In 1979 if memory serves me correctly, Gang of Four was on its second visit to the USA when we played a club in Manhattan called Mothers. I’m no longer sure if the club still exists but the performance we gave that night certainly does. A CD of the live recording arrived in the mail anonymously about 4 years ago just prior to the Gang of Four reunion tours. It’s a patchy recording but it captures the fire and energy of the times, a time when music was still evolving. I’ve decided to make these 12 tracks available for download and today is day 1 of 12 days of offering up the files. Collect the set.
Gang of Four – I Found That Essence Rare (live) [MP3]
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Wow! Great energy indeed. Looking forward to hearing the rest of the gig as it is revealed.
June 24th, 2007 at 10:59 amAmzing blog, Dave! Thanks for sharing this stuff with us!
June 24th, 2007 at 11:43 amWhat a pleasure to hear this. Kudos to the Moose! Thank you, Dave.
June 24th, 2007 at 1:45 pmThanks for all the comments folks and keep ‘em coming. More MP3s throughout this week…
June 24th, 2007 at 1:58 pmincredible. how did we keep up with bands before the internet? thanks dave!
June 24th, 2007 at 5:40 pmdave, what recording device do you think they used to record the show…
June 25th, 2007 at 7:13 am[...] Related Posts: Essence Rare live MP3, Anthrax SXSW Video, Marie Antoinette released to DVD, Damaged Goods Live 2005 Video, Andy Gill Brazil interview Video [...]
June 26th, 2007 at 5:15 pmI would guess in those days it was a good, old-fashioned tape recorder. Or someone took a line from the mixing board into a tape recorder….
June 26th, 2007 at 5:20 pm[...] Related Posts: 5:45 live, Essence Rare live MP3, Anthrax SXSW Video, Marie Antoinette released to DVD, Damaged Goods Live 2005 Video, Andy Gill Brazil interview Video, A day late I know [...]
July 2nd, 2007 at 10:08 amYO BRADA DAVE ….THIS SITE IS GREAT I’M TURNING TAL ON TO THIS….HE TOO HAS BECOME A KITE SURFER WITH KAIOLA !!!! IT’S ABSOLUTELY AMAZING TO SEE…TELL DYLAN TO GOOGLE KITE-SURFING OR KITE-BOARDING, IT’S FAB…….MYSELF, I AM BUT A “KITE-CADDY” TOO WEAK TO PERFORM !! :( :( BUT I LAUNCH THEM AND CATCH THEIR EVER FRAGILE KITES SAVING THEM FROM DOOM,,,AH THE LIFE OF AN OCEAN TRAPPED MOTHER ! WE LOVED OUR VISIT W/ YOU ALL …TOO SHORT XXOO
July 3rd, 2007 at 11:34 pmHey there…I’ll surely tell Dylan. Next time come over for longer, and have a great 4th of July..
July 4th, 2007 at 7:03 amPedantic Drummer here.
Mother’s was on Long Island, and we did only one US tour in ‘79…the first US tour we ever did – July/August.
love,
H
July 13th, 2007 at 9:58 amPedantic but Mistaken Drummer…
admits he was confusing Mothers (NYC) with My Father’s Place (L.I.)
Sobriety confuses me.
August 1st, 2007 at 1:23 pmHello Dave [& Hugo]!
You won’t remember me, but we spent an afternoon together way back in 1988 when you lot played down in Gainesville, FL at the University of Florida. Dave: you and Andy & I talked music. Hugo: you vcame by my record shop the next day and I still have autographed 7″ of “Outside the Trains”.
Anyway – what I’m REALLY asking about is this. Among the many Go4 live recordings in my collection, I have this show dated as 11 September 1979, and as being from Mother’s in CHICAGO!
I don’t remember a club called Mother’s in NYC – but there may well have been one. FWIW, this show circulates in trading circles as 9/9 and 9/11, and as Chicago and “My Father’s Place” on LI – did you play there?
Please let me know if you’d like any of the recordings I have in my collection – I would be happy send you copies: I have about 20 from the various tours, plus a DVD called “A History of Damaged Goods”, with a bunch of good stuff on it.
My best to you both,
Nick in Fort Lauderdale, FL
August 19th, 2007 at 1:09 pmPedantic update: that date should, of course, be 1980, not 1988.
August 19th, 2007 at 1:19 pmPedantic update #2 – that should be “The bottom Line”, not “My Father’s Place”. Here’s a cite on a site, FWIW: http://www.notgreatmen.com/gof_d.html – about 2/3 of the way down the page. FWIW, he said, continuing to flog a dead pony, I have had both shows traded to me – 9/9 and 9/11 and they are the same show, although they are from different sources. On the “Chicago” show, Roseanne is part of the same track as Armalite Rifle, so there are 11 tracks, and the opening track, where John says “Our road manager got taken down by the police” starts just a bit sooner “Bit late, cuz our road manager. . .”. Perhaps this may jog one of your memories as to where this show is really from! Also – it’s a radio broadcast, apparently.
Cheers,
Nick
August 19th, 2007 at 1:30 pmHi Nick,
August 19th, 2007 at 1:56 pmAnd thanks for the memories..I remember Gainsville being quite a large crowd spread over a large field but that’s about it so apologies for not remembering the music discussions. As for the Mothers bootleg it’s been determined that it was Mothers NYC a now defunct club in Manhattan. And it’s Andy Gill who says “our Tour manager’s just been taken down by the police..” which was true and does help to point the recording to Mothers NYC as our TM did get arrested that night for some sort of illegal driving offense and being angry and abusive I think!
Hey Dave!
Great to hear back from you — thanks for clearing up the myster, and do please let me know if you’d like any of the other concert recordings in my collection. You guys have remained one of my two or three favorite bands of all time, and although I couldn’t make it to any of the reunion shows, I feel as though I did, since I have recordings of almost all of them!
Hope all is well with you and yours, including your brother – who was at the time your driver, if I recall correctly. Any chance of another tour or perhaps even — gracious — some new tunes?
Warmest regards,
Nick in Fort Lauderdale
PS — I love the World Domination stuff too, not to mention Shriekback – do you ever heard from Barry these days? My best to Hugo as well – a great guy!
August 20th, 2007 at 7:43 pmFYI, the Gang of Four show on 9/9/79 was at Mother’s in Chicago.
I was at that show and still have the ticket stub. Gang of Four was the opening act with The Buzzcocks headlining that evening. The ticket was $7.00. Everyone expected a great show from The Buzzcocks, and they delivered just that, but the general consensus was that the Gang of Four were even better.
Mother’s still exists and has been located at 26 W. Division St in Chicago since around 1968, and has hosted live concerts for many years.
March 1st, 2010 at 7:47 pm