At The BBC 1974-1978 is a 3 CD and 1 DVD live album by Be Bop Deluxe.
It is made up of live in the studio sessions for John Peel, three In Concert recordings including the 2nd October 1976 concert from the Modern Music tour that I liked so much and videos from the Old Grey Whistle Test and Sight And Sound In Concert.
Much of this has been released before on Radioland / Tremulous Antennae including the 1978 Drastic Plastic concert and Tramcar To The Future. However this release does involve some previously unreleased songs.
Frustratingly it also has some omissions from what’s been released before so it’s still not the complete BBC recordings.
Be Bop Deluxe At The BBC 1974-1978
CD 1
1. Third Floor Heaven (John Peel Session 9th May 1974)
2. Adventures in a Yorkshire Landscape (John Peel Session 9th May 1974)
3. Mill Street Junction (John Peel Session 9th May 1974)
4. 15th of July (John Peel Session 9th May 1974)
5. Maid in Heaven (John Peel Session)
6. Stage Whispers (John Peel Session)
7. Sister Seagull (John Peel Session)
8. Lights (John Peel Session)
9. Life in the Air-Age (BBC in Concert)
10. Sister Seagull (BBC in Concert)
11. Ships in the Night (BBC in Concert)
12. Maid in Heaven (BBC in Concert)
13. Third Floor Heaven (BBC in Concert)
14. Blazing Apostles (BBC in Concert)
CD 2
1. Maid in Heaven (BBC in Concert)
2. Bring Back the Spark (BBC in Concert)
3. Kiss of Light (BBC in Concert)
4. Adventures in a Yorkshire Landscape (BBC in Concert)
5. Fair Exchange (BBC in Concert)
6. Ships in the Night (BBC in Concert)
7. Twighlight Capers (BBC in Concert)
8. Modern Music (Medley) (BBC in Concert)
9. Blazing Apostles (BBC in Concert)
CD 3
1. Mill Street Junction (John Peel Session 17th January 1977)
2. Adventures in a Yorkshire Landscape (John Peel Session 17th January 1977)
3. Still Shining (John Peel Session 17th January 1977)
4. New Precision (BBC in Concert 19th January 1978)
5. Superenigmatix (BBC in Concert 19th January 1978)
6. Possession (BBC in Concert 19th January 1978)
7. Dangerous Stranger (BBC in Concert 19th January 1978)
8. Islands of the Dead (BBC in Concert 19th January 1978)
9. Panic in the World (BBC in Concert 19th January 1978)
10. Lovers Are Mortal (BBC in Concert 19th January 1978)
11. Love in Flames (BBC in Concert 19th January 1978)
12. Blazing Apostles (BBC in Concert 19th January 1978)
13. Superenigmatix (John Peel Session 30th January 1978)
14. Panic in the World (John Peel Session 30th January 1978)
15. Possession (John Peel Session 30th January 1978)
16. Love in Flames (John Peel Session 30th January 1978)
DVD
1. Maid in Heaven (The Old Grey Whistle Test)
2. Sister Seagull (The Old Grey Whistle Test)
3. Ships in the Night (The Old Grey Whistle Test)
4. Fair Exchange (The Old Grey Whistle Test)
5. Forbidden Lovers (The Old Grey Whistle Test)
6. Down on Terminal Street (The Old Grey Whistle Test)
7. New Precision (Sight and Sound in Concert)
8. Superenigmatix (Sight and Sound in Concert)
9. Possession (Sight and Sound in Concert)
10. Dangerous Stranger (Sight and Sound in Concert)
11. Islands of the Dead (Sight and Sound in Concert)
12. Lovers Are Mortal (Sight and Sound in Concert)
13. Panic in the World (Sight and Sound in Concert)
It’s also available as a digital download but that means missing out on the videos.
Whilst I applaud the comprehensiveness of this collection and I’ve always regarded Be Bop Deluxe as one of “my groups” i.e. those that I supported throughout their career, there is a weakness here.
By the time you’ve played CD 1, you’ve heard Maid In Heaven and Sister Seagull twice. Then you play CD 2 and you are straight into another version of Maid In Heaven including twice in the last four songs. You will also hear Adventures in a Yorkshire Landscape three times by the time you’ve played all three CDs but at least those are well spread out.
I think we are spoilt for choice on the live albums available from Be Bop Deluxe. Buying this makes sense if you like the direction they were heading in with Drastic Plastic as you get the 1978 concert recording. However many fans thought that this was probably the weakest of the studio albums.
As far as I’m concerned, each of the Be Bop live albums is worth getting on an individual basis but there’s too much repetition without variation with the songs to get them all. If you’re new to BBD, then this album makes a lot of sense.
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Buying Be Bop Deluxe At The BBC 1974-1978
It is available from Amazon.com – Amazon.co.uk – iTunes – eBay
At the time of writing, the mp3 download is available at a bargain price in the UK at just over £5. I can’t believe that will last long.
These links will help you get to the albums quickly and easily but I recommend that you still search for the best deal.
What Do You Think?
Is this the the best of the Be Bop Deluxe live albums?
Loading ...I’ve never really understood by some people refer to BBD as a prog rock band so I treat them as an art rock group. Have they recorded one of the best art rock live albums?
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Live Albums By Be Bop Deluxe
1974-78 Tramcar to Tomorrow: Live on the BBC (live in the studio recordings for John Peel)
1974-78 Be Bop Deluxe At The BBC
1976 Be Bop Deluxe BBC In Concert 2nd October 1976
1977 Live In the Air Age
1976-78 Tremulous Antenna (also known as Radioland)
The compilation of Be Bop Deluxe albums called Futurist Manifesto also has some previously unreleased live recordings. Bill Nelson has also released a terrific live album in 2011 called Live In Concert At Metropolis Studio which has a reworking of some of the classic songs to allow Bill Nelson to trade licks and riffs with a saxophone player.