Newly listed on Dime... Four latter day rehearsals from 1979 and 1980 including one for Document & Eyewitness recorded in Robert's basement.
Also a considerable number of new 1978/9 concert uploads including... 04.03.1978 Colchester (partial), 19.02.1979 Barnstaple, 20.02.1979 Plymouth, 07.03.1979 Hull and 1985.12.22 Glasgow.
1. (unknown) 3:17 2. Underwater Experiences (aborted) 2:34 3. Underwater Experiences 3:56 4. Single K.O. 3:00 5. Two People In A Room (aborted) 1:02 6. Two People In A Room 2:22 7. Blessed State 3:28 8. Once Is Enough 3:22 9. A Touching Display 6:41 10. The 15th (aborted) 0:46 11. The 15th 2:56 12. Question Of Degree 2:52 13. 40 Versions 3:39
PART - B Wire February of 1980 Rehearsals, Robert Gotobed's Basement Studio, London, England - Believed to be preparation for the Electric Ballroom gig.
1. 5/10 4:08 2. Revealing Trade Secrets 2:29 3. We Meet Under Table Again 2:16 4. Inventory 2:34 5. Eastern Standard 2:42 6. (unknown) 3:12 7. Everything's Going To Be Nice 1:14 8. Ritual View 2:55 9. And Then... 5.10 10. Eels Sang Lino 1:49 11. Part Of Our History 7:55
PART - C Wire 1979 Playback Rehearsal Tape - "40 Versions"
Hmmmm. I have these in the WMO archive taken direct from Colin's first generation cassette's to DAT. They have remained safely in the archive ever since and have not been copied out to anyone The only way these could have appeared is if Colin himself copied them to a third party. Or is there another source. The fact they are 4th generation copies sounds very suspect to me. I have flagged this up for Colin to investigate
Adding to the mystery, I have a slightly different boot called The Final Days (can't recall where I dl'd it from) that is exactly the same as parts A and B, but omits C and D. Instead, at the end are four tracks: Hate Yourself(?) (Graham vocals, 6.18); [unknown > fade] (no vocals, 3.55); Pushing Too Hard(?) (it says The Seeds, but if so it's a serious mutilation of the song) (Graham vocals, 5.13); [unknown > fade] (no vocals, 1.33).
The intro explains that this is one of a couple of boots where the uploader obtained the material.....
"Well, what we have here is a combination of two tapes that have been circulating for over 30 years; "Graham's Practice Tape" and "Wire - The Final Days - 'Just Keep It On Stun This Time, Bruce'". I have removed anything that smacked of Demo or Studio Outtake. These are ALL merely rehearsals."
An interesting curiosity but the quality of these tapes is so bad that it's barely even worth hearing.
That got me thinking about that supposed better sounding D&E re-issue that was supposed to come out. I suppose the ship has sailed on that ever seeing the light of day now that Wire are engaged with new material?
I'm not even going to ask about the legal bootleg series.
The first track from Dec 78 is interesting, anyone know what this is? Did it ever get a name? Sounds more like a run through of a proper song than a jam. Vaguely reminds me of Mercy.
Colin Newman 1988 May the 14th Paradiso, Amsterdam
and
Colin Newman w/Soft Option Toronto, The Edge February 25, 1981
There are no track titles for The Edge show, but I think the following may be close...
01 Don't Bring Me Reminders 02 No Doubt 03 5/10 04 1, 2, 3 Beep Beep 05 Not Here Today (?) 06 Fish Nine 07 Remove For Improvement 08 This Picture 09 The Gymnast (?) 10 Truculent Yet 11 We Meet Under Tables 12 (?) 13 You, Me And Happy 14 Indians! 15 I've Waited Ages
Any help with the question marks would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much, Kevin. The Gymnast and Man The Lifeboats were Desmond Simmons tracks. Were these part of the set list because he was in the band or did Colin have any writing involvement?
1. Another The Letter 2:05 2. Practice Makes Perfect 2:42 3. Two People In A Room 1:40 4. I Feel Mysterious Today 1:50 5. Being Sucked In Again 2:31 6. Blessed State 2:54 7. Question of Degree 2:27 8. Mercy 5:21 9. A Touching Display 5:13 10. Former Airline 1:09 11. French Film Blurred 2:28 12. Men 2nd 1:33 13. Heartbeat 2:53
I don't think these recordings sound bad at all!! yeah they are not studio quality but sound pretty good to my ears! I'm a demo/rehearsal sound type freak, but it sounds good anyway. And wow, the first 2 rehearsals are GEMS. Love them!