WEMBLEY ARENA, 102878 (or 281078 for those actually there)

[Dragonfly]

I was given a bootleg of this TORMATO gig by a dear friend*. I’d only played it to map out the set list (along with a stack of other discs) so I hadn’t actually listened to it until this morning.

First: the recording itself is very clear. I’m guessing it’s a soundboard tape, not least because the stereo separation is immaculate. Alan’s drums, while generally central, do travel around him nicely. There are times when each note played on the guitar, bass and/or keyboards comes out of the monitors as two different, separate voices, each of which comes from a different spot on the stage. (!) Instead of the combination of all of these elements creating a muddy sound-picture, the overall effect is still quite ‘dry’ and each instrument and vocal is distinct and well balanced within the mix. Special effects, such as the delay applied to Jon’s “Sharp! Distance!” and on Steve’s transitional lead-in between “Long Distance Runaround” and “The Fish” are used well and complement the performance without being distracting. Unpleasant ‘noises’ do creep through, such as static that occurred during the transfer process and there is an overall hiss (only noticeable during the quietest moments), but when it’s clear it’s darned clear and the tonal range is quite wide – low lows and high highs.

Second: The performance. Wow! I’ve never heard a more polished live performance by Yes. Every member of the band is “on”. Jon’s tone is very clear and his pitch is spot-on as are Chris’s harmonies. During the opening number, “Siberian Khatru”, there are those “Blue tale. Tail fly” bit’s where they sing one note off from each other (“Heart gold. Leaver ”). It’s a tough harmony to get clear but when it’s done right the payoff is huge. At this gig it worked. They’re just the first of many payoffs found throughout this night’s performance.

It’s not very often that I’ll sit all the way through “Heart of the Sunrise”, but on this disc, I couldn’t pull my self away. Chris walks around on different notes than his studio performance without losing the overall melody. It’s brilliant and, at times, amusing. Rick’s sounds are just as I like them. I’ve heard recordings when his keyboard sounds have changed in ways that detract from the songs. On this tour he had all of his original (“correct”) sounds as well as some nice upgrades. He and Steve were at the peak of their I-can-play-more-notes-than-you competition, but in this live setting it works well. (I’ve heard complaints of this same competition detracting from some of the studio recordings.) Even so, both also display great restraint in the appropriate spots.

The dynamic range of this band has always been a key element to both their writing and performing. It’s amazing to hear all of the instruments and voices go from soaring, searing rages to soft, subtle whispers within a split second, without anything dropping out or going “bump”. It’s a clear demonstration of a well-rehearsed group in peak performance.

Now that this tour is a distant memory for some (and a sore point of envy for the rest of us!), it would be nice if they’d release more recordings of this important phase in the band’s carrier. What parts of it that made it to the YESSHOWS live double-album and the (rather poor sounding) LIVE IN PHILADELPHIA video are nice, but where’s “On the Silent Wings of Freedom” that was a concert staple!?

A video including this tour’s medley would be great, too. Yes never did many medleys (thankfully) and none as expansive as the one on this tour. Whole songs were included such as complete renditions of “Time And A Word”, “Long Distance Runaround”, “Soon” (if you consider it as a single) and the majority of “Perpetual Change” and “The Fish”. During “The Fish”, flashes of driving moments from “Ritual” are staggering. And the closing sequence of “Soon” from “The Gates of Delirium” is the only time you’ll ever hear Rick play anything off of RELAYER.

It’s time for a (clearly recorded, complete) DVD of a gig or gigs from this tour. The audio portion isn’t the problem, of course, as Alan’s admitted to having a soundboard tape from virtually every gig he’s performed with Yes. The trouble is any existing footage of them on stage.

Something like Led Zeppelin’s DVD release (only five times as big) would be nice, thankyouverymuch! If it’s of this particular gig or contains selections from it, so much the better!!
:D

Dragonfly :fly:

*Love you, Sheila!

[RobAdams]

I really like the way PERPETUAL CHANGE morphs gradually into GATES OF DELIRIUM. I happen to love that medley.

Dragonfly is correct, as far as I'm concerned. Wembley 10-28-78 was a top notch Yes concert. It's one of my favorites to listen to...

[stevie]

I was at this concert. Infact it was the first time I'd seen the band. It is almost a distant fading memory. But I certainly remember the medley. I remember being on my feet a lot, what with it being my first Yes concert and being so excited, and I was just stunned at the guys performance.

One of the Wembley concerts (4 or 5 nights) was recorded for BBC Radio 1, I'm pretty sure it was this one on 10/28/78. It was on the Tommy Vance Friday Night Rock Show the following Friday. The entire 2 hour radio programme was given over to the Yes concert, so pretty much all of the concert was played. I think a few Yes fans may have taped it straight off the radio.

Those were the days. When a mainstream radio station would give over it's whole 2 hour programme to Yes.

[Blind_Fate]

Isnt there ment to be DVD footage of the Wembley concert from these nights? If so anyone know where i can get a hold of it??

[Meng]

I'd love to get the complete soundboard of this concert, if such a beast exists.

I've got the Anniversary of Decade boot (which is not complete despite what it says on Forgotten Yesterdays) which is pretty good quality. They surely were on fire that night.

[90125yes]

this show was originally on bbc radio2 - the tommy vance rock show

in fact it was played on more than one occasion -such was the popularity

it is my favourite live YES show and as such should be released officially

[Sigil]

Yeah, but which gig you say? They put on an extra show in the afternoon of the Saturday, and I believe it's from that earlier gig (which I was at) from which 'Don't Kill The Whale' was grabbed to appear on 'Yesshows'.

You can't really imagine the band doing two shows in one day any more, can you?

Anyway, I was 9 rows from the front, I was 18 yrs old, and it was just the most exhilarating spectacle. The medley also included the intro and syncopated stabs from 'The Ancient', and a snippet of 'Survival'. Pretty sure they also did 'Future Times/Rejoice' AND 'Circus of Heaven' from 'Tormato'. Wish I could see them do 'Release Release' one time!

Best of all, the skinny jeans and tailed jacket that Chris wore has to be the only costume he's ever been in that didn't make me wince.

[90125yes]

memories and happy days

YES were on top of their game

[Bluegrunt]

I was there - certainly at one of the Wembley shows that year. They did do Circus of Heaven, I remember the spot lights playing over the audience, and the recording of Damien's (?) voice for the end bit. Also Close Encounters for the entrance theme I think?

[90125yes]

no toffee apples , no clowns

oh for a return of anderson's lyrics for the next release ??

[Meng]

I was at the evening gig, which I've always believed was the one used for the Tommy Vance show (although why I think that has long since passed from my mind).

The BBC show is missing Future Times, Wakeman's solo and according to Forgotten Yesterdays there was a bit of Madrigal at the start of Silent Wings which I don't recall being on the boot. FY also states the evening show was the radio broadcast, but lists it as 140 minutes which is incorrect.

[InverYes]

I was at the evening gig, which I've always believed was the one used for the Tommy Vance show (although why I think that has long since passed from my mind).

The BBC show is missing Future Times, Wakeman's solo and according to Forgotten Yesterdays there was a bit of Madrigal at the start of Silent Wings which I don't recall being on the boot. FY also states the evening show was the radio broadcast, but lists it as 140 minutes which is incorrect.

Listening to the Tommy Vance show now - "TV on the radio"

I don't know when this was broadcast, but it was requested by Martin and Melanie of Deeside, Clwyd; Russell Smith of Stoke Poges in Bucks and Neil Jeffrey of Norwich.

Any of you still here? :lmao:

[the greenman]

no toffee apples , no clowns

oh for a return of anderson's lyrics for the next release ??

that/s good Mike! Sadly, never one of my favourite songs.. but it was a great gig. I was there - at least, I think i was! & I definitely heard it on the TV Show (RIP, TV - how great you'd have been on Planet Rock..) Great tour. They were still 'up there' then, on a par with Floyd or so it seemed to me.

& we believe, the best is still YET to come!

[Bluegrunt]

(RIP, TV - how great you'd have been on Planet Rock..)

Off topic I know, but this reminds me how great it is to hear Nicky Horne on Planet Rock.

[90125yes]

Listening to the Tommy Vance show now - "TV on the radio"

I don't know when this was broadcast, but it was requested by Martin and Melanie of Deeside, Clwyd; Russell Smith of Stoke Poges in Bucks and Neil Jeffrey of Norwich.

Any of you still here? :lmao:

---

yeah

the second broadcast was requested by ellis fagg and rastus watermelon

amongst other

:beerchugr:

[90125yes]

that/s good Mike! Sadly, never one of my favourite songs.. but it was a great gig. I was there - at least, I think i was! & I definitely heard it on the TV Show (RIP, TV - how great you'd have been on Planet Rock..) Great tour. They were still 'up there' then, on a par with Floyd or so it seemed to me.

& we believe, the best is still YET to come!

---
yep

it was 12 months before i got into YES

looking back through all the eras of YES , i feel YES were at their peak with this tour

:beerchugr:

[lancecav]

I was at this show and believe it to be one of the all time great legendary Yes gigs. It's certainly one of the most widely distributed unofficial recordings of the band.
There's no doubt that they were at the very top of their game as a live band, though the Tormato album isn't many people's favourite.
A few observations, as remembered by my 18 yr old self, in no particular order, some memories are a bit murky as time has gone on, some are still astonishingly clear.

I lived with my parents in Accrington, Lancashire at the time and was in the 2nd yr sixth form at school. We didn't manage to get tickets for the originally announced Saturday evening gig, and the journey was too far to attend during the week. When we also failed to get a ticket for the afternoon show, I despaired.
Fortunately, we are good friends with Jon Anderson's brother, who still lives in Accrington, and he arranged for 2 tickets for the afternoon show to be at the box office for us to collect. Myself and a friend attended the concert and my mum and dad drove us down to London for the weekend. I can still see my dad triumphantly emerging from the box office clutching the tickets, whilst all around us ticketless fans were doing business with Scalpers - "ask a pony" I remember one of them shouting - £20 I think.

Given all the time that's passed since, many of us think of Yes as being at their peak then, but actually, there was a very real sense around at the time that they were a bit past it. The gigs marked the bands 10 year anniversary, which seemed a hell of a long time for a band to be still going, and Punk was at it's height. Certainly my friend and I had a feeling that we were catching them at the tail end of their career!!

The circular stage "in the round" concept was still very new at the time. It's been done loads of times since, but I think Yes were one of the first. They even got some praise from The NME, who hated the band, saying in their review of the gig that "Yes worked hard to reduce the appalling, barn - like dimensions of Wembley arena by placing a circular, rotating stage bang in the middle". (Small sweaty clubs were all the rage at the time). That's as complimentary as they got - the review was headlined "Chimps of The Cosmic Cabaret" and Jon was castigated for his "over the top romanticism". I stall have the Review cut out and inside the concert programme.

The main thing I remember from the the gig, was the awesomely clear sound - you could hear every nuance, every note. I've still never heard better quality sound at a gig to this day. I remember thinking that Rick was a tad too lound in the mix, but that's nit picking.
It was definitely Close Encounters for the intro music and they played for exactly 2 hours 30 mins, including encores, as I checked my watch at the time.
At the end of the gig, hundreds of balloons with the Yes logo were distributed - I still have one, not blown up.
We watched the whole thing, completely sober, and were blown away.
I'll never forget 28 October 1978.

[happytheman]

I've only heard this on Wolfgangs site. Very nice indeed, never have figured why this wasn't the record released at the time Yesshows came out. For my money they could have released a show from the 75/76 Relayer / Solo's tour along with Wembley and you'd have all of the "classic" era when you add in Yessongs. Maybe some day an "official" release from the band will see the light of day.

[CybrKhatru]

I am one of many who hope that this concert will eventually get official release. It has long been my favorite live "unreleased" Yes show.

[90125yes]

i have a dvd of a shaky video recording of the tormato tour - that is about as far as it goes

[answer_to_yes]

I don't know when this was broadcast, but it was requested by Martin and Melanie of Deeside, Clwyd; Russell Smith of Stoke Poges in Bucks and Neil Jeffrey of Norwich.


... Harford Street in Norwich.
That would be the BBC's third broadcast in March 1986.

[InverYes]

I don't know when this was broadcast, but it was requested by Martin and Melanie of Deeside, Clwyd; Russell Smith of Stoke Poges in Bucks and Neil Jeffrey of Norwich.

Any of you still here? :lmao:

... Harford Street in Norwich.
That would be the BBC's third broadcast in March 1986.

So is it your name that's preserved for prosperity?

[answer_to_yes]

So is it your name that's preserved for prosperity?
Nah, sorry to disappoint there, it's just that my specialist subject is the Wembely 1978 concert. My first Yes gig was the afternoon show; I taped the original broadcast in November 78 and have I've followed the broadcast history of the evening performance ever since, including all the King Biscuit airings that they tried to pass of as LA Forum. The BBC recording deserves a discography all of its own :)

[wedge]

I was at the evening gig, which I've always believed was the one used for the Tommy Vance show (although why I think that has long since passed from my mind).

The BBC show is missing Future Times, Wakeman's solo and according to Forgotten Yesterdays there was a bit of Madrigal at the start of Silent Wings which I don't recall being on the boot. FY also states the evening show was the radio broadcast, but lists it as 140 minutes which is incorrect.

the 2LP vinyl boot "In The Round"(released spring 1980; at least thats when i first remember seeing one in a local record shop) is from an immaculate tape of this show(although mislabeled as "LA Forum 6 Oct 1978"), but does have a few speed flaws. "Silent Wings" on this 2LP includes the entire "Madrigal" intro, but every other version of this show ive encountered has "Madrigal" chopped off for some reason. i used to have this entire broadcast spread over 2 cassettes, but a person i once called a friend dumped beer all over em to keep me from playing it over & over again,so the only source i have of the Wakeman solo is from a 96k download from a couple years back...seems that "Future Times/Rejoice" were never broadcast, and theres debate as to if they were ever recorded by the BBC. there are existing AUD tapes of both shows from the 28th, and "Future Times/Rejoice" was played at both, so who knows

[answer_to_yes]

the 2LP vinyl boot "In The Round"(released spring 1980; at least thats when i first remember seeing one in a local record shop) is from an immaculate tape of this show(although mislabeled as "LA Forum 6 Oct 1978"), but does have a few speed flaws. "Silent Wings" on this 2LP includes the entire "Madrigal" intro, but every other version of this show ive encountered has "Madrigal" chopped off for some reason. i used to have this entire broadcast spread over 2 cassettes, but a person i once called a friend dumped beer all over em to keep me from playing it over & over again,so the only source i have of the Wakeman solo is from a 96k download from a couple years back...seems that "Future Times/Rejoice" were never broadcast, and theres debate as to if they were ever recorded by the BBC. there are existing AUD tapes of both shows from the 28th, and "Future Times/Rejoice" was played at both, so who knows

Wakey's solo was never broadcast, wolfgang's vault audio stream is the first time it has seen the light of day hence mp3 is the best out there - but very nice at that. Future Times Rejoice - well it must have been captured initially but my info is that it was not archived by the BBC, probably lost forever. Madrigal is archived by the BBC but they never broadcast it, though King Biscuit did so. KB's mix is different from BBC's, drums come through more clearly.

[wedge]

that would explain why the mislabled vinyl version sounds so much heavier than any of the BBC tape sourced versions & therefore sound better(imo); probably cos theyre KBFH & therefore mislabled.. still an incredible show...made a huge impression on me as a wee lad of 10 years old, and i still cherish this show to this day like you wouldnt believe..

[answer_to_yes]

Agree with you all the way wedge, the KB mix is much meatier than the BBC's. And I've listened to this show more than anything else ever. An incredible performance with so many inspiring moments: Steve's blistering guitar at the end of SK; Jon's clarity singin Sharp Distance and again when belting out Perpetual Change; masterful keyboard work in Trooper; awesome thundering bass in Silent Wings; sublime build up with harp in the magical middle section of Awaken. Breathtaking.

[Earl Grey]

I have the King Biscuit mix as well.

It's one of the finest Yesshows, ever.

Right next to Cleveland '78 (Which was manic in many ways, the band all seemed to be 'amped' on something: But it played to their advantage, whatever was going on that night).

The Tormato shows were simply the best, ever.

Wembley might be the best.

God, I wish there was a soundboard of Hawaii, 2003.

Other than the Tormato soundboards (And the Boston audience tape from '78), Hawaii was the best.

No soundboard of it (as far as we know).

Originally, there were even plans to film the show...

Never happened, alas.

Earl:yesbird:

[wedge]

my dad was at that Cleveland 78 show. i was at home taping the simulcast for him (i was only 8, but knew how to navigate a cassette deck already...). the "Madrigal Mystery Tour" Highland 2cd has my exact same tape flaws...Hmmm...only ever dubbed it for one person ever, and that was a guy at a local record shop who was well entrenched in tape-trading...hmmm...i could DEFINATELY upgrade the existing quality out there, but its incomplete so ive held off...

actually put my original incomplete tape(see my 320kb upload at the Deep Purple Hub for complete info on flaws...) of this to CDR a few weeks ago, and continued/completed it with the highland source. played it for my dad while roadtripping with him last week. he was almost in tears as the memories came back to him...he pretty much made me pull the car over & just about lost it after "Awaken"...

[answer_to_yes]

I'm pretty sure the Cleveland show wasn't live on the air, Wedge, but broadcast a few days later in their concert program as was the usual practice with WMMS. An indicator of this is that they edited out Silent Wings. Highland boot Madrigal Mystery Tour supplies that song as a bonus from Wembley. The best recording of the show I'm aware of was torrented on dime by eggplant, he recorded it off air to reel-to-reel. At first it seemed like it had Silent Wings, but then I discovered the song was added from the Circus Of Heaven soundboard (Quebec)

[CybrKhatru]

When we were all in chat two nights ago, we started posting YouTube links from live Yes performances.

One of the links we threw to everyone was "Starship Trooper" from this show. Everyone absolutely loved it. :hearts:

[wedge]

I'm pretty sure the Cleveland show wasn't live on the air, Wedge, but broadcast a few days later in their concert program as was the usual practice with WMMS. An indicator of this is that they edited out Silent Wings. Highland boot Madrigal Mystery Tour supplies that song as a bonus from Wembley. The best recording of the show I'm aware of was torrented on dime by eggplant, he recorded it off air to reel-to-reel. At first it seemed like it had Silent Wings, but then I discovered the song was added from the Circus Of Heaven soundboard (Quebec)


well, im not buying that eggplant taped it on a reel-to-reel as stated. quality of that is all over the place,and everything after Silent Wings sounds completed from a low-bitrate lossy source. that; and it EXACTLY includes the same flaws of the tape i recorded off the air on its original broadcast(i remember it being the same night, but i may be wrong...it is now 31 years later...i lived in Painesville then, but was at my grandparents in Avon Lake taping it on my uncle's stereo down in the basement...), just more than a few generations lower...(power-outtage drop-out in HOTS, tape goes completely dead due to power outtage on the last note of Starship Trooper...)...sometime around 1980-1, WMMS publicly dumped/trashed all their archives of live recordings. i remember the station had announcements/advertisements stating that they were getting rid of their archives & any band/label/right-holder needed to contact them if they didnt want the tapes thrown out. i know some of their Zep masters were claimed & theyve rebroadcast a Genesis show from 76 in the last few years, but this incredible Yes show seems to be otherwise lost...

[wedge]

and i think more than a few maniac Yes traders have identified Silent Wings as on the Madrigal Mystery Tour boot as being from the LA Forum 6 Oct 1978 show. minor quibble. my dad states up & down that they played Silent Wings at the Richfield Coliseum show & thats the main reason he ran out & bought "Tormato" when it was finally released a week or 2 later cos he was so blown away by it...when playing my cdr of this show, he was kinda disappointed on Silent Wings as it sounded kinda 'tentative' & not very tight. not as he remembered it...

[answer_to_yes]

Had to check it out: bonus tracks on the Highland boot are credited to the 6-Oct-78 show but in fact Madrigal/Silent Wings are actually the Wembley pro recording; And You And I is the Chicago 79 broadcast.

Yes I remember the power outage on HotS, but after hearing it on every recording (at least 4 distinct versions) I've put it down to a sound engineering/broadcast issue. There are flaws on that WMMS Genesis 15-Apr-76 show which are on all tapes too (still there for the oct 1998 rebroadcast).

So WMMS dumped their tapes as early as 1980? Interesting!

[90125yes]

When we were all in chat two nights ago, we started posting YouTube links from live Yes performances.

One of the links we threw to everyone was "Starship Trooper" from this show. Everyone absolutely loved it. :hearts:

---

agreed

i love it too

rick's keyboards are fantastic

:beerchugr: :beerchugr: :beerchugr: :beerchugr: :beerchugr: :beerchugr:

[Michelle Johnston]

I have to say seeing those of you post who were there in the evening is giving me goose bumps!! I sat half way along the right hand long side looking down at the band.
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p> </o:p>
My particular recollections right now are Siberian was really strong and Steve’s solo kind of emerged out of the mix and went nuclear.
<o:p> </o:p>
Starship Trooper was even better than the previous year when they were at Wembley and that was amazing. The Band looked great but the thing I remember the most was the SOUND it was the finest I have ever heard them. The crowd were really hot as well providing huge amounts of energy. Soon sounded much warmer with Richard’s involvement and OTSWF was much more natural and energised than the LP.
Future Times/Rejoice and Circus of Heaven were beautifully played. The latter actually received a good reception but I felt it was given too much prominence whereas Madrigal was done as a brief snippet.
<o:p> </o:p>
Despite having the most thrilling evening as I left Wembley I was uneasy. This was the first time I had seen them not play all their new music. No Release Release or Arriving UFO and it may sound stupid but that album cover really spooked me. The programme, which I have asked my mother to dig out of her loft, has some lovely tasteful shots of Yes Tor.
<o:p> </o:p>
I taped the T V show on to a cassette, lost many years ago, but would love an official release as others have mentioned.
<o:p> </o:p>
There is absolutely no doubt the in the round concept contributed to the success of this period and it was used again in 1991 at the same venue to great effect..

[Meng]

I have to say seeing those of you post who were there in the evening is giving me goose bumps!! I sat half way along the right hand long side looking down at the band.
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p> </o:p>
My particular recollections right now are Siberian was really strong and Steve’s solo kind of emerged out of the mix and went nuclear.
<o:p> </o:p>
Starship Trooper was even better than the previous year when they were at Wembley and that was amazing. The Band looked great but the thing I remember the most was the SOUND it was the finest I have ever heard them. The crowd were really hot as well providing huge amounts of energy. Soon sounded much warmer with Richard’s involvement and OTSWF was much more natural and energised than the LP.
Future Times/Rejoice and Circus of Heaven were beautifully played. The latter actually received a good reception but I felt it was given too much prominence whereas Madrigal was done as a brief snippet.
<o:p> </o:p>
Despite having the most thrilling evening as I left Wembley I was uneasy. This was the first time I had seen them not play all their new music. No Release Release or Arriving UFO and it may sound stupid but that album cover really spooked me. The programme, which I have asked my mother to dig out of her loft, has some lovely tasteful shots of Yes Tor.
<o:p> </o:p>
I taped the T V show on to a cassette, lost many years ago, but would love an official release as others have mentioned.
<o:p> </o:p>
There is absolutely no doubt the in the round concept contributed to the success of this period and it was used again in 1991 at the same venue to great effect..
It's very cool hearing from someone who was there as well.

I was also at one of the Wembley 77's and missed the last train home to Bristol!

[Bluegrunt]

I have to say seeing those of you post who were there in the evening is giving me goose bumps!! I sat half way along the right hand long side looking down at the band.

Ok you've made me dig out the ticket, and I find I was at the matinee show, 3pm. South upper tier, block 75, row H, seat 108. And this is the thing that gives me goosebumps - price £5!!

[Michelle Johnston]

It's very cool hearing from someone who was there as well.

I was also at one of the Wembley 77's and missed the last train home to Bristol!

I sat in the area in front of the stage in 77. When the curtain went up wow!!

The noise of the audience was incredible. With Awaken they did that long intro with Jon on the harp before the piano intro. S T was the second oncore and it blow all the other versions out of the water. Alan had really put his stamp all over the music by then he played some wonderful percussion towards the end of I Get Up, I Get Down. It was that night I noticed the GFTO counter point harmonies of Chris which are mixed so low on the LP.

[lancecav]

I have to say seeing those of you post who were there in the evening is giving me goose bumps!! I sat half way along the right hand long side looking down at the band.

I was on the West terrace (one of the ends) about half way back. The band entered the stage from my left.
Very proud to have been at one of the all time great Yes gigs.

[wedge]

Had to check it out: bonus tracks on the Highland boot are credited to the 6-Oct-78 show but in fact Madrigal/Silent Wings are actually the Wembley pro recording; And You And I is the Chicago 79 broadcast.

Yes I remember the power outage on HotS, but after hearing it on every recording (at least 4 distinct versions) I've put it down to a sound engineering/broadcast issue. There are flaws on that WMMS Genesis 15-Apr-76 show which are on all tapes too (still there for the oct 1998 rebroadcast).

So WMMS dumped their tapes as early as 1980? Interesting!

yep, i remember the 'public service' ads they ran about "surrendering their archives" or whatever. was sometime in 1980/81. they even made a big hub-ub about doing "final rebroadcasts" on their 'Sunday Night Concerts & Specials' block, and they played a bunch of Zep shows 'by popular demand' as a result...whether or not these tapes actually got trashed is open to debate. there have been TONS of bootlegs over the years sourced from "pre-FM" tapes from their archives(presumably 'claimed' thru unscrupulous sources), but as recently as 2001 they re-broadcast that april 76 Genesis show(my dads old Scotch c-120 of that original broadcast is still here, but side 1 is 'mush'; and side 2 picks up very warbly after a tape flip in the ending portion of "Cinema Show",so i cant supply the 'lost' Squonk...sorry!!), and every now & then they play bits of a UFO show from 78 they once simulcasted...who actually knows...

[90125yes]

heart of the sunrise at the 28/10/78 gig - on my birthday is the greatest version i have heared

[CybrKhatru]

heart of the sunrise at the 28/10/78 gig - on my birthday is the greatest version i have heared

It's an amazing performance....same with Siberian....Trooper...and Awaken, from that show!:beerchugr:

[90125yes]

It's an amazing performance....same with Siberian....Trooper...and Awaken, from that show!:beerchugr:

---

agreed

if only it was released officially and it didn't even make the word is live release

[CybrKhatru]

---

agreed

if only it was released officially and it didn't even make the word is live release

I wonder why that was....

Can only think of 2 possible reasons:

1) too expensive to get from the BBC
2) all the diehard fans already have copies from the radio/tape trades/etc! (in other words, it's been so heavily bootlegged)


Still.... it absolutely SHOULD get an official release someday.
:D

[Frumious B]

Matt and Tasia sent me this recording on cassette ages ago when we were on AOL. It was my pretty much my first experience with Yes bootlegs and it really opened my ears to how much better these recordings can be in comparison to scrubbed and sanitized official product. I literally wore that tape out and then spent quite awhile looking for that recording again because I missed the thing. I finally found it and I now have it safely archived to lossless (on two different drives) along with the rest of my admittedly small, but carefully selected and researched collection of Yes concert recordings.

I think it's an unfortunate missed opportunity at free money for the band that they haven't set up some sort of official bootleg series where they make these kinds of recordings available for purchase either on disc or as downloads.

[A Venture]

Matt and Tasia sent me this recording on cassette ages ago when we were on AOL. It was my pretty much my first experience with Yes bootlegs and it really opened my ears to how much better these recordings can be in comparison to scrubbed and sanitized official product. I literally wore that tape out and then spent quite awhile looking for that recording again because I missed the thing. I finally found it and I now have it safely archived to lossless (on two different drives) along with the rest of my admittedly small, but carefully selected and researched collection of Yes concert recordings.

I think it's an unfortunate missed opportunity at free money for the band that they haven't set up some sort of official bootleg series where they make these kinds of recordings available for purchase either on disc or as downloads.

A great concert & I was there, 3 days after my 18th birthday. I still have the tape, recorded from the Tommy Vance rock show &, somehow the tape is part of the special memory of that time. I know it's strange, but I'm happy to have just my TDK C120 recording!

[qoquaq]

It's very cool hearing from someone who was there as well.

I was also at one of the Wembley 77's and missed the last train home to Bristol!

I too was at the '77 and '78 gigs..just looked in my scrap book..
'77-North Upper Tier row M seat 19...£3.75
'78-South Upper Tier row B seat 100...£5.00

Robin

[M-Class Planet]

Hands down- best ever- game over man- no others applicants need apply -don't even question me cos I know best- performance of Starship trooper.
they should have shelfed it after that one...

The beeb are sitting on a goldmine.

[relayeire]

I think it's an unfortunate missed opportunity at free money for the band that they haven't set up some sort of official bootleg series where they make these kinds of recordings available for purchase either on disc or as downloads.


It was discussed back in the early 00s, but Jon must've been in charge of it. Another great idea spoken aloud but never realized.

I still want to hear those Yessongs-era tapes found in a road case after 30 years. I think Steve has 'em?

Btw, where is it that everyone has heard this '78 show? I mean, those who weren't there.

[CybrKhatru]

It was discussed back in the early 00s, but Jon must've been in charge of it. Another great idea spoken aloud but never realized.

I still want to hear those Yessongs-era tapes found in a road case after 30 years. I think Steve has 'em?

Btw, where is it that everyone has heard this '78 show? I mean, those who weren't there.

I used to hear it on King Biscuit Flower Hour back in the 1980s.

[Meng]

It was discussed back in the early 00s, but Jon must've been in charge of it. Another great idea spoken aloud but never realized.

I still want to hear those Yessongs-era tapes found in a road case after 30 years. I think Steve has 'em?

Btw, where is it that everyone has heard this '78 show? I mean, those who weren't there.
It's been widely bootlegged (mine's called "Anniversary Of Decade"). Shows up on torrent sites - i'm pretty sure Dime has it.

I've never come across a complete version though.

[relayeire]

I used to hear it on King Biscuit Flower Hour back in the 1980s.

I'm pretty sure I've heard some tracks from it, possibly on the 1991 two-part special they did to coincide with Union.

It's been widely bootlegged (mine's called "Anniversary Of Decade"). Shows up on torrent sites - i'm pretty sure Dime has it.

I've never come across a complete version though.

Cheers!

[CybrKhatru]

I once had a complete audience tape of the show.

Between all the different sources we had (4 or 5?) I cobbled together my version of the gig. I used the audience tape for those songs which were never broadcast.

[relayeire]

I once had a complete audience tape of the show.

Between all the different sources we had (4 or 5?) I cobbled together my version of the gig. I used the audience tape for those songs which were never broadcast.

We should've cloned the band that evening!

[CybrKhatru]

We should've cloned the band that evening!


That would have been a wise decision. :D

[M-Class Planet]

I taped it on to a Sony C120 from the Tommy Vance (RIP) friday Rock Show, roundabout (oh ha ha!) Summer 82, I think. It was awesome. I played it till the tape burst from being over played. Wish I still had it.

With it being a C120 (60mins each side), I assume it wasn't the whole concert.

I'm pretty sure it's the performance that had DKTW that Chris used on the Yesshows live album. Certainly it's credited as being recorded on the BBC mobile 1, so it figures may be even Chris has these masters - I seriously can't see him handing them back unless he took a copy. would you not do the same thing?

[M-Class Planet]

I was at this show and believe it to be one of the all time great legendary Yes gigs. It's certainly one of the most widely distributed unofficial recordings of the band.
There's no doubt that they were at the very top of their game as a live band, though the Tormato album isn't many people's favourite.
A few observations, as remembered by my 18 yr old self, in no particular order, some memories are a bit murky as time has gone on, some are still astonishingly clear.

I lived with my parents in Accrington, Lancashire at the time and was in the 2nd yr sixth form at school. We didn't manage to get tickets for the originally announced Saturday evening gig, and the journey was too far to attend during the week. When we also failed to get a ticket for the afternoon show, I despaired.
Fortunately, we are good friends with Jon Anderson's brother, who still lives in Accrington, and he arranged for 2 tickets for the afternoon show to be at the box office for us to collect. Myself and a friend attended the concert and my mum and dad drove us down to London for the weekend. I can still see my dad triumphantly emerging from the box office clutching the tickets, whilst all around us ticketless fans were doing business with Scalpers - "ask a pony" I remember one of them shouting - £20 I think.

Given all the time that's passed since, many of us think of Yes as being at their peak then, but actually, there was a very real sense around at the time that they were a bit past it. The gigs marked the bands 10 year anniversary, which seemed a hell of a long time for a band to be still going, and Punk was at it's height. Certainly my friend and I had a feeling that we were catching them at the tail end of their career!!

The circular stage "in the round" concept was still very new at the time. It's been done loads of times since, but I think Yes were one of the first. They even got some praise from The NME, who hated the band, saying in their review of the gig that "Yes worked hard to reduce the appalling, barn - like dimensions of Wembley arena by placing a circular, rotating stage bang in the middle". (Small sweaty clubs were all the rage at the time). That's as complimentary as they got - the review was headlined "Chimps of The Cosmic Cabaret" and Jon was castigated for his "over the top romanticism". I stall have the Review cut out and inside the concert programme.

The main thing I remember from the the gig, was the awesomely clear sound - you could hear every nuance, every note. I've still never heard better quality sound at a gig to this day. I remember thinking that Rick was a tad too lound in the mix, but that's nit picking.
It was definitely Close Encounters for the intro music and they played for exactly 2 hours 30 mins, including encores, as I checked my watch at the time.
At the end of the gig, hundreds of balloons with the Yes logo were distributed - I still have one, not blown up.
We watched the whole thing, completely sober, and were blown away.
I'll never forget 28 October 1978.


Wow that is a greeeeat (as tony the tiger would have it ) post. thanks for that!

[Entish1]

Wakey's solo was never broadcast, wolfgang's vault audio stream is the first time it has seen the light of day hence mp3 is the best out there - but very nice at that. Future Times Rejoice - well it must have been captured initially but my info is that it was not archived by the BBC, probably lost forever. Madrigal is archived by the BBC but they never broadcast it, though King Biscuit did so. KB's mix is different from BBC's, drums come through more clearly.

What a great thread, filled with great info like this!

A few questions....

Those of you who taped the very first broadcasts: was Future Times/Rejoice ever broadcast?

Also, what is the relationship of KBFH to the BBC? Did the BBC record it and KBFH license it? Just wondering how there came to be 2 different broadcast versions of it. My first boot was the vinyl "In the Round". I really like that it has the full intro to Starship Trooper and Madrigal before Silent Wings. Did these versions ever surface on CD? My vinyl is pretty shot.

Thanks,
Doug
:beerchugr:

[answer_to_yes]

Hi Doug,

Future Times/Rejoice was never broadcast and indeed I have it on
good authority from the BBC that they don't have that on tape.

As far as I know "In The Round" did not get released as a "commercial"
(silver) bootleg CD but there are CDR versions sourced from the album
and one from a pre-FM reel-to-reel source torrented on DIME.
King Biscuit made many, many partial rebroadcasts and so chunks of
their version appear on loads of bootleg CDs (check out the
appropriate forgottenyesterdays page).

BBC definitely made the recording, Tony Wilson recorded it on 24 track
tape (on mobile1 if memory serves me correctly). We can deduce that
the band got a copy because All Good People and Don't Kill The Whale
are released (on Classic Yes & Yesshows respectively). Whether KBFH
got theirs from BBC or from the band is unclear, but I tend to think it was
probably the band since they managed to misattribute it to the LA Forum.
Also because the wolfgangsvault stream prepared from the KB master
has all the same edits as the broadcasts this implies they received it
in edited form. There's no formal relationship between KBFH and BBC.

Glad to have another Wembley 1978 enthusias on the thread - all the best.

[crotale2112]

Glad to have another Wembley 1978 enthusias on the thread - all the best.

Amazing recording.. good sound too.

The moog solo in starship trooper is by far one of the best keyboard solos I can think of when it comes to wakeman. mind blowing to say the least.
http://cache1.asset-cache.net/xc/84884269.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=77BFBA49EF8789215ABF3343C02EA5487B75C57DA740A434 CFF17ABED33E597A7BAB72835D51F6A5

[Entish1]

As far as I know "In The Round" did not get released as a "commercial"
(silver) bootleg CD but there are CDR versions sourced from the album
and one from a pre-FM reel-to-reel source torrented on DIME.


I just received the Tormato Collection Volume 2 Vine. It has a KBFH pre-FM version of this show. Before the official tracks were removed, it was the exact same as my "In the Round" vinyl boot. It's clearly KBFH because it has the lengthy intro to Starship Trooper and Madrigal before Silent Wings. I had no idea this existed. Thanks for the info about DIME. A lot of what gets torrented on DIME ends up in the Vines!