***DOWNLOAD REMOVED 2021...
The show has been downloaded over 1500 times since 2017 when I first did this, but another version of this gig is being made available commercially in March 2021 so this one needs to go.
The videos are being drip fed on YouTube by the Ultravox channel (as of now, in February 2021), with excellent quality video and sound. The audio I think is being made available on streaming and download services.
Since this page was written in 2017, the gig has now been confirmed as "Live At The Rainbow" from 1977 - a support set to Eddie and the Hot Rods in early 1977, which was filmed (at least these 7 songs were filmed). So go and seek that one out. To avoid any copyright trouble, my version which was restored mono, has now been taken down.***
This time we feature Ultravox with the soundtrack to an extremely rare performance on German TV.
It's unusual because there’s almost no information about where it was recorded! It's generally only seen as a video or series of videos labeled “Rockpop 1976” - Rockpop was the name of a music programme on German TV but didn’t start until 1978! The setlist however, features only tracks from their 1st album (released in February 1977 along with 1 track Modern Love, which appeared as a free single with limited copies of their 2nd album Ha!Ha!Ha!, released in September 1977. The other 3 tracks are to this day, unreleased and not available anywhere else - so perhaps it's more likely that the recording dates from some time in 1977 (indeed, a couple of people have since suggested this is the case, 1 claim is that it was actually recorded in the UK in early 1977 and broadcast on German TV later - can't find a source for this to confirm and no further details forthcoming at the moment).
In any case, the recording is prized due to featuring those rare tracks. While it is quite short, remember this was originally from a VHS recording of a muddy sounding TV broadcast so I spent a lot of time on this - removing tiny gaps or breaks in the sound, before rebalancing the audio and EQing everything to bring out as much as possible. So vocals, drums, guitar and bass are all far clearer and separately identifiable - you can even hear Billy Currie's keyboards a bit more often now.
Setlist
Came Back Here to Meet You
Modern Love
Slip Away
TV Orphan
I Won’t Play Your Game
Wide Boys
Sat'day Night in the City of the Dead
Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteNo worries, enjoy.
DeleteThank you for this nice show !
ReplyDeleteRay
You're welcome, glad you enjoyed it
DeleteIt's not a German TV performance. It's a recording of their support slot to Eddie & The Hot Rods at the Rainbow in February 1977. It was documented for promotional purposes and parts of it were at various times shows around the world on music TV shows. For example "Wide boys" were shown on OGWT later in the year. Don't know where that "RockPop TV show from Germany" label comes from.
ReplyDeleteIt was apparently broadcast there (later) and that's where the VHS comes from. At least that's pretty much what I've gleaned from various sources over time. Certainly I first had a copy on VHS from a record fair in the 80s - and it was labelled "Rockpop 1977" then. Good to have further confirmation of the original gig date though, thanks.
DeleteBe nice to think a far better copy of the video exists in a vault somewhere, just waiting to be let out.
Vlad the Chart Collector is right: having had this recording for at least twenty years and having been persuaded that I had some vintage Ultravox footage from Germany (flv files, and an audio version too), I have checked my files and found ... that it is indeed a recording of Ultravox's support slot for Eddie & The Hot Rods at the Rainbow on February 19, 1977 - I am looking at the orange and black poster for the gig right now. Further evidence comes from Warren Cann in an interview (pages 13 -15, http://www.ultravox.org.uk/ImageFolio43_files/media/History_of_Ultravox/Ultravox-History_Screen_v1.0.pdf). Confusion was no doubt spread by the Bootleg Zone's posting of erroneous CD covers in August 2009 (http://www.bootlegzone.com/album.php?name=RHCD472335§ion=338). "Slipaway" from the Rainbow gig was released as the
ReplyDeleteB-side to "Young Savage" in May 1977, "Modern Love" was released as the B-side of the "Quirks" 45 free with "Ha!Ha!Ha!" in October 1977, and "The Wild, the Beautiful and
the Damned" was released on the "Live Retro" EP in February 1978 - all were later released as part of the 2006 remastering of "Ultravox!". Meanwhile, "TV Orphans", "Came Back Here To Meet You" and "I Won't Play Your Game" have (so far) never been formally released ... anyway, thanks for reviving this recording, good to listen to it again!
Cheers,
Dave Sez.
Nice to have confirmation the source gig matches what I'd been told when I wrote the page up initially then. Always thought that "Rockpop 1976" thing was way off. Cheers!
DeleteMost parts of this "remaster" are out of phase. What kind of professional sound engineer are you?
ReplyDeletetom
I'm not; just an enthusiastic amateur, learning as I go along. I look forward to hearing your version being given away for free too. Post a link up here when it's done? :-)
DeleteFlip Martian, thank you. There's plenty of smart *rses out there ready to knock you.
ReplyDeleteThanks - yep, the internet is full of 'em...
Delete