[peel] Re: More Old Playlists 1968-69

[mickcapewell]

Y'know, I can't help but wonder why there are few, if any, shows from 1971-73 anywhere. Surely some were recorded, although I suppose that sound quality may be an issue, seeing as Top Gear moved from the afternoon to a late night slot, and from my old memories of listening to Radio 1 in the Midlands, some nights it was, literally, unlistenable.
Mind you, back in the 80s I bought a Sandy Denny bootleg tape from a record fair (in Southampton I think), which featured several session tracks and an In Concert show. At the end of the tape were the tracks 'Man of Iron' and 'Leave In Silence' from the 'Pass Of Arms' EP. I assumed that, because they were quite rare, the compiler had simply added the EP to the tape, but as 'Leave In Silence' ended Peel appeared, making a comment about the songs being "Staggeringly atmospheric". That EP was released in September 1972, so somewhere, somebody had taped at least a portion of a show from that time. I think I still have the tape somewhere. I wonder if any more from that show is lying around somewhere.

As for the In Concert show...when did Peel stop introducing it? There are dozens...(hundreds!) of In Concerts doing the rounds, both dodgy and legit. Trouble is, sometimes 'legit' releases have live recordings that are not credited as BBC shows, presumably in an attempt to avoid paying anything to the BBC. 
Angel Air issued "Live & Raw" by Atomic Rooster, with previously 'unknown' tapes from 2 live concerts provided by guitarist John Cann. These shows are BBC In Concert programmes recorded off-air, including Peel's intros. It's strange to hear him effusively praising Atomic Rooster, (including Carl Palmer!), given his well-known opinions on Progressive Rock ;-)
Another 'BBC In Disguise' release is Greenslade's 'Live 1973-75' which also features their portions of 2 In Concert shows, with no mention of the Beeb anywhere.
Caravan issued their In Concert show on a limited edition CD for their fan club, and excellent it is too.
But stuff like Wild Turkey, Home, East Of Eden, Budgie, Tempest, Back Door, If, Plainsong, Refugee, Manfred Mann's Earth Band, Camel, Incredible String Band, Argent, Blodwyn Pig, Thin Lizzy, Deep Purple, Tony Joe White, Humble Pie, Black Sabbath, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Strawbs, Nazareth, T Rex, Faces, Family, Be Bop Deluxe, Yes, Al Stewart, Van Der Graaf, Roxy Music, Bowie, Steeleye Span, Man, Roy Harper, Wishbone Ash, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Jack Bruce, Fairport, Soft Machine, Kevin Ayers, Bridget St John, Free, Queen, Supertramp, Focus, Pretty Things, Mott the Hoople, BJH, Badfinger, Lindisfarne, Magna Carta, UFO, Led Zeppelin, Mogul Thrash, Stone the Crows, Jeff Beck, Slade, Groundhogs, Roy Young Band, Edgar Broughton, Curved Air, Chicken Shack, Kiki Dee, Vinegar Joe and God only knows who else....it's all out there.
A lot of it is Post-Peel though and has oiks like Mike Harding and Pete Drummond doing the intros ;-)