Thereafter the band became known as Streetwalkers and between 1975 and 1977 they released a further three studio albums, 'Downtown Flyers', 'Red Card' and 'Vicious But Fair'. Probably to comply with contractual obligations in 1977 they also released a live album which unfortunately was poorly recorded and did not capture the band at their best, despite the fact that they had a deserved reputation as an awesome live act.
One such gig which saw the band at their best, took place at London's Rainbow on 25th February 1977. The following night they were back on Chapman & Whitney's home turf at the De Montfort Hall in Leicester. Both sets were recorded but nothing happened. The band broke up and the tapes appeared to have been lost.
That is until, if the story is to be believed, the tapes were recovered from a landfill site!
Last year, Mystic Records obtained the tapes and restored them to their former glory, subsequently releasing them as two separate albums, 'Streetwalkers Rip It Up at the Rainbow' and 'Streetwalkers Rip It Up at the Demontfort'.
And what an absolute delight they are!
True the setlists and performances are very similar but while in Leicester they performed Family favourite 'My Friend The Sun', in London they treated the crowd to a 12 minute version of 'Dice Man' from 'Vicious But Fair'.
Listening to these albums reminds one of just how great they were as a live outfit and it seems ironic that the rise of punk in the UK was instrumental in leading to the demise of this fine band. If you were a fan of Streetwalkers and want to hear them at their absolute best, then I suggest you get yourself a copy of at least one of these albums. Personally I got them both and have no regrets.
No comments:
Post a Comment