Show 102 - Howard Jones - Paris Theatre London - 5 Oct 1983

***2021 UPDATE

This show is now offline. I have been asked to remove it as there is a chance of the recording being made available on a future release. As per the site ethos - nothing stays here if its released, or if I'm asked to remove it pending a release. So if you're interested in this show, please keep an eye out on HJ's official news groups and pages for when this might become available. This page is now here for information only.

FURTHER UPDATE - SEPT 2021
Information on the boxed set this recording has been included in is HERE
***

Some time back I was asked if I could find an early Howard Jones recording - it took a while but I finally found some and this was the earliest. Someone had already worked on this and to be honest it sounded pretty bad - far too loud, noise pushed up too and the sound balance was lopsided! So I spent some time fixing the sound balance, removing some noise and then EQing to remove the worst of the OTT bass that had been added and tidy up the rest.

Interesting to hear Howard introduce What Is Love? as just "Love" first of all, before correcting himself - that was its original title (you can hear a very early version of the song if you read on to the bottom of the page!).

Anyway, the gig does sound nice and clear now, just a shame its a little short!

Update 2019
While preparing this old show as separate files for a donator to the site, I found I could now improve the sound quality further, over what I’d originally done to the recording several years ago. You can now download this new version (as of 2019) HERE as 1 new 320kbps MP3 file.

If you would like to have separate tagged MP3s, or even lossless files in FLAC format of the new version, head on over to the Donations tab to see how you can obtain these for a very small donation towards the site costs.

Setlist
New Song
Conditioning
Dreams Of A Better Place ((early version of Dream Into Action)
What Is Love?
Equality

And for those of you who have read to the end of this page - there's an extra freebie for you as a reward! ;-)

I came across what was labeled as some early Howard Jones demos, including a very early version of What is Love? The file says 1977 - can't tell you whether that's accurate or not - and a couple of people below refuse to believe its even HJ at all - but I thought it would be a nice little extra to throw in as this gig is quite short and you can make your own minds up. Please note, I've not done anything with the sound on these, they are "as is" so a bit noisy and old sounding!

You can download the zip file containing 5 tracks here.

Show 101 - The Smiths - The Hacienda Manchester - 6 July 1983

A quick request. If you plan on downloading this and putting it on your YouTube channel or your own bootleg page - I don't mind. But a credit to this website where you found it, and a link back to this page would be really appreciated. It helps me gauge which artists are popular - ie more chance of other restorations coming. Don't just steal it, cut out the intro and outro and take the credit. Thanks.

 

***2023 UPDATE***

This show has now been re-restored from scratch, and improved massively, I think. Noise reduction done, removed clicks and pops, then got to work with EQ and other studio toys to improve the sound - I haven't done a pseudo stereo effect this time, just widened the sound image somewhat after doing everything else before final mastering. 

There is still some of that digital distortion on I Don´t Owe You Anything but the new version is clearer and more of an accurate record of them live in concert at the time, I think. Download it from the link below and let me know what you think!

The new version of this show is available to download HERE as 1 MP3 file.

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The first time I've done a gig by The Smiths. This is from around the time they signed their record deal with Rough Trade, shortly after the release of their first single, Hand In Glove. This was a mono soundboard recording of their 2nd appearance at The Hacienda, with a lot of boomy mid range which was ok played quietly but got wearing on the ears after a while if the volume was up. So a good candidate for a cleanup!

I've done a "pseudo stereo" effect with it, then rebalanced the sound to keep it sounding more natural. Then, I removed hiss and some digital crackles and pops before EQ'ing it to remove that mid range boom, tighten up the bass end a bit and improve the clarity.

Unfortunately most of I Don´t Owe You Anything is marred (no pun intended) by some low level digital distortion - I guess that was generated when it was transferred from tape or vinyl to digital format. Its not unlistenable but just to make you aware its there - I was able to remove a bit but not most of it.

Despite that the finished result is a nice, clear recording which sounds great overall now. 

Setlist
Handsome Devil
Reel Around The Fountain
What Difference Does It Make?
Wonderful Woman
These Things Take Time
I Don´t Owe You Anything
Hand In Glove
Miserable Lie
Accept Yourself

 

Supporting The Site

If you want to support the work I do, and this site, and obtain separate, fully tagged 320kbps MP3s of this restoration for less than the price of a coffee in return, or even lossless FLACs, head on over to the Rewards For Donations tab to see how you can obtain these for a very small donation towards the site costs. There is no obligation to do so of course - you can take the file on this page absolutely for free - but every single donation does go towards this site and domain/storage costs, and helps the site stay open, and helps me do more shows. Either way, enjoy the show.

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And if you like this recording, please spread the news and share the page link to anyone you think might be interested - facebook fan groups, web forums, Mastodon, Twitter, Instagram are a great way of spreading the word - that way, I always find out which bands are popular and can do more shows by them in the future. Many thanks.