Should we tell that poor Italian seller who's currently asking a beyond insane 500€ on discogs that there will be more CDs? There is also the question how much was actually filmed (this was in pre-digital days and the budget might not have been there to film several nights in full). We only know of the following existing on film: Broken/HOH/Broken (which is audibly a different performance than on the 12") Memories Fade (which is the same performance as on the 12") I Believe The Working Hour (which is the same performance as on the box set) EWTRTW The Hurting Shout That's just slightly over half of the setlist.
I had a cassette of the first night of the tour that I’d recorded on one of those small single tape cassette recorders. One of our crowd knew Roland and we got the best position right down the front, and I’d popped this recorder on the edge of the stage. In honesty, the end result left a lot to be desired (Although I’ve heard worse) : because it was on the stage, the vibrations from the speakers and band members moving about caused the recorder to vibrate. Curt sounded like he was gargling on Pale Shelter and I only got half of Shout. Still, it lived for 10+ years, and every now and again I’d pop it on and have a listen. I even managed to get Ian Stanley and Manny Elias to sign the case. I think I figured if I presented it to Roland he might confiscate it !! Anyway, one day it died . Should have made a backup because that - and the upclose photos I took and also subsequently lost - would have been cool to have now. Chippenham Goldiggers March 1985 ! 1983 was better though
No, flippers should die on the vine! Don't get me wrong, not trying to be greedy. Thrilled we get 13/15 songs after all this time and the LPs sound terrific.
Cool story about catching opening night. Remind my fading memory: how long had the album been out? Was it already a big hit in UK or was it later in '85 like the US? Any idea how big the crowd was in Chippenham?
The album hadn’t been out long. A month, if that. We knew all the songs though. I think looking back at that point in time the record was a bit of a slow burner. It was obviously an immediate success but I don’t think it really took off until EWTRTW was released as a single. That seemed to push the band into a different league. As for the size of the crowd, I reckon 2000-2500. It wasn’t a monstrous venue but it was big enough. Some great bands passed through its doors : Depeche Mode,The Smiths, New Order. Tragically it’s now an insurance brokers About the only claim to fame that Chippenham has is that it’s where Eddie Cochrane died driving back to London from Bristol in 1960-something, upsetting a certain young Mr McCartney
As my CD is very likely to arrive within a few hours ... I will leave those bargains to others ... ... ... Though ... I actually payed the hefty price of €22,99 ... (Which still is a lot for a new single CD, but that was my decision.)
I'm sure this has been discussed ad nauseum, but one thing I don't like about this release is the crowd. It sounds like an outdoor fest full of tweeners as opposed to stately Massey Hall.
Actually, there has not been much discussion about the actual details of this performance, so you're free to elaborate! Of course TFF were a band with a "teenybopper" following in spite of their musical complexity and dark/thoughtful lyrics, so I'm not surprised at that comment.
The two times I saw them I don’t recall the following being particularly teeny bop. Think that phase passed quickly. There weren’t many girls at either show and the chaps were fans of The Cure, New Order etc etc.
You guys that have this already, I wish I were in your shoes to listen. I don't even think there's a sampler track that's been posted to the web yet, right? If so, someone please point me to it. I'll have to wait on the general CD release that is hopefully coming in September. In the meantime, I can rock out to the "Scenes..." doc with all that awesome Massey Hall footage. It's funny that while it does look like a young, almost teeny-bopper crowd there in Toronto, if you look at the Going To California video (from the next tour), it feels like a wine-and-cheese crowd. Maybe that's just me imagining things because of the Southern California amphitheater setting.
Looking forward to the general CD as well. Presumably the RSD version will surface on youtube one of these days so the rest of us can get a taste.
