* * * * GENTLE GIANT * * * *
* * * * LIVE AUDIO RECORDINGS * * * *
(compiled by Jack Skelly)
This
page lists all of the band’s live audio recordings that I have ever heard of,
up to this point.
Maybe
you know of more.
If
you do know of any others, please write and let me know!!
AUD - an audience recording made by someone at the
concert
SB - a soundboard recording made at a concert or
in a studio
RADIO - a recording made from an AM or FM radio
broadcast
TV - a
recording made from a television broadcast
PART A.
THESE ARE
LIVE RECORDINGS AVAILABLE TO TRADERS AND COLLECTORS. SOME ARE MORE COMMON THAN OTHERS, BUT ALL CAN
BE FOUND.
Apr. ?, 1971 AUD Dusseldorf, West Germany - Philipshalle the only available unreleased show to have Martin Smith on drums. includes Giant and Why
Not?, as well as the only known recording of Martin’s original drum
solo during Nothing At All
July ?, 1971 AUD
Sep. 5, 1971 AUD Vienna,
Austria - Stadthalle a 30 minute tape, though it appears
to be a complete opening set
Jan. 21, 1972 AUD Essen,
West Germany - Grugahalle first of several known tapes from the band’s
first successful tour with Jethro Tull. a common GG bootleg named GARGANTUA is
of this show, although the bootleg incorrectly lists a date of 1971 and even
incorrectly lists Martin as the drummer, when it is actually Malcolm Mortimore. the original tape of the show, available to traders, is
actually a tiny bit longer than what appears on the bootleg
Jan. 22, 1972 AUD Frankfurt,
West Germany - Festhalle Messgelande this show often incorrectly appears
on trade lists as
Jan. 24, 1972 AUD Vienna,
Austria - Konserthaus only the last three songs of the set are
on this recording. at the time, Giant
closed their shows with a small excerpt from the national anthem of whatever
country they were in at the time. this recording has the only known version of the Austrian
National Anthem
Jan. 30, 1972 AUD Bern, Switzerland - Festhalle an afternoon
performance. includes a short bit of
the Swiss National Anthem
Feb. 2, 1972 AUD Bologna, Italy - Palazzo Dello Sport the
band played two shows this day and one was recorded, but it's not known which
one. the tape includes a snippet of the Italian
National Anthem
Feb. 5, 1972 AUD Novara, Italy - Palasport this tape,
comprising the full six song set played that night, is often listed as being
recorded in
Apr. 28, 1972 AUD Cheltenham,
England - Town Hall this
is from John Weather’s first tour with
the band, when they opened for a Jimi Hendrix
film. it’s also the only known tape to
include the song Schooldays. the
exact date and even the city are still open to debate on this one
May 12, 1972 AUD Offenbach, West Germany - Stadthalle includes
the earliest known version of Peel the Paint, as well as a slightly
longer excerpt from the West German National Anthem than appears on
earlier tapes
May 13, 1972 AUD Kronau, West Germany - Grosse Mehrzweckhalle again includes the longer version
of the West German National Anthem
Aug. 8, 1972 RADIO London, England
- BBC Studio Session this
is the only known BBC Session of the band’s to surface so far that has not been
officially released. the BBC’s master
tape is apparently lost, but a forward-thinking
Sep. 15, 1972 AUD Los
Angeles, California - Hollywood Bowl an
infamous recording of Giant on their first US tour opening for Black
Sabbath. the crowd treated the band
poorly, as can be clearly heard on the tape.
sometimes, an incorrect date of Oct. 15, 1972 appears on trade lists
Oct. 7, 1972 AUD
Oct. 14, 1972 AUD Rochester, New York - Rochester War
Memorial taken from the
band’s second successful tour with Jethro Tull
Nov. 13, 1972 AUD New
York, New York - Madison Square Garden also
from the second tour with JethroTull
Dec. 10, 1972 AUD
Dec. 30, 1972 AUD
Jan. 2, 1973 AUD Genova, Italy - Teatro Alcione often,
the year on this one is erroneously given as 1974
Jan. 5, 1973 AUD
Mar. 16, 1973 AUD
Mar. 18, 1973 AUD
Mar. 22, 1973 AUD Quebec
City, Quebec - Palais Montcalm there is often a great deal of
confusion concerning recordings from GG’s Canadian
shows of early 1973. for instance, tapes
of both of the
Mar. 23, 1973 AUD Quebec City, Quebec - Palais Montcalm this
is, of course, the second
Mar. 24, 1973 AUD Montreal, Quebec - University Sports
Center the only
complete headlining tape from the band’s 1973 Canadian tour
Apr. 3, 1973 AUD
Sep. 17, 1973 AUD Plymouth,
England - Guildhall this
particular tape includes the only known live recording of an extended Kerry Minnear keyboard solo.
it appears in the middle of the band’s brand new medley, Excerpts
from Octopus, but was apparently dropped from the set right away. this keyboard solo has, however, been
officially released on the SCRAPING THE BARREL box set
Sep. 22, 1973 AUD
Oct. 17, 1973 AUD
Oct. 20, 1973 AUD
Oct. 21, 1973 AUD
Oct. 29, 1973 AUD
Nov. 16, 1973 RADIO Golders Green, England - Hippodrome this is the BBC In Concert recording
officially released on the OUT OF THE FIRE CD. however, although that official release does not include all
of the announcer’s narration, a high quality tape circulates that does
Mar. 14, 1974 AUD
Mar. 19, 1974 AUD
Apr. 5, 1974 AUD Munster,
West Germany - Munsterlandhalle the Alucard
release of the IN A GLASS HOUSE album includes, as a bonus track, one
song taken from this recording
Apr. 8,
Oct. 9, 1974 AUD West
Hollywood, California - Whiskey a Go Go the band played five consecutive nights at
this nightclub, all very well received.
this recording is from the first night
Oct. ?, 1974 RADIO Long
Beach, California - Long Beach Auditorium sometime
around their five night stay at the Whiskey a Go Go,
the band was filmed in nearby Long Beach for the ABC-TV “In Concert”
program. their performance of Excerpts
from Octopus filmed there was eventually broadcast on Jan. 3, 1975. a number of radio stations simulcast the
audio portion of that performance and tapes of that radio simulcast trade among
collectors
Oct. 23, 1974 AUD
Nov. 1, 1974 AUD New York,
New York - Academy of Music Giant
played many times at this popular
Nov. 4, 1974 AUD Detroit, Michigan - Cobo
Hall
Nov. 6, 1974 AUD
Nov. 6, 1974 AUD
Nov. 21, 1974 AUD
Nov. 26, 1974 SB
Nov. 28, 1974 AUD
Jan. 18, 1975 RADIO New York,
New York - Academy of Music GG
played two shows at the Academy on this date and this tape is from the “King
Biscuit Flower Hour” radio program which broadcast about 15 minutes of the
evening’s material on Sep. 28, 1975.
this broadcast includes Cogs In Cogs, which does not appear on
the official KING BISCUIT PRESENTS GENTLE GIANT release, taken from the
same pair of concerts. which of the two
shows this broadcast was taken from is not entirely clear
Jan. 18, 1975 SB New
York, New York - Academy of Music what appears to be a more complete
performance has recently surfaced on the internet, although it could be the
first show, second show, or a composite of both. it includes all of the music on the official KING
BISCUIT PRESENTS GENTLE GIANT release plus the opening number, Cogs In
Cogs. however, it is not the same
version of that song that was broadcast as part of the above listing, obviously
coming from the other of the day’s two performances. this particular rendition of Cogs In Cogs
can only be found on this internet-sourced recording
Jan. 24, 1975 AUD
Jan. 24, 1975 AUD Toronto,
Ontario - Convocation Hall there is also a brief section of the soundcheck available from this same night, recorded by
someone else. it includes segments of So
Sincere and, surprisingly, No God’s a Man, a number never played
live before an audience
Jan. 27, 1975 RADIO Cleveland,
Ohio - Agora recorded
by
Feb. 13, 1975 SB West
Hollywood, California - Capitol Studios while
in southern
Feb. 17, 1975 AUD
June 21, 1975 AUD
July 20, 1975 FM Rock Around the
World Broadcast this
is actually an American broadcast of a small portion of the
Aug. 16, 1975 AUD Boston,
Massachusetts - Boston Garden on
this tape, the band played a very short excerpt from “Plain Truth” as an
intro to the song “Free Hand”
Aug. 23, 1975 AUD
Sep. 24, 1975 AUD
Oct. 3, 1975 AUD
Oct. 4, 1975 AUD
Oct. 7, 1975 RADIO Hempstead,
New York - Ultrasonic Studios another
show that’s been heavily bootlegged through the years though, at times, it’s
incorrectly listed as being from
Oct. 9, 1975 AUD
Oct. 10, 1975 AUD Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania - Spectrum surprisingly
good quality for an audience recording
Oct. 11, 1975 AUD
Oct. 11, 1975 AUD New York,
New York - Academy Of Music a second source which is
incomplete but includes a few small bits not found on the previously listed
tape
Oct. 18, 1975 AUD
Oct. 22, 1975 AUD
Oct. 28, 1975 AUD
Nov. 2, 1975 AUD
Nov. 12, 1975 RADIO Stockholm,
Sweden - Studentkaren recorded by
Nov. 17, 1975 AUD
Nov. 27, 1975 AUD
Nov. 29, 1975 RADIO Paris,
France - Olympia little
is known about this tape, which is of a French AM radio broadcast. all copies appear to be about 30 minutes long
and have numerous cuts and edits. it is
not known if the performance was broadcast live or at a later date, nor is it
known if a tape of the complete performance exists. a French announcer’s voice appears at spots
during the broadcast
June 18, 1976 AUD New York,
New York - Central Park - Wollman Rink Giant appeared as part
of
July 3, 1976 RADIO Hempstead,
New York - Calderone Concert Hall this is a popular recording among
collectors. the band’s full set, minus
all of the encore music, was broadcast live over
July 3, 1976 AUD Hempstead,
New York - Calderone Concert Hall a partial audience recording of
this concert has recently surfaced.
amazingly, it’s missing the entire main set, but it does contain all of
the encore material missing from the radio broadcast listed above, including
the two final surprise encores, In
the Midnight Hour and Happy
Birthday. the
final song was dedicated to the
July 5, 1976 AUD
July 7, 1976 RADIO Chicago,
IL - Riviera Theatre the
first 50 minutes or so of GG’s set appear on this
radio broadcast, aired over
July 16, 1976 AUD
July 18, 1976 AUD
July 22, 1976 AUD
Sep. 17, 1976 AUD
Sep. 19, 1976 AUD
Feb. 20, 1977 AUD
Feb. 22, 1977 AUD
Feb. 25, 1977 AUD
Feb. 26, 1977 AUD
Feb. 27, 1977 AUD
Feb. 28, 1977 AUD
Mar. 6, 1977 AUD
Mar. 19, 1977 AUD Dallas,
Texas - Electric Ballroom this
is only a 5 minute snippet of the band’s soundcheck
before the concert. on the tape, they
run through two incomplete takes of “For Nobody”. it is unknown whether a longer recording of
the soundcheck, or the concert itself, for that
matter, exist
Mar. 30, 1977 AUD
Mar. 31, 1977 AUD Los
Angeles, California - Shrine Auditorium this
recording contains the song “In the Midnight Hour” played as a second encore
Oct. 5, 1977 AUD
Oct. 8, 1977 AUD
Oct. 29, 1977 AUD Upper
Darby, Pennsylvania - Tower Theater the
complete show, including the encore, is available
Nov. 1, 1977 AUD
Nov. 5, 1977 AUD New York,
New York - Palladium the
Palladium is actually the same venue originally known as the
Nov. 5, 1977 AUD New York,
New York – Palladium a second tape, recorded
by a different source. it includes all
of John Weathers’ humorous introduction to
Nov. 8, 1977 AUD
Nov. 12, 1977 AUD Boston,
Massachusetts - Paradise Club the
band played three consecutive nights at this
Nov. 13, 1977 AUD Boston,
Massachusetts - Paradise Club taken
from the band’s third of three consecutive nights at this club
Nov. 15, 1977 RADIO Cleveland,
Ohio - Agora
Nov. 15, 1977 AUD
May 8, 1980 AUD Syracuse,
New York - Stage East the
earliest known tape from the CIVILIAN tour
May 13, 1980 AUD
May 16, 1980 AUD Upper Darby, Pennsylvania - Tower
Theater although generally
believed to be from Upper Darby, this tape may, in fact, be from the Palladium
in
May 18, 1980 RADIO New Haven, Connecticut - Toad's Place broadcast live over WPLR Radio in
May 22, 1980 AUD
May 24, 1980 RADIO Hempstead, New York - Calderone Concert Hall another
live radio broadcast, this time heard over
May 25, 1980 AUD
May 29, 1980 AUD
June 8, 1980 RADIO Denver,
Colorado - Rainbow Music Hall KAZY
Radio in
June 13, 1980 AUD
June 14, 1980 AUD
June 14, 1980 AUD
June 16, 1980 SB West
Hollywood, California - The Roxy (late show) a roadie for the band recorded, direct
from the house mixing desk, their very last performance, the late show on their
third night at this club. copies of this
tape circulating around are slightly longer than the version released
officially on the LAST STEPS album
PART B.
THESE ARE
PRIVATELY-HELD RECORDINGS NOT AVAILABLE TO TRADERS AND COLLECTORS. SOME ARE HELD BY BAND MEMBERS, WHILE OTHERS
ARE HELD BY THE ORIGINAL TAPERS WHO ARE NOT COMFORTABLE DISTRIBUTING THEM.
Sep 8, 1972 SB New Orleans, Louisiana - Municipal
Auditorium although one
track from this concert has seen official release, the remainder of the
recording resides with the band
Apr. 5, 1974 AUD Munster,
West Germany - Munsterlandhalle this is a second, totally
different recording than the available one listed in Part A. although a few
minutes of it appear on the GG AT THE GG DVD, the rest is believed to
now reside with members of the band
Nov. 22, 1974
Jan. 18, 1975 SB
Jan. 18, 1975 SB New
York, New York - Academy of Music (second show) the same problems described in the above
listing hold true for this show, as well, concerning how much of each of the
evening’s two performances are presently available to collectors. however, the original master tape of
this full concert is believed to still exist
Jan. 29, 1975 AUD
Feb. 13, 1975 SB West
Hollywood, California - Capitol Studios this
heavily bootlegged studio recording was described in Part A. however, what appear to be the original tapes
of this recording were recently located.
they include songs not appearing on any bootlegs or tapes of the session
that are trading among collectors. these
more complete tapes are not yet available to the public, but there’s a chance
they may be in the future
Nov. 24, 1975 AUD
Sep. 23, 1976 SB Dusseldorf, West Germany - Philipshalle this is the first of
four concerts the band recorded to provide possible material for a planned live
album. much of the music has seen
official release on PLAYING THE FOOL, UNDER CONSTRUCTION and as
bonus material on a recent Alucard reissue of IN A
GLASS HOUSE, though more remains unreleased
Sep. 25, 1976 SB Munich,
West Germany - Circus Krone Building the second of four concerts taped by the
band for possible release. Only
Sep. 30, 1976 AUD
Oct. 1, 1976 AUD
Oct. 5, 1976 SB Paris,
France - Pavillon de Paris the third of four concerts the band recorded
for a possible release. several songs
from this show appear on PLAYING THE FOOL, but most of the music has not
been released
Oct. 7, 1976 SB
Oct. 8, 1977 AUD Basel,
Switzerland - Mustermesse Riehenring one version of this, listed in Part A, is
trading among collectors. however,
another version of higher quality was taped by someone else in the audience and
is not available to collectors
Nov. 18, 1977 SB Chester,
Pennsylvania - Widener University a
soundboard recording currently held by a band member
June 13, 1980 SB West
Hollywood, California - The Roxy (early show) as explained in Part A,
GG played six shows in three nights at this nightclub in 1980. tapes of four of
these concerts are available to collectors already. however, the Roxy’s
soundman at the time professionally recorded all six shows. he has not made any of these recordings
available
June 13, 1980 SB
June 14, 1980 SB
June 14, 1980 SB
June 16, 1980 SB
June 16, 1980 SB
PART C.
THESE ARE
RECORDINGS RUMORED TO EXIST. I CANNOT AT
THIS TIME VERIFY THE EXISTENCE OF ANY OF THESE, AND MANY OF THE RUMORS ARE
PROBABLY UNFOUNDED. HOWEVER, I’M PRETTY
CONFIDENT AT LEAST SOME OF THESE RECORDINGS ARE REAL.
Feb. 26, 1971 AUD London, England - Horseshoe Pub although this recording has
been rumored, no evidence has yet surfaced to prove its existence
Apr. 24, 1972 AUD
Jan. 3, 1973 AUD
Oct. 13, 1973 AUD
Oct.
?, 1973 AUD Heidelberg, West Germany the
date of this rumored tape could just as well have been June or July of
1973. the venue is not known
Feb.
?, 1974 FM San Francisco, California - Winterland GG played here on Feb. 14 and
15. possibly, some of Giant’s
performance on one of those nights was broadcast over the city’s KSAN radio
station
Mar.
20, 1974 AUD
??? AUD Marietta, Ohio - Marietta College believed to be from
sometime in late 1974
??? AUD
Feb. 3, 1975 SB Denver, Colorado - Ebbets
Field a local
Feb, 4, 1975 SB Denver, Colorado - Ebbets
Field as is
the case with the above listing, it’s very possible a tape of this show was
recorded and still exists as the property of a local
Oct. 1, 1975 AUD
May 31, 1976 AUD
June 27, 1976 AUD Toronto,
Ontario - Massey Hall although
the master of this recording is missing, copies are still believed to exist
June 28, 1976 AUD
Feb. 23, 1977 AUD Montreal, Quebec - Montreal Forum
June 15, 1980 AUD San
Francisco, California - Old Waldorf Hotel rumors
of this tape’s existence have surfaced a couple times, though they are probably
false
PART D.
THESE ARE
RECORDINGS THAT APPARENTLY ONCE EXISTED BUT, UNFORTUNATELY, ARE NOW PRESUMED
LOST.
Apr. 5, 1971 AUD
Jan. 21, 1972 AUD Essen,
West Germany - Grugahalle recorded by a
different source than the one listed in Part A.
this tape deteriorated and is no longer usable
June 13, 1972 RADIO
Mar. 4, 1973 AUD Winchester,
England - King Alfred’s College this
was Giant’s very first gig as a five-piece band, Phil having just
departed. a poor quality reel-to-reel
tape recorded right in front of the speakers no longer exists
Mar. 4, 1973 AUD Winchester, England - King Alfred’s
College amazingly,
a second recording of this historic gig, taped on cassette, is also believed
lost
Mar. 16, 1973 AUD New
York, New York - Felt Forum unlike
the partial recording listed in Part A, this missing recording was of the
band’s complete set
Oct. ?, 1973 AUD
Aug. 30, 1975 AUD
Nov. 12, 1975 SB Stockholm,
Sweden - Studentkaren as explained above, a portion of this
recording was broadcast over Swedish radio.
the original producer of that broadcast has tried unsuccessfully to
locate the remaining unaired portions of the concert and now believes they no
longer exist
May 22, 1980 AUD
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