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Roxy Music - Paris Theatre, London August 1972 (1972)

Track listing:
  1. Bogus Man Pt 2 (Grey Lagoons) 4:22
  2. Bob Harris talks 0:25
  3. Sea Breezes 7:13
  4. Bob Harris talks 0:23
  5. Virginia Plain 3:22
  6. Bob Harris talks 0:30
  7. Chance Meeting 5:30
  8. Bob Harris talks 0:19
  9. Re-Make - Re-Model 6:23

Notes

Exact recording and transmission date unknown.

DVB-T (160kbps / 48Khz) > Nebula DigiTV > Hard Disk MP2
Rebroadcast by BBC 6Music on 14th April 2008 for "Live at 4"

The current recording differs in the following ways:

- Fidelity much improved over the original 1972 broadcast recordings.
- Stereo
- Additional synthesiser and keyboard parts (Brian Eno) are present on this rebroadcast which were not on the original 1972 broadcast!

This broadcast is also widely available on "First Kiss" and "Re-make/Re-model" neither of which approach the fidelity of this rebroadcast.

Sadly missing the first track played "The B.O.B. Medley" which appears to have been cut so this rebroadcast fitted their 30 min transmission slot.


August 1972 was a very important month for Roxy. Along with this 'in concert' show and the Peel session broadcast at the start of the month, 'Virginia Plain' was climbing the UK charts and they had been invited by David Bowie to support him at two special shows at the Rainbow theatre in London. However, exact details of this 'in concert' recording are sketchy, except for the fact that it exists in the BBC archives. These recordings were organised by the BBC and took place at a variety of venues across London in front of a live audience. A fair guess is that it was recorded at the Paris Theatre, Lower Regent Street as were many other 'in concert' shows around that time. It's also possible that it may have been at the Golders Green Hippodrome in North London, both were BBC owned theatres. This particular show was produced by longtime BBC producer Jeff Griffin and presented by Bob Harris.

This recording is a great example of the live Roxy experience of the time, as these shows were recorded 'as live', which meant no overdubs and no retakes. It's a very raw and energetic performance, with Eno and Manzanera pushing themselves to the fore, Eno in particular being very prominent in the mix throughout the performance with his various manipulations. Re-Make/Re-Model can only be described as a 7 minute freakout, as Manzanera and Mackay whip up a storm whilst Eno processes the sound into a frenzy. A couple of interesting points to note - The Bogus Man Part 2, which Harris introduces as being performed live for the first time, is better known to us now as Grey Lagoons. He also comments that Virginia Plain has just been released as a single.


Bryan Ferry - vocals and keyboards
Phil Manzanera - guitar
Andy Mackay - oboes and saxes
Paul Thompson - drums
Brian Eno - synthesizers and tapes
Rik Kenton - bass