Jack Bruce & Friends
1983 to 1986 w. Clem Clempson, Ronnie Leahy, and Bruce Gary
Between 1983 and 1986, one of the BEST Jack Bruce bands toured a number of territories - this is a collection of as
many of those shows as I can find. JB played with a few other combinations in the same time period, but this line-up
is my personal favourite.
Jack Bruce - Bass, Vocals, Keyboards, Harmonica
Clem Clempson - Guitars, Bass
Ronnie Leahy - Keyboards
Bruce Gary - Drums
In the line-up was Bruce Gary on drums; best known perhaps for his work with the multi-million dollar selling band
The Knack, on their number one "My Sharona". Bruce, who passed away on 22 Aug 2006, also recorded with George Harrison,
Bob Dylan, Stephen Stills, Rod Stewart, Sheryl Crow, just to name a few.
(EDIT: This series was started a few years back, and is now dedicated to both Bruce Gary and to Jack Bruce, who passed away
in 2014, the original text read ...)
This torrent collection is dedicated to the memory of Bruce Gary. On the four occasions I saw this band, he turned in a
storming performance every time. Such was his dedication to Jack Bruce that, when presented with a impromptu booking for
one show in Edinburgh in 1985, he promptly jumped on a plane or two from Los Angeles to Edinburgh, just to play that one
gig..... and it was a classic.
This multi-show info.text file covers all the shows from 1983 to 1986. Some sites allow groups of them to be uploaded, some
insist on single shows.
Bonar Hall, Dundee, Scotland 14 May 1983
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01 First Time I Met the Blues
02 White Room
03 Postwar
04 Theme & Intro to Morning Story
05 Morning Story
The Plough Inn, Perth, Scotland 28 July 1983
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01 White Room
02 Postwar
03 Born Under a Bad Sign
04 Life on Earth
05 Out Into the Fields (fades)
06 Morning Story (very distant - recorder left running whilst operator wanders around venue,
also with fade in/out to cover recorder switch-off mid-tune)
07 Sitting on Top of the World
08 Rollin' & Tumblin'
09 One Word
10 Politician
The Venue, Aberdeen, Scotland 29 July 1983
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01 White Room (long fade up while operator organises himself)
02 Postwar
03 Born Under a Bad Sign
04 Life on Earth
05 Out into the Fields
06 Theme for an Imaginery Western
07 Morning Story (with fade-in/out to cover tape flip) (Working Class Boys was played after this, but is
incomplete on the tape - operator apparently switched on/off mid-tune, and also
when JB started his bass solo)
08 One Word (Politician was played after this, but operator switched off at the intro)
09 Bird Alone
10 Sunshine of Your Love / Rollin' & Tumblin'
>>>>> START OF SUGARMEGS STREAM PART 2 <<<<<
Eden Court Theatre, Inverness, Scotland 30 July 1983
----------------------------------------------------
Disc 1
01 Intro & audience
02 White Room
03 Postwar
04 Born Under a Bad Sign
05 Out Into the Fields
06 Working Class Boys
07 Theme for an Imaginery Western
08 Morning Story (cuts/fades at tape flip)
Disc 2
01 Waiting for the Call
02 One Word
03 Politician
04 Bird Alone
05 Sunshine of Your Love/Spoonful with snippets of I'm So Glad, My Sharona, Burning of the Midnight Lamp
('First Time I Met the Blues' might have been the first song, but either wasn't recorded fully, or wasn't transferred to my copy)
The Tam Dhui, Blairgowrie, Scotland 3 August 1983
-------------------------------------------------
01 Postwar
02 Born Under a Bad Sign
03 Out Into the Fields
04 Life on Earth
05 Sitting on Top of the World
06 One Word
07 Politician (very distant, as operator wanders around venue, and cut/fades at tape flip)
08 Theme for an Imaginery Western
09 Morning Story
10 Sunshine of Your Love / I Feel Free
Pavilion Theatre, Ayr, Scotland 24 Aug 1984
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Disc 1
01 Intro & Audience
02 Tightrope
03 Livin' Without Ja
04 Weird of Hermiston
05 Postwar
06 Born Under a Bad Sign
07 Life on Earth
08 Theme for an Imaginery Western
09 Make Love, Pt. 2
10 Morning Story
11 First Time I Met the Blues
12 White Room
Disc 2
01 White Room
02 I Feel Free/Spoonful Medley
03 One word
Mayfair Club, Glasgow, Scotland 26 Aug 1984 (Version 1 - Aud)
-------------------------------------------
01 Tightrope (low level at first)
02 Livin' Without Ja
03 Weird of Hermiston
04 Postwar
05 Born Under a Bad Sign
06 Life on Earth
07 Working Class Boys
08 Keep It Down (fades in/out at tape flip)
09 Make Love Pt. 2
10 Morning Story
Disc 2
01 One Word
02 Sitting on Top of the World
03 I Feel Free/Spoonful (cuts/fades)
Mayfair Club, Glasgow, Scotland 26 Aug 1984 (Version 2 - FM)
-------------------------------------------
01 Tightrope
02 Livin' Without Ja
03 Weird of Hermiston
04 Postwar
05 Make Love Pt. 2
06 Morning Story
07 I Feel Free/Spoonful (cuts/fades)
Queen's Hall, Edinburgh, Scotland 27 Aug 1984 (M)
---------------------------------------------
Disc 1
01 Intro & Audience
02 Tightrope
03 Livin' Without Ja
04 Weird of Hermiston
05 Postwar
06 Born Under a Bad Sign
07 Working Class Boys
08 Life on Earth
09 Make Love, Pt 2
10 Morning Story
11 Out Into the Fields
Disc 2
01 One Word
02 I Feel Free/Spoonful
Queen's Hall, Edinburgh, Scotland 28 Aug 1984 (M)
---------------------------------------------
Disc 1
01 Tightrope
02 Livin' Without Ja
03 Weird of Hermiston
04 Postwar
05 Born Under a Bad Sign
06 Working Class Boys
07 Life on Earth
08 Theme for an Imaginery Western (fades in after tape flip)
09 Morning Story
10 First Time I Met the Blues
11 One Word
Disc 2
01 White Room/Crossroads/Spoonful
Whitehall Theatre, Dundee, Scotland 1 Sep 1984
----------------------------------------------
Disc 1
01 Intro & Audience
02 Tightrope
03 Livin' Without Ja
04 Weird of Hermiston
05 Keep It Down
06 Postwar
07 Born Under a Bad Sign
08 Life on Earth
09 Theme for an Imaginery Western (w. My Sharona excerpt)
10 Make Love Pt. 2 (cut/fades)
11 Morning Story (fades in, and fades out/in where operator switched off during intro; also mechanical noise from recorder)
12 Out Into the Fields
Disc 2
01 One Word
02 I Feel Free/Spoonful
The mechanical noise from the recorder first appears in disc 1/11, and persists to end of disc 2
Zeche, Bochum, Germany 1 Nov 1984 (D)
---------------------------------
Disc 1
01 Intro, Atmosphere, Audience
02 First Time I Met the Blues
03 White Room
04 Livin' Without Ja
05 Postwar
06 Born Under a Bad Sign
07 Life on Earth (w fade out/in at tape flip)
08 Out Into the Fields
09 Theme for an Imaginery Western
10 Make Love, Pt. 2
11 Morning Story (including JB blowing the bass amp/speakers during the bass solo...)
Tape flips between 07/08, and between disc 01/02
Disc 2
01 Jack Speaks
02 Working Class Boys
03 One Word (including Bruce Gary dropping his sticks...)
04 Sitting on Top of the World
05 I Feel Free / Spoonful / Cat's Squirrel / Crossroads
06 Politician
Tape flips/stops between 04/05 and 05/06
Berlin 14 Nov 1984 (D)
------------------
Disc 1
01 Intro, Atmosphere, Audience
02 First Time I Met the Blues
03 White Room
04 Livin' Without Ja
05 Postwar
06 Born Under a Bad Sign
07 Out Into the Fields
08 Life on Earth
09 Theme for an Imaginery Western
10 Make Love, Pt. 2
11 Morning Story
Tape flip between 08/09
Disc 2
01 Sitting on Top of the World / One Word
02 I Feel Free / Spoonful (w. edit to cover tape overlap)
03 Crossroads / Waiting for the Call
Tape flip/stop between 02/03
Queen's Hall, Edinburgh, Scotland 25 Aug 1985 (M) CLASSIC
---------------------------------------------
Disc 1
01 Atmosphere
02 Sleepy Time Time
03 White Room
04 Weird of Hermiston ->
05 Post War ->
06 Born Under a Bad Sign
07 Out Into the Fields
08 Life on Earth
09 Keep It Down
10 Working Class Boys
11 Sitting on Top of the World
Disc 2
01 Theme for an Imaginery Western
02 Morning Story
03 Bird Alone
Encores
04 I Feel Free -> Spoonful
05 Crossroads
Stadthalle, Offenbach, Germany 21 Jan 1986 (D)
------------------------------------------
01 First Time I Met the Blues
02 White Room
03 Weird of Hermiston ->
04 Postwar ->
05 Born Under a Bad Sign
06 Out Into the Fields
07 One Word
08 Sitting on Top of the World
Philipshalle, Dusseldorf, Germany 24 Jan 1986 (D)
---------------------------------------------
01 First Time I Met the Blues
02 White Room
03 Living Without Ja
04 Postwar ->
05 Born Under a Bad Sign
06 Out Into the Fields
07 One Word
08 Politician
09 I Feel Free -> Spoonful
Metropol, Berlin, Germany 29 Jan 1986 (D)
-------------------------------------
01 First Time I Met the Blues
02 White Room
03 Weird of Hermiston
04 Postwar ->
05 Born Under a Bad Sign
06 Out Into the Fields
07 One Word
08 Sitting on Top of the World
09 I Feel Free -> Spoonful
Grosse Freiheit 36, Hamburg, Germany 30 Jan 1986 (A/FM)
------------------------------------------------
Audience section
01 First Time I Met the Blues (cuts/fades in)
02 White Room
03 Weird of Hermiston
04 Postwar
05 Born Under a Bad Sign
FM section
06 Band Intros
07 Out Into the Fields
08 One Word
09 Sitting on Top of the World
10 Sunshine of Your Love
Steinbruch-Theatre, Nieder-Ramstadt, Germany 3 Feb 1986 (D)
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01 First Time I Met the Blues
02 White Room
03 Weird of Hermiston
04 Postwar ->
05 Born Under a Bad Sign
06 Out Into the Fields
07 Theme for an Imaginery Western
01 Make Love, Pt 2
02 Morning Story
03 One Word
04 Sitting on Top of the World
05 NSU -> Crossroads
06 Bird Alone ->
07 Spoonful
Most of these are audience tapes of varying generations. Generally speaking, the quality gets better the later the tapes.
Unless stated otherwise, the recording lineage is ;
Unknown Audience Recorder -> Cassette(M) -> Unknown transfer(s) -> Cassette(n)
Exceptions;
(M) - My own master tapes - Audience recording on Sony or ITT recorders with built-in mics -> Cassette(M)
(A/FM) - Unknown Audience Recorder and FM broadcast tracks -> unknown transfer -> Cassette(n)
(FM) - FM Broadcast, unknown recorder -> unknown transfer -> Cassette(n)
(D) - Unknown recorder, unknown transfer from master tape -> DAT(1)
Playback / Encoding Lineage
Analogue; Cassette(M) or Cassette(n) on Technics Cassette Deck -> Alesis Masterlink @ 44.1k, 16-bit (track & disc splits, level adjustment, fades) -> CDR -> EAC to .wav -> TLH to .flac
Digital: DAT(1) on TASCAM DA-20, digital transfer -> Alesis Masterlink, remainder as above.
Mastered between Oct 2007 and Dec 2014
Mastering Notes; No EQ, just level adjustment. Where appropriate, tracks were split, joined, faded to cover imperfections in the source tape. Some of these recordings are of a good 'audience' standard for the early 1980s, some less so. All perfectly listenable.
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Here's the full list of the gigs that this band played; those included in these torrents are marked '+' - if anyone has any
sources for those marked '-', please get in touch.
05/14/83 + 'Bonar Hall' Dundee, Scotland
07/27/83 - 'Tamdhu' Bannockburn, Scotland
07/28/83 + 'Plough Inn' Perth, Scotland
07/29/83 + 'The Venue' Aberdeen, Scotland
07/30/83 + 'Eden Court Theatre' Inverness, Scotland
08/01/83 - 'Cabarfeidh' Stornaway, Scotland
08/03/83 + 'Tam Dhui' Blairgowrie, Scotland
08/04/83 - 'Abbotts Hall' Kirkcaldy, Scotland
08/05/83 - 'Rock at the Park' Bathgate, Scotland
08/06/83 - 'Heathery Bar' Wishaw, Scotland
08/07/83 - 'Mayfair' Glasgow, Scotland
08/08/83 - 'Micks Club' Carlisle, England
08/09/83 - 'Pavilion' Ayr, Scotland
08/10/83 - 'Chequers' Falkirk, Scotland
08/11/83 - 'Queens Hall' Edinburgh, Scotland
07/10/84 - 'Johnathan Swifts' Cambridge, Massachusetts (2 shows)
07/12/84 - 'The Living Room' 'Lupos Heartbreak Hotel' Providence, Rhode Island
07/13/84 - 'Pier 84' New York, New York
07/14/84 - 'The Joyous Lake' Woodstock, New York (2 shows)
07/17/84 - 'The Bayou' Washington, DC (2 shows)
07/20/84 - 'My Fathers Place' Roslyn, New York (2 shows) (1st show sbd)
07/24/84 - 'Bottom Line' NYC (2 shows)
07/25/84 - 'Bottom Line' NYC (2 shows)
07/28/84 - 'Golden Bear' Huntington Beach, California (cancelled)
08/24/84 + 'Pavilion' Ayr, Scotland
08/25/84 - 'Star Club' Glasgow, Scotland
08/26/84 + 'Mayfair Club' Glasgow, Scotland (Radio Clyde broadcast)
08/27/84 + 'Queens Hall' Edinburgh, Scotland
08/28/84 + 'Queens Hall' Edinburgh, Scotland
08/29/84 - 'The Venue' Aberdeen, Scotland
08/31/84 - 'Albert Hall' Stirling, Scotland
09/01/84 + 'Whitehall Theatre' Dundee, Scotland
11/01/84 + 'Zeche' Bochum, Germany
11/05/84 - 'Stadthalle' Koln, Germany
11/14/84 + 'Metropol' Berlin, Germany
11/16/84 - 'Alexandra' Copenhagen, Denmark
11/19/84 - 'Batschkapp' Frankfurt, Germany
08/25/85 + 'Queens Hall' Edinburgh, Scotland
01/20/86 - 'Stadthalle' Kassel, Germany
01/21/86 + 'Stadthalle' Offenbach, Germany
01/22/86 - 'Jazzgalerie' Bonn, Germany
01/23/86 - 'Stadthalle' Erlangen, Germany
01/24/86 + 'Philipshalle' Dusseldorf, Germany
01/26/86 - 'Schutzenhaus Albisguetki' Zurich, Switzerland
01/27/86 - 'Kongresshalle' Saarbrucken, Germany
01/28/86 - 'Metropol' Aachen, Germany
01/29/86 + 'Metropol' Berlin, Germany
01/30/86 + 'Grosse Freiheit 36' Hamburg, Germany
01/31/86 - 'Jovel Cinema' Munich, Germany
02/01/86 - 'Kulturzentrum' Mainz, Germany
02/02/86 - 'Maxim' Stuttgart, Germany
02/03/86 + 'Steinbruch-Theatre' Nieder-Ramstadt, Germany