"Concerts For The People Of Kampuchea" Outtakes
Hammersmith Odeon
London, UK
December 16-19, 1979
JEMS 2014 Transfer: Maxell XL-1 production cassettes > Nakamichi CR-7A (azimuth-adjusted) > Sound Devices UBSPre2 (24/96 Audacity 2.0 capture) > iZotope MBIT+ convert to 16/44.1 .wav > Peak Pro XT (pitch correction / subtle tweaks / edit / index) > xACT 2.21 > FLAC
01 Queen - Crazy Little Thing Called Love
02 Paul McCartney & Wings - I've Had Enough
03 Paul McCartney & Wings - Twenty Flight Rock
04 The Clash - Bankrobber
05 The Clash - London Calling
06 Elvis Costello & The Attractions - You Belong to Me
07 The Pretenders - Brass in Pocket
08 The Pretenders - Private Life
09 Rockpile - Three Time Loser
10 The Specials - I Doesn't Make It Alright
11 The Specials - Stupid Marriage
12 The Specials - Too Much, Too Young
13 Ian Dury & the Blockheads - Blackmail Man
14 Ian Dury & the Blockheads - Blockheads
15 Ian Dury & the Blockheads - Clever Trevor
16 Ian Dury & the Blockheads - My Ol' Man
17 Matumbi - Empire Road
18 Matumbi - Come With Me
19 Matumbi - After Tonight
20 Matumbi - Point of View
The Concerts for Kampuchea came out at that moment in my life bridging the classic rock artists I had initially fallen in love with in my early teens (e.g. The Who, Paul McCartney) and the new artists that had become my passion (e.g. The Clash, Elvis Costello, The Pretenders). Kampuchea offered great performances from both, on film and record.
The shows themselves took place over four nights at London's Hammersmith Odeon in late 1979. A year later saw the release of a concert film from the event, which made its way to the US art house circuit where I first saw it (it later screened on TV as well).
In March of 1981, Atlantic Records released a double live album culled from the concerts which featured most of the performances seen in the film with a few variations. For instance, there are more McCartney songs in the movie than on the album, and one extra Who song on the album ("Baba O'Riley") not seen in the original film.
Undoubtedly due to rights and clearance challenges and the charity aspect of behind the project, the two-LP Concerts for Kampuchea has never been released on CD and the film has never come out on DVD (at least officially). Bootleg videos of Kampuchea are out there, derived from the aforementioned TV broadcasts.
Earlier this year, JEMS obtained tapes from a former Atlantic Records executive. Included were three cassettes marked "Concerts for Cambodia." One listen made it clear that the cassettes contained rough cuts of possible tracks for inclusion on the live album, undoubtedly transferred from mix-down reels to these cassettes for song-selection purposes.
To be clear, the tapes don't contain the full artist sets; it is all the songs from the album and film, plus another 20 from the same artists that were under consideration for the double LP but didn't make the final cut.
We believe this is the first time the material has ever circulated, though three of the cuts ("Crazy Little Thing Called Love," "Brass in Pocket," "Three Time Loser") were added to broadcasts of Kampuchea on US and later Japanese TV (the source of most bootleg DVDs and YouTube clips). Because they were not included in the original film, with the benevolent blessing of the Mods, they are included here.
Highlights include two leftovers from a spirited McCartney & Wings set, "I've Had Enough" and a cover of Eddie Cochran's "Twenty Flight Rock." Macca would later release a studio version of the latter on Choba B CCCP.
From the Clash we also gain a pair, a fine "Bankrobber" and an underwhelming "London Calling." A rollicking "You Belong to Me" is the add from Costello, while The Pretenders offer a long "Private Life."
We wrap up with expanded sets from The Specials and Ian Dury & The Blockheads, both in the prime of their careers, and British reggae band, Matumbi.
The quality of these unreleased performance is excellent and despite the age of the cassettes, they played back very well. Samples provided.
We thought this might make a welcome holiday gift from JEMS to the community if you loved the Kampuchea album like I did. We'd also like to point out that the highly rated charity Cambodian Children's Fund could probably use your donation, if you are moved to give in the spirit of the original concerts.
https://www.cambodianchildrensfund.org/
Special thanks to mjk5510 for his incredible contributions to the JEMS cause in 2014 including wrapping this special Kampuchea project up in a bow.
BK for JEMS