Smiths, The – At the Beeb (unreleased 1983-‘87)

At the Beeb

Radio and TV appearances (none officially released)

various locales & dates 1983-1987

(artwork included in the download)

FM, soundboard and video-derived audio (from best available sources)

sound quality: variable (range = VG- to Ex-)

01 Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now (Ear Say 84)

02 Pretty Girls Make Graves (Jenson Session 83)

03 I Don't Owe You Anything (Jenson Session 83)

04 Reel Around the Fountain (Jenson Session 83)

05 This Night Has Opened My Eyes (Y.E.S. 84)

06 What Difference Does It Make? (Y.E.S. 84)

07 Still Ill (The Tube 84)

08 Hand In Glove (The Tube 84)

09 How Soon Is Now? (Peel Session 84)

10 Barbarism Begins at Home (The Tube 84)

11 There Is a Light That Never Goes Out (Euro-Tube 86)

12 Vicar In A Tutu (Whistle Test 86)

13 Panic (Euro-Tube 86)

14 Bigmouth Strikes Again (Whistle Test 86)

15 Half A Person (Peel Session 86)

16 London (Peel Session 86)

17 Shoplifters of the World Unite (Tube 87)

18 Sheila Take a Bow (Tube 87)

BONUS TRACKS:

Xa Asleep (Inverness soundcheck 85)

Xb [blank]

Xc Wonderful Woman (Jenson Session 83)

Xd Shoplifters of the World Unite (Megamix 87)

MP3@320

TRACK INFO:

01 – early studio version with shorter ending, broadcast 31 March 1984 on “Ear Say” television programme, Channel 4 in the UK

02 – live session, recorded 25 August 1983 on David “Kid” Jenson show, BBC Radio One in the UK
03 – [same as 02]
04 – [same as 02]
05 – live performance, broadcast 31 March 1984 on “Y.E.S.” television programme, BBC North West in the UK
06 – [same as 05]
07 - live performance, broadcast 16 March 1984 on “The TUBE” television programme in the UK
08 – [same as 07]
09 – live session, recorded 1 August 1984 on John Peel show, BBC Radio One in the UK (includes abrupt false ending, followed by 42 additional seconds of music)
10 – [same as 07]
11 - live performance, broadcast 5 July 1986 on “Euro-Tube” television programme, Channel 4 in the UK
12 – live performance, broadcast 20 May 1986 on “(Old Grey) Whistle Test” television programme, BBC2 in the UK
13 – [same as 11] – features unusual long intro
14 – [same as 12]
15 - live session, recorded 17 December 1986 on John Peel show, BBC Radio One in the UK
16 – [same as 15]
17 - live performance, broadcast 10 April 1987 on “The TUBE” television programme in the UK
18 – [same as 17]

Xa – audience recording, 1 October 1985, Eden Court, Inverness, Scotland (soundcheck)

Xc - live session, recorded 24 July 1983 on David “Kid” Jenson show, BBC Radio One in the UK
Xd – live performance, broadcast 13 February 1987 on “Megamix” television programme, Dublin, Ireland

MORE ABOUT THE COMPILATION:

I’d been intending for some time to put together an audio compilation of all the British radio and TV performances that have never seen official release. I did this for my own amusement, but since it turned out better than I anticipated, I decided to share it.

Be prepared for quite a lot of variety in sound quality. That said, I think most listeners will find many, or even all, of these very listenable. I used the best sources I could find from an audio standpoint, lossless in most instances. Those interested are welcome to consult the comments section to discover the source I used for each track.

For the running order, I picked tracks that I thought sounded good before and after each other. Happily, the sequence ended up being mostly chronological. My apologies to fans of “Wonderful Woman” from the 1983 Jenson Session: I could not imagine it making a positive musical contribution to this compilation other than as a “bonus track.” The Xb blank track features 10 seconds of silence to create an audio gap before the bonus tracks.

Above all, please enjoy.

Rob-in-Brevard