To help you to find albums that you like, I have organised this website around genres of music with the general guideline that albums should only belong to one or two genres.
My classic rock section consists of albums that are generally successful and don’t belong in one of the more specialised categories. Often groups will start in one category and as they become more successful, they broaden out their sound and become classic rock.
Classic Rock Live Albums From The 1980s
Bryan Adams Live Live Live 1988
Bon Jovi One Wild Night Live 1985-2001
Bon Jovi Rockin’ Live in Cleveland 1984
David Bowie Serious Moonlight
David Bowie Glass Spider Live 1987
Rick Danko Richard Manuel and Paul Butterfield Live At The Lone Star Cafe 1984
Dexy’s Midnight Runners The Projected Passion Revue 1981
Dexy’s Midnight Runners Too-Rye-Ay Deluxe Rarities 1982
Dexy’s Midnight Runners BBC Radio One Live in Concert 1982
Dexys Midnight Runners The Radio 1 Sessions
Dire Straits Alchemy
The Doobie Brothers Live at the Greek Theater 1982
The Doobie Brothers Farewell Tour 1982
Duran Duran Live at Hammersmith ’82
Duran Duran Arena 1984
Duran Duran Live At The Beacon Theatre NYC 31st August 1987
Duran Duran BBC In Concert Manchester Apollo 25th April 1989
Bob Dylan Real Live 1984
Bob Dylan & The Dead
The Eagles The Eagles Live
Eurythmics Live 1983–1989
Peter Gabriel Plays Live 1982
Peter Gabriel Live In Athens 1987 (So 25th Anniversary)
J Geils Band Showtime 1982
Genesis Three Sides Live
Genesis Archive #2 1976-1992
Grateful Dead Dead Set 1980
Grateful Dead Without A Net 1989 1990
Hall & Oates Greatest Hits Live 1982
Hall & Oates Live At The Montreal Forum 1983
Heart Strange Night
Heart Live In Portland 89
Don Henley Don’t Look Back 1985
Joe Jackson Live At The BBC 1979 to 1983
Joe Jackson Live 1980 to 1986
The Jam Dig The New Breed
The Jam Live Jam
The Jam At The BBC 1977 to 1982
The Jam Fire & Skill The Jam Live 1977 to 1982
The Jam Live At Wembley (The Gift Super Deluxe) 1982
Jethro Tull Live at Hammersmith ’84
Elton John Live in Australia with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Journey Live In Houston 1981 The Escape Tour
Journey Greatest Hits Live 1981 1983
The Kinks One For The Road
The Kinks Live The Road 1987
Huey Lewis Sports 30th Anniversary
Nils Lofgren Moon Tears Live
Nils Lofgren Code Of The Road
Nils Lofgren Back It Up Live ’85
Manfred Mann’s Earth Band Budapest Live 1983
Paul McCartney Tripping The Live Fantastic (Full)
Meat Loaf Live at Wembley
Frankie Miller Live At Rockpalast 1976 1979 1982
Steve Miller Steve Miller Band Live!
Mink DeVille Live At Rockpalast
Robert Palmer At The BBC 1983
Robert Palmer Live At The Apollo 1988
Robert Palmer Maybe It’s Live
Tom Petty The Live Anthology 1976 to 2007
Tom Petty Pack Up the Plantation Live 1978 to 1985
Tom Petty Live To Air 1986
Tom Petty In The Coliseum 1987
Tom Petty Dean E Smith Activity Center University Of Carolina Sept 13 1989
Tom Petty Transmission Impossible
Pink Floyd Delicate Sound Of Thunder 1988
The Police Live
Queen Rock Montreal
Queen on Fire – Live at the Bowl
Queen Live At Wembley
Queen Hungarian Rhapsody Live In Budapest ’86
Rainbow Final Vinyl
REM Songs For A Green World The Classic 1989 Broadcast
The Rolling Stones Still Life
Todd Rundgren King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents in Concert
Roxy Music Heart Still Beating 1982
Roxy Music The High Road
Rush Exit Stage Left
Rush Grace Under Pressure Tour 1984
Rush A Show of Hands 1988
Sad Cafe Live In Concert 1980
Bob Seger Nine Tonight
Simple Minds Live In The City Of Light
Spandau Ballet Live At The NEC 1986
Bruce Springsteen Live 1975 – 85
Bruce Springsteen Nassau Coliseum Uniondale New York 1980
Bruce Springsteen Arizona State University Tempe 1980
Bruce Springsteen Brendan Byrne Arena New Jersey 1984
Bruce Springsteen Los Angeles April 23 1988
Bruce Springsteen The Human Rights Broadcast Buenos Aires October 1988
Status Quo Live At The NEC
Status Quo Live At The BBC (2 CD Version)
Rod Stewart Live 1976 – 1998 Tonight’s The Night
Rod Stewart Absolutely Live 1982
Sting Bring On The Night 1985
The Stranglers BBC In Concert 8th February 1982
Supertramp Live 1988
Thin Lizzy Live At The BBC 1971 to 1983
Thin Lizzy Live At The BBC Super Deluxe Box Set 1971 to 1983
Tina Turner Tina Live In Europe
U2 Live At The Hammersmith Palais Plus 1982
U2 Under A Blood Red Sky
U2 Rattle And Hum 1987
U2 Live From Paris
Joe Walsh All Night Long
The Who Live From Toronto
The Who Who’s Last
The Who Join Together 1989
The Who Greatest Hits Live
Wishbone Ash Live Dates 2
Neil Young Cow Palace 1986
ZZ Top Live In Germany
You can get these albums from Amazon.com – Amazon.co.uk
The All Time Best Classic Rock Live Albums
I don’t have a readers poll on finding the best live classic rock albums from this decade but I do have a poll to find the best all time classic rock live albums.
Loading ...Because there are so many excellent classic rock live albums I have split the poll into two and you may find some of your favourites in the second division. Albums will be promoted when they get enough votes.
Loading ...You can get these albums from Amazon.com – Amazon.co.uk
Live classic rock albums by decade – 1960s – 1970s – 1980s – 1990s – 2000s – 2010s –
Plays Live is the first live album recorded by Peter Gabriel from his American tour in 1982.
Peter Gabriel left prog rock group Genesis after The Lamb Lies Down In Broadway album. Genesis thrived without their former lead singer and Peter Gabriel recorded some very interesting art rock albums.
A “highlights” single CD was issued of Peter Gabriel Plays Live in America which took four songs away.
Peter Gabriel Plays Live
Still Life is a live album by the Rolling Stones. It was recorded at concerts in North America in November and December 1981 to promote the Tattoo You studio album and released in 1982.
Live In Houston is a live album and DVD by AOR group Journey, recorded on November 6th, 1981 on the Escape tour.
This catches Journey at the peak of their commercial success although it only come a year after their first live album, Captured.
Continue reading Journey Live In Houston 1981 The Escape Tour
Serious Moonlight is a recording of the David Bowie concert in Vancouver on September 12, 1983.
It is available as an official live DVD and an unofficial live album CD. I would like David Bowie to tidy up this mess and release it as an authorised CD as there is definitely a place for it within the group of David Bowie live albums.
I haven’t been featuring live concert DVDs without an accompanying CD but I thought I’d make an exception. I’m not sure about the legality of the Serious Moonlight live album but it’s being sold by Play.com and cduniverse.com so I’m guessing that it has a grey status. Legal but not approved by David Bowie.
David Bowie Serious Moonlight
Live Jam is a live compilation album by new wave group The Jam. It was recorded between 1979 and 1982.
Shortly after The Jam’s first live album, Dig The New Breed came their second with a much wider collection of songs.
Unfortunately it is again compiled from different gigs in different times of the band’s evolution. This is frustrating as I feel I am still deprived of the proper experience of The Jam live.
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Eagles Live is the first live album by country rock group The Eagles and was mainly recorded in late July 1980 at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California. Five extra songs were recorded in October 1976 at The Forum in Inglewood, California.
Wikipedia reports that Glenn Frey and Don Henley mixed the album on opposite coasts and it’s said to be heavily doctored.
Dig The New Breed is a live compilation album from The Jam featuring songs recorded at concerts between 1977 and 1982.
I remember the heady days back in 1977 and The Jam were caught up in the punk/new wave scene. It was a bit strange because their image and music was a long way from the Sex Pistols.
The developed into a very successful singles band with a series of number ones in the UK and created excellent albums including All Mod Cons and Setting Sons.
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Live In Germany is a live album by Southern boogie rock group ZZ Top and was recorded at the Grugahalle in Essen, Germany for the Rockpalast TV series. It was from their 1980 tour to promote the Deguello album.
This is ZZ Top before they changed their sound for MTV success with songs like Sharp Dressed Man. You have been warned.
Final Vinyl is a compilation album from Rainbow that mainly features live tracks focusing on the time when the group moved into pop-rock in the 80s.
The Rainbow of Since You’ve Been Gone and I Surrender is very different from the hard rock group that Ritchie Blackmore formed straight after leaving Deep Purple.
As well as live versions of the popular Rainbow songs, there are also a few studio rarities.
Greatest Hits Live is a compilation of The Who‘s best known songs played live in concert spanning over 40 years from 1965 to 2009.
