiastic over the band, and particularly over some of the old King Crimson numbers which must have been on the charts when they were 6 and 10, and that’s a fantastic feeling when you know that somebody’s father probably played it to their child and now their child’s in the audience and knows it. It’s a feeling of depth, you know.”

***

I had hoped to keep up the posting pace from last month but the killer year that is 2016 also dealt me a blow on December 1st with the announcement that after almost 10 years my services at work are no longer required … I guess in the long run that could be good news for the blog at least.

XL Label Japan Master List 1982 – 1986

UD stopped in 1982 and seamlessly XL took its place and kept right on going, releasing almost twice as many releases over the next four years. The majority of the output was more homogenized, however. Punk and New Wave had come and gone  – prog rock as well to an extent – and hard rock emerged as the clear winner with Rainbow, Ozzy and (Ronnie James) Dio leading the pack (w. some old favorites and new flavors of the month sprinkled in). Color covers and labels slowly replaced UD’s b&w art. Most of their U.S. based recordings were sourced from the Long Beach Arena, suggesting a contact in that area.

These releases also seems to have been exclusively sold via certain ShinjuKu Tokyo record stores, such as Kinnie and perhaps DISCROAD and OM. Although these and later releases are often referred to as “Kinnie bootlegs” on Japanese blogs, they were not produced by Kinney or any of its employees (“due to valuable comments from former Kinnie’s clerk, I got a testimony that Kinnie himself did not make BOOT.” = translated quote from a blog) but have been attributed to a gentleman named as ‘Shiro’.

Finally, the name for the UD & XL label derives from the Maxell cassette tape brand, as previously pointed out by a reader.

 

XL 1501-2     ULTRAVOX – Live ’82  ?

XL 1503-5     SCORPIONS – THE TAIL OF THE SCORPION     Hammersmith Odeon, London, 23 April ’82 & Reading Festival, 25 August, ’79

XL 1506-7     OZZY OSBOURNE – DEATH OR GLORY 1982    ?

XL 1508-10    RAINBOW – A PARIS     Hammersmith Odeon, London, 26 July ’81

XL 1511-3     ASIA – ONLY TIME WILL TELL    Philadelphia Spectrum, 22 June 1982

XL 1514-6     ROLLING STONES – CHANTILLY LACE “In Berlin” 1982  Berlin, Waldbühne, 8 June ’82

XL 1517-9     RAINBOW – STONE COLD   MSG, NY, June 1982

XL 1523-4     OZZY OSBOURNE – L.A. 1981    shared w. UD 6581-2

XL 1525-7     ROXY MUSIC – CHANCE MEETING   Wembley Arena, 22 September 1982  45 RPM

XL 1528-30    JOURNEY – FRONTIERS TOUR 1983 World Premiere   ?

XL 1531-2     OZZY OSBOURNE – LONG BEACH AREANA 1981 (blue cover reissue)

XL 1533-4     OZZY OSBOURNE – DEATH OR GLORY 82

XL 1535-7     RAINBOW – END OF A RAINBOW (Monsters Of Rock)

XL 1538-40    LED ZEPPELIN – COLOGNE 1980   18 June 1980

XL 1541-2     MARILLION – GARDEN PARTY   Norwich University, 15 March 1983

XL 1543-5     YARDBIRDS – THE YARDBIRDS REFORM FOR MARQUEE   Marquee, London 16 October 1983

XL 1546-48    RAINBOW – DORTMUND JANUARY 1983 – Tokyo, Budokan 22 October 1982

XL 1549-51    ERIC CLAPTON – THE SHAPE YOU’RE IN   Cologne Sporthalle, 26 April 1983 & Kyoto Kaikan Daiichi Hall, 4 December ’81

XL 1552-3     QUIET RIOT – THE LEGENDARY    Starwood, L.A., October 1979    45 RPM

XL 1554-5     OZZY OSBOURNE – LIVE FROM KBFH 1981    St. Denis Theater, Montreal, 28 July 1981

XL 1556/57/58    RAINBOW – SWEET SILENCE        Sobell Leisure Center, London, 18 September 1983

XL 1559/60    THE HONEYDRIPPERS – THE BLUE NOTE – Blue Note Club, 13 April 1981

XL 1561-3     MICHEAL SCHENKER GROUP – DAMAGE CONTROL    ?

XL 1564-5     NIGHT RANGER – WE’RE AN AMERICAN BAND    ?

XL 1566-8     ASIA – OPEN YOUR EYES    Japan December 1983

XL 1569-0     KISS – EGOS AT THE STAKE    Wembley Arena, London, 9 September 1980

XL 1571-3     TOTO  –  L.A. FORUM MAY 1982   (?)

XL 1574-5     ALCATRAZZ – ON PAROLE    ?

XL 1576-8     KISS – WORLD TOUR 1984    Long Beach Arena, 27 January 1984

XL 1579-0     OZZY OSBOURNE – THE RETURN OF BATMAN    Hammersmith Odeon, 29 November 1983

XL 1581-2     VAN HALEN – HALEN HEARTY – MSG, NY 31 March 1984

XL 1583-4     DIO – WANNA DANCE?    Hammersmith Odeon, London, 5 November, 1983

XL 1585-6     RAINBOW – STARGAZER   Sobell Leisure Center, London, 17 September 1983

XL 1587-8     YES WORLD TOUR 1984    Meadowlands Arena, NJ, 7 May 1984
XL 1589-0     WATERS vs. GILMOUR – MONEY    Earls Court, London, 21+22 June 1984 & 22 July 1984

XL 1591-2     DIO – AT IRVINE MEADOWS      20 July 1984

XL 1593/4     OZZY OSBOURNE – NEW YEAR’ EVE 1981/2    L.A. Sports Arena, 31 December 1981

XL 1595-6     JUDAS PRIEST – THE METALLION    Irvine Meadows, 29 July 1984

XL 1597-8     RUSH – PRESSURE RELEASE    Meadowlands Arena in New Jersey, 29 September 1984

XL 1599-0     ALCATRAZZ vs RISING FORCE – Unreleased Tracks    studio + live 1984

XL 1601/2     BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN – BORN IN THE USA TOUR  – L.A. Sports Arena, 4 November 1984

XL 1603-4     NIGHT RANGER – WORLD TOUR 1984    ?

XL 1605-6     TOTO – ISOLATION WORLD TOUR 85

XL 1607-8     TWISTED SISTER – BONE IDOL    ?

XL 1609-0     DEEP PURPLE – PURPLE REIGN    Long Beach Arena, 01 February 1985

XL 1611-2     KISS – KISSING IN THE PINK    Long Beach Arena, 17 February 1985

XL 1613-4     ACCEPT – NO SUBSTITUTE  / TEUTONIC HEART ATTACK        Hammersmith Odeon, London, 15 March, 1985

XL 1615-6     NIGHT RANGER – LIVE WISHES    Japan 1985 or Long Beach Arena, June 1985

XL 1617-8     BON JOVI – PLAYS WITH FIRE TOUR 1985    UK May ’85 ?

XL 1619-20    THE FIRM – FULL CIRCLE         Costa Mesa, CA 16 March 1985

XL 1621-2     ERIC CLAPTON – SAME OLD BLUES    Wembley Arena, 4 March ’85

XL 1623-4     OZZY OSBOURNE – BARK AT THE MOON WORLD TOUR – Long Beach Arena, 4 April 1984

XL 1625-6     IRON MAIDEN – WORLD SLAVERY TOUR 1985    Long Beach Arena, 16 March ’85

XL 1627-8     DIO – SACRD HEART WORLD TOUR 1985-1986    Manteca, CA, Oakwood Lake Amphitheatre, 13 August 1985

DURAN DURAN ‘decadent durantics’ (no label) – Japanese N. L. bootlegs of the early 1980’s – 9

 

First U.S. tour 1981, San Francisco appearance poster

Japan 1982? White labels and no manufacturer stated. – The band toured Japan for the first time in late April of the same year.

One of the first Duran Duran bootlegs and probably the most interesting of the early ones, as it apparently contains the earliest complete live recording of their career and features a couple of rarely captured live versions.

Source: As correctly listed on the cover, audience recording from the Hammersmith Odeon in London on 9 July, 1981 on their Faster Than Light tour.

Side 1: Tel Aviv (intro) / I Got My Own Way / Girls On Film / Late Bar / To The Shore     
Side 2: Faster Than Light / Khanada / Night Boat / Planet Earth     
Side 3: Is Anyone Out There / Angel / Friends Of Mine / Sound Of Thunder / Careless Memories     
Side 4: Tell Me It’s Just  A Rumor Baby (listed as “Just Got A Groove On”)* / Planet Earth (Night Version) / Girls On Film (Night Version)

*originally by the Isley Brothers

HOTWACKS quality rating: “Exs”

 

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Foreigner ‘Live In The 80’s’ (no label) – Japanese N. L. bootlegs of the early 1980’s – 8

Matrix: J-7 A/B

Japan: ? – I would guess 1980/1981, probably making TAKRL’s First Time Around (926) the first Foreigner bootleg. The band had toured Japan for the first time in early 1978 and returned as part of the Head Games tour in January of 1980.

 

Side A: Long Long Way From Home / Blue Morning Blue Day / I’ll Get Even With You / Head Games / Dirty White Boy / Cold As Ice / The Modern Day
Side B: Starrider / Double Vision / Love On The Telephone / Hot Blooded

Source: ? Audience recording from a performance following their 1979 album Head Games, the actual location and date is unknown. The bootleg title and cover were ‘inspired’ by the official tour program seen here.

HOTWACKS quality rating: “Vgs

***

A typical tour set list:
The Omni. Atlanta GA
15 November 1979

01. Long Long Way From Home
02. Blue Morning Blue Day
03. I’ll Get Even With You
04. Rev On The Red Line
05. Head Games
06. Dirty White Boys
07. Fool For You Anyway
08. Cold As Ice
09. Modern Day
10. Woman
11. Star Rider
12. Double Vision
13. Feels Like The First Time
14. Love On The Telephone
15. Headknocker/Hot Blooded

motörhead + girl school (no label) – Japanese N. L. bootlegs of the early 1980’s – 7 plus: The 1st Motörhead bootleg

Japan: 1982

Side A: Vanish the fire / Race with the devil / Demolition boys/ Emergency [Girlschool]
Side B: Overkill (listed as ‘Don’t swear it’) / Too late,too late / Shoot you in the back/ Step down / Jailbait [Motörhead]
Side C: Leaving here / Metropolis (listed as ‘the drug police’) / Train kept a rollin’ / Bomber / Motörhead
Side D: Please Don´t Touch / Emergency / Bomber / Ace Of Spades / Dirty Love [pirated tracks, studio versions]

Source (for the live tracks): The broadcast part of Girlschool’s opening set and Motörhead’s set at Nottingham’s Theatre Royal on 20 August 1980) taken from a TV program called Rockstage (see the N.M.E. clipping below).

Side D presents all the tracks from the following official 7 inch releases (ripping off the artwork in the process as well:

Side D: Tracks 1 – 3; “The record was released on 14 February 1981, as St. Valentine’s Day Massacre EP and reaching No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart, it became the biggest hit either band ever had in the charts.”

 

The 1959 original, somewhat tamer sounding.

 

Side D: Tracks 4 + 5; released October 1980 … “Who are these Mexicans and how can they play so fast?”

As this material was also released in Japan in 1981 on the Motorschool 12″ EP, the producers of this bootleg (likely the same as those responsible for the UD titles) must have been really desperate to fill that fourth side.

The Motörhead part of the Rockstage broadcast was released officially for the first time on their 1992 Live Jailbait album. This relegates The Swinging Pig’s No Sleep Till Rockstage (TSP 500-43/1) to pirate status. Finally, the video was included on their 2009 Anthology DVD.

***

 

Clipping from NME, 28 June 1980 edition

***

The first Motörhead bootleg was probably 1980’s very good sounding Fuck Off EP:

 

Matrix (hand-etched): 107 A/B

Some copies are numbered and stamped

and came with a (poor quality) T-shirt.

Recording date may have been the 16th of May.

“Sometimes it is said that the first 150 copies came with a free shirt (black with “surprise” print) and were individually numbered and stamped but as you can see on the pictures there are copies numbered higher than that. As the shirts had a bad quality (the print was hardly visible after it had been washed several times), it was repressed in the 80s in a small quantity (white shirt, black print).”

Released on the UK (?) e.f.ox556(7) label (referred to as Wolf production on discogs.com but that was a (fake0 name used for the Motörhead release only) – the same people who produced the Joe Jackson EP box set with the Lausanne, Switzerland 1979 performance – THE WAVELENGTH’s (sic) WANDERING:

 

 

*****

Motörhead were big among my hi-school classmates in the very early 80’s. References to their song and album titles peppered the conversations. I do remember a rumor that they were the loudest band at the time and concert goers tried to keep a distance to the PA. No Sleep Till Hammersmith was extremely popular to say the least. To be honest, I was never a big fan of the music, that “swarm of amplified angry bees sound” sound but since watching the Lemmy documentary and his funeral on YT, I am definitely in awe of Lemmy Kilmister, the genuine human being and well mannered gentleman, who lived his life on his own terms. Cheers, Lemmy!

siouxsie and the banshees ‘Halloween’ (no label) – Japanese N.L. bootlegs of the early 1980’s – 6

Japan: 1981 ?

Source: Audience recording of the complete concert at London’s Hammersmith Palais, 30 December 1980

Side A: Israel / Clock Face / Into The Light / Tenant / Christine     
Side B: Paradise Place / Red Over White / Red Light / Voodoo Dolly (listed as ‘Soap’)
Side C: Trick Or Treat / Happy House / Eve White – Eve Black / Skin     
Side D: Congo Conga (listed as ‘Sister Kai’)/ Trophy / Jigsaw Feeling

HOTWACKS quality rating: “Ëxs”

***

IRON MAIDEN ‘RUNNING FREE'(no label) – Japanese N.L. bootlegs of the early 1980’s – 5

Japan: 1981 would be my best guess. I was not able to find an image of the back cover, so it’s hard to tell if this is another early/’undercover’ UD label title.

Source: audience recording from the London Rainbow, 20 June 1980

Side A : The Ides of March / Sanctuary / Wrathchild / Prowler / Remember Tomorrow
Side B : Killers / Running Free / Another World
Side C : Transylvania / Strange World / Charlotte the Harlot / Phantom of the Opera
Side D : Iron Maiden / Drifter

Reissued at least twice on vinyl in the mid to late 1980’s, for example on the Screaming Oiseau label as a fake-Japan release Revelation Live At The Rainbow with a misleading quote on the back (“Somewhere on tour 86/87) and on Mongkok Records (probably not made in Hongkong):

 

***

Cover art simply nicked from the official 45, released in February of 1980.

***

Whitesnake ‘Ready ‘n Willing ’80’ (W Z53/54) – Japanese N.L. bootkegs of the early 1980’s – 4

Japan: 1980/1 – it’s safe to say that this was issued by the same producers of the UD label.

Matrix: W Z53 A IG  (‘A’ changing to B/C/D for the other sides)

Side 1: Come On / You’n Me / Walking In The Shadow Of The Blues / Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City     
Side 2: Mickey’s Solo / Love Hunter / Mistreated / Soldier Of Fortune     
Side 3: Jon Lord’s Solo / Shuffle / Might Just Take Your Life / Lie Down     
Side 4: Take Me With You / Rock Me Baby / Breakdown / Whitesnake Boogie

No location mentioned but most likely recorded during Whitesnake’s first Japan Tour in April of 1980, most likely at one of the Tokyo dates on the 11th, 14th or 15th.

HOTWACKS quality rating: “Vgs”

***

April 11 – Tokyo Yūbin Chokin Kaikan, 1582 seats. Other acts that played here: Judas Priest, Robert Plant, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Devo, Motörhead and Hall & Oates

April 14 + 15: Nakano Sun Plaza Hall, Tokyo

***

Judas Priest ‘United'(JP 80) – Japanese N.L. bootlegs of the early 1980’s – 3

Japan: 1981 or ’82

Staying with the first Donington / Monsters of Rock festival on 16 August 1980, here are 10 of their 11 songs performed that day – the opener ‘Hellbent for Leather’ is missing – sourced from a decent audience recording.

The producers were either not well versed in Judas Priest song titles or there is another reason for all these errors: ‘Sailor’ = ‘Sinner’; ‘Beyond the Rouse’ = ‘Beyond the Realms of Death’; ‘Rockin’the Beast’ = ‘Grinder’; ‘Woman’= Victim of Changes’; ‘Take on the World’= ‘The Green Manalishi (with the two pronged crown)’; ‘Killing Machine’ = ‘Tyrant’).  The last three tracks are all identified correctly: ‘Breaking The Law’ and ‘Living After Midnight’ were taken from the second airing of a radio broadcast recorded at Amsterdam’s Jaap Eden Hall on Valentine’s day 1981 and the last track on side 4 ‘Hot Rockin’ is the studio version.

***

Photo by Alan Perry

 

Public Image Limited ‘Profile’ (No Label) – Japanese N.L. bootlegs of the early 1980’s – 1

Japan: July/August 1980 – for a change, the date can be pinned down with certainty as a review of this bootleg appeared in the 23 August ’80 issue of UK’s Melody Maker. Most likely, this was one of the earliest UD label releases.

Source: Very good audience recording from this concert in 1980:

In the words of PIL fansite Fodderstompf.com: “Arguably the best PiL live bootleg, great quality and a great gig to match“.

Matrix  (Side A): PIL-DOUBLE-1 1G / (Side B): PIL-DOUBLE-2 1G / (Side C): PIL-DOUBLE-3 1G / (Side D): PIL-DOUBLE-4 1G

The first 3 sides run at 33 1/3 RPM and the last one at 45 RPM

Side 1: Fodderstompf / Careering / Annalisa     
Side 2: Attack / Low Life / Chant / Death Disco     
Side 3: Poptones / Religion / Bad Baby / Public Image     
Side 4: Memories/Home Is Where The Heart Is (listed as Profile)

***

“As far back as 1951, there had been rhythm and blues concerts at the Grand Olympic. In 1969-70, The Grand Olympic Auditorium hosted concerts by hard rock acts such as Mountain, Jack Bruce, and Ten Years After. It would be used more extensively as a musical venue after 1980. This period in music performances began with a concert by the band Public Image Ltd. which was produced by Punk Rock impresario David Ferguson and his independent CD Presents production company. This was the first concert held at the auditorium since the early 1970s and is credited with beginning the Olympic’s reputation for being a notorious Punk Rock venue. Thereafter legendary promoter Gary Tovar and Goldenvoice Productions started booking shows at the venue, concerts by the likes of GBH, The Exploited, T.S.O.L., SIN 34, Suicidal Tendencies, UK Subs, New Regime, Circle Jerks, Angelic Upstarts, The Dickies, Wasted Youth, Dead Kennedys, The Vandals, D.O.A., Love Canal, Bad Religion, FEAR and M.I.A. etc. were happening monthly.

In 1986, the music videos for Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love A Bad Name” and “Livin’ On A Prayer” were recorded in the auditorium. The music video for Janet Jackson’s “Control” was recorded here as well in the same year. Survivor’s music video Burning Heart was recorded here in October 1985.” [source: wikipedia]

For more in-depth reading about how it all started see here: http://cdpresentsltd.russannjohnson.com/