Live from London (Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel video)

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Live from London
Video by
Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel
Released1985
Recorded1984
GenreConcert Performance Video
Length60 minutes
LabelTrilion Pictures Ltd./Castle Communications Plc.
DirectorMarc Over
ProducerPhilip Goodhand-Tait
Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel chronology
Live from London
(1985) 		The Come Back, All is Forgiven Tour: Live
(1989)

Live from London is a live concert video by the British rock band Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, filmed during a concert in 1984. It was the band's first release on VHS, being released in 1985.

Background[edit]

After a Christmas tour in 1981, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel would not embark on another tour again until 1989.[1] However, the band did perform three odd shows during 1983 and 1984, including the Reading Festival in 1983[2] and the Camden Palace in London on 14 December 1984.[3] The London show was the last the band would perform until 1989, and was the debut performance for band's new violinist/guitarist Barry Wickens.

The Camden Palace concert was recorded for a one-hour TV special broadcast, and then released on VHS the following year.[4][5] Filmed by Trilion Pictures Ltd., the VHS was released via Castle Communications Plc. It was directed by Marc Over and produced by Philip Goodhand-Tait. The footage features fifteen tracks, discounting the 'Live from London' title music, which was counted as a separate track on the VHS track-listing.[6]

Trilion Pictures Ltd would film two other Camden Palace concerts during 1984 for the British heavy metal band Girlschool and Canadian heavy metal band Thor. Castle Communications Plc. would also release these two concerts on VHS, as Play Dirty Live (Girlschool) and Live in London (Thor), similar to that of the Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel release.[7][8]

Release[edit]

Live from London was released on VHS through Castle Communications Plc in 1985. Despite the back cover listing 16 tracks in total, the last two "Sweet Dreams" and "(I Believe) Love's a Prima Donna" did not actually appear on the release, but were performed during the concert and were included in the TV broadcast. In 2001, the concert was given its first DVD release through CP Entertainment as part of their 'Legends of Rock' series. The footage was digitally remastered for the DVD. CP Entertainment released two different editions of the DVD, one of which was a 'Collectors Edition' and featured different artwork, though both editions shared the same catalogue number. The Collectors Edition DVD had the bonus feature of being a DVD Plus flip-disc, meaning that an audio CD version of the concert was placed on the other side of the DVD disc.[9][10][11]

On 26 February 2007, Live from London was given a new DVD release through Rhino.[12] Another DVD release followed on 11 June 2012, when it was released by the Store for Music. This version of the concert came with a bonus feature of a previously unseen photo gallery, featuring photographs taken from the same concert.[13] On 24 March 2017, the Store for Music released the concert on CD and as an audio download.[14]

Track listing[edit]

VHS track listing[edit]

  1. "Live from London - Title Music" (Spaniel Music)
  2. "Here Comes the Sun" (George Harrison)
  3. "I Can't Even Touch You" (Steve Harley)
  4. "Freedom's Prisoner" (Harley)
  5. "Judy Teen" (Harley)
  6. "I Just Wanna Be a Star" (Harley)
  7. "Irresistible" (Harley)
  8. "Sebastian" (Harley)
  9. "Riding the Waves" (Harley)
  10. "Promises" (Harley)
  11. "Mr Soft" (Harley)
  12. "Sling It!" (Harley)
  13. "Make Me Smile" (Harley)
  14. "Tumbling Down" (Harley)
  15. "Sweet Dreams" (Harley)
  16. "Psychomodo"(Harley)
  17. "(I Believe) Love's a Prima Donna" (Harley)
  • Though listed on the VHS, "Sweet Dreams" and "(I Believe) Love's a Prima Donna" were not included in the footage. However, when the footage aired in Europe as a television special, "Sweet Dreams"/"Psychomodo" and "(I Believe) Love's a Prima Donna" were included. Footage of these 3 songs has since surfaced on YouTube.

DVD track listing[edit]

  1. "Here Comes the Sun"
  2. "I Can't Even Touch You"
  3. "Freedom's Prisoner"
  4. "Judy Teen"
  5. "I Just Wanna Be a Star"
  6. "Irresistible"
  7. "Sebastian"
  8. "Riding the Waves"
  9. "Promises"
  10. "Mr Soft"
  11. "Sling It!"
  12. "Make Me Smile"
  13. "Tumbling Down"

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Digital Fix[15]

Of the 2001 DVD release of Live from London, Mike Sutton of the website The Digital Fix commented: "Considering that Steve Harley wrote one of the defining songs of the seventies - the sublime "(Come Up And See Me) Make Me Smile" - it's fair to say that I had fairly positive expectations of this concert DVD. While these weren't totally dashed, I have to admit that I wasn't particularly impressed. The music isn't bad at all but the presentation of the DVD is disappointing. The songs are generally of a pretty high standard, although these live versions aren't a patch on the original records. The quality of the picture is mediocre at best. Although this release is superior to some of the others released by CP, it's certainly not an essential purchase. Even fans of Steve Harley are likely to be a little disappointed by the poor visual quality of the concert."[15]

Personnel[edit]

Cockney Rebel[edit]

  • Steve Harley - lead vocals, guitar
  • Rick Driscoll - lead guitar
  • Alan Darby - lead guitar
  • Barry Wickens - violin
  • Ian Keller (née Nice - Harley's brother) - keyboards
  • Kevin Powell - bass guitar
  • Lindsay Elliott - drums
  • Martin Jay - backing vocals
  • Suzanne Murphy - backing vocals


  • N.B. 1 - although this video and 1989's 'Come Back, All Is Forgiven Tour' programme credits Ian Keller, Keller changed his name back to Ian Nice when the by the time that the DVD from the 1989 tour was released.
  • N.B. 2 - Alan Darby would return to the band in 1992, replacing Robbie Gladwell, who played in 1990 and 1991. Gladwell would return to the band in 1999, and, as of 2022, he continues to play lead guitar in the band.

Concert crew[edit]

  • Roy Wood - sound engineer
  • Mick Gibbs - sound recording
  • Steve Harley - sound mix
  • Steve Hills - sound mix
  • Scott Thompson - monitor engineer
  • Dave Thomas - backline technician
  • Clive Davies - lighting designer
  • Leanne Bogen - graphics

Video production team[edit]

  • Marc Over - director
  • Philip Goodhand-Tait - producer
  • Trilion Pictures Ltd. - studio
  • Castle Communications Plc. - label

References[edit]

  1. ^ "The Great Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel Story". 2015-07-03. Archived from the original on July 3, 2015. Retrieved 2016-05-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ^ "Reading Rock Festival 1983". Ukrockfestivals.com. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
  3. ^ "Discography". Myweb.tiscali.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
  4. ^ Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel (1989). The 'Come Back, All is Forgiven' Tour Official Programme. Print Simplicity.
  5. ^ Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel (Actor). "Live From London: Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel: Amazon.co.uk: Video". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
  6. ^ Live from London (Media notes). Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel. Castle Communications Plc/Trilion Pictures Ltd. 1984.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) Accessed on 26 February 2016.
  7. ^ "Girlschool - Girlschool Play Dirty Live (VHS) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
  8. ^ "Thor (7) - Thor Live In London (VHS) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
  9. ^ "Live From London". 2009-11-28. Archived from the original on November 28, 2009. Retrieved 2016-05-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  10. ^ "Official Steve Harley Website UK - Live From London". Steveharley.com. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
  11. ^ "Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel (DVD) - Laserdisken.dk - salg af DVD og Blu-ray film". Laserdisken.dk. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
  12. ^ "Steve Harley And The Cockney Rebel - Live From London DVD 2008: Amazon.co.uk: Classic Pictures: DVD & Blu-ray". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
  13. ^ "Steve Harley + Cockney Rebel - Live From London DVD 2012 NTSC: Amazon.co.uk: Steve Harley: DVD & Blu-ray". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
  14. ^ "Live from London". Amazon UK. 2017.
  15. ^ a b Mike Sutton, The Digital Fix. "Film @ The Digital Fix - Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel Live In London". Film.thedigitalfix.com. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
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