Groundhogs
1976-03-25 ::: Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, Earth, Solar System,
Local Interstellar Cloud, Local Bubble, Orion–Cygnus Arm, Milky Way galaxy, Universe
(streaming from the genius of Tony T.S. McPhee's fingers at 50°48'00.1"N 1°05'18.5"W)
Mecca Dancing / Locarno Ballroom ::: 31 Arundel Street ::: M2-AUD

~*~ Mk2 version, carefully remastered fixing many issues, with differential EQ & lite NR ~*~

01. ==tuning/greetings/song intro==
02. Boogie Withus
03. Promiscuity
04. ==tuning/song intro==
05. Corn Cob
06. ==tuning/song intro==
07. Eleventh Hour
08. ==tuning/song intro==
09. Crosscut Saw ->
10. Fulfilment
11. ==tuning/song intro==
12. Light My Light
13. Split - Part 2
14. ==thanks/audience==

Encore :::
15. Cherry Red

Total Time ::: 1:04:53

::: Extremely fine AUD for its vintage. Check samples for trials or tribulations.
::: Warts: Fixed dropouts & dullspots but surely missed a few.
::: CONTRAST CLAUSE: Mk2 EQ+NR warmer version. The Mk1 NO EQ or NR overly bright version is available elsewhere
::: Setlist&some intros roughly same, but NOTHING here on official CD "UK Tour '76" Derby 1976-03-24.
::: Offfical Derby CD is unlistenably bright, as was this Portsmouth AUD but the Mk2 EQ fixes it.
::: Not sure who opening acts were, but T.S. indicates the G'hogs went on after midnight.
::: Very possibly (even likely) the setlist was the same every night of the tour.
::: Touring to promote their new album "Crosscut Saw", issued February '76 in the UK.
::: This gig NOT on promo poster tour list, nor is the last gig (London King's X cinema 1976-04-04).
::: UK tour 28 Feb-04 April. 26 dates on poster+at least 2 more (&/or cancellations).
::: McPhee's Derby CD notes say 1976-04-04 was final G'hogs gig before he went solo.
::: Ads thru 70s advertised venue as "Mecca Dancing / Locarno Ballroom" (in shopping center).
::: Venue was usually called the "Locarno" or "Mecca Locarno". In the 80s it became Ritzy.
::: Venue info at the estimable/remarkable(!) Mike Cooper's site: http://michaelcooper.org.uk/C/mecca.htm
::: apparently a CD or CD-R boot release of this circulates, but this is tape sourced.
::: Tour promo poster lists Mick Stubbs in band, but it was Mick Cook (both Micks played w/Home).
::: Excepting TS McPhee, this entire line-up has left Earth's mortal coil. The years are passing.
::: Mike Vernon (Blue Horizon) suggested Tony add 'T.S.' on 1966 "Get Your Head Happy"duet 45 w/Champion Jack Dupree,"an official blues name" which stands for "Tough Shit" (Wikipedia/Bob Brunning).

Recording Information ::: unknown recording equipment -> master tape -> 1st generation tape -> 2nd generation Maxell XLII-90 cassette, Dolby B on.

Playback 2011-07-30 ::: 2nd generation Maxell XLII-90 cassette on Nakamichi BX-300 cassette deck, Dolby B on, azimuth adjusted for individual tape, heads cleaned & demagnetized -> Sony Linear PCM Recorder PCM -M10 (LPCM 44.10kHz/16bit WAV files) -> computer -> Audacity [normalisation to remove DC offset, channel/phase alignment, fades, manual one-at-a-time glitch, bump, pop, click, dropout & dullspot repairs, mike feedback notched out of "Light My Light", volume adjustments, various progressive pitch (speed) fixes with single pass per segment after frequency analysis & with pitchpipe verification, NO equalisation (except for a few notches), NO noise reduction] -> CD Wave (track splits) -> flacs (Trader's Little Helper) -> yr ears. Freed 2020-06-xx.

Line-up ::: Tony "T.S." McPhee (Anthony Charles McPhee) - Gibson SG & Fender Stratocaster electric guitars thru a Synthi Hi-Fi with 2 Davoli amplifiers (1x75 watt/1x100 watt), ARP 2600 synthesiser/keyboard (in "Fufilment"), vocals // Dave Wellbelove (†R.I.P† 2007) - Fender Stratocaster electric guitar with Fender Twin Reverb, backing vocals // Martin Kent - (†R.I.P† 2019) Rickenbacher electric bass (thru an acoustic amp) // Michael John Douglas "Mick" Cook (aka "Cookie")(†R.I.P†)- Ludwig drums.

Nothing here ever commercially released to my knowledge. If I'm wrong, please advise & I'll take the offending trax offline.

DimeTravel 640 ::: Thanks to the original taper & traders! Many thanks to DIMER tsmcphee for a bit o' info to help things along. Thanks to hanwaker for the material needed to finally pitch this sucker. ::: Corrections welcome ::: I'm quite sure some of our listeners grew up going to the local pub to see Tony & friends - kinda took him for granted. We were sorely deprived as they rarely crossed the Atlantic so it was always kinda holy grail material for us - even some of the LPs were only available as imports, like "Solid". As founded in the blues as T.S. was/is, the acid-damaged guitar sounds were too out there to crack the pop market but it's remarkable how close he came. There are a lot of things to love about this gig. For one, it is a very fine recording which, once EQ'd, I find better to listen to than the released SBD from the tour which is an ear bleeder. For another, we get Tony & friends at a time period of 2 guitars & 2 members of the most excellent UK band Home, & they do a number of tunes live that were later dropped from the regular repertoire... & many of them have held up quite well with time. "Crosscut Saw" had just been released & the band opens the set with 2 trax from it. Where is that video of "Crosscut Saw" live on the Old Grey Whistle Test? Anyway, feasting time at the trough for those who are 'Hogs hip & McPhee-bent & whether you took in those evenings with A or B or P or just went straight to Groundhogs heaven, it's a lovely listen. Listen, enjoy, show appreciation, share, give, spread peace. Yrs truly, Knees

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Do whatever you want with it except sell it, 'cause that ain't cool!