If you've missed us this year so far there is a wealth of stuff on Youtube out there ranging from the professionally done like the Rough Trade East from back in January through every recording quality & type of venue. Here are a few examples -
March 13 - Athens, Gagarin 205
March 2 - Malmo, Debaser
April 1 - Toronto, Lee's Palace
March 8 - Stockholm, Debaser
There are many more and with a bit of judicious searching you could probably find something for every gig we have played this year.
LEGAL BOOTS - 1st SERIES COMPLETE
With the release of the 3rd set in the Legal bootleg series the first sequence is now complete. The newest aditions are.
12 NOV 1978, SO36, BERLIN
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Even though Wire had been gigging solidly in the UK throughout 1977 & 1978, and had even made a short visit to the USA, it was not until November 1978 that Wire would start to play in continental Europe. For the band, this tour was a game-changer: the band had never felt so welcome or understood, especially in Dusseldorf (see the book on the Legendary Ratingerhof Club by Ralf Ziegermann) and Berlin, where the band played at the then uberhip S036 with its industrial interior. On one of the two nights, artist Martin Kippenberger was sent flying through the glass door during an attack by neo-anarchist punks.
17 DEC 1985 PARADISO, AMSTERDAM
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Wire's "year zero" re-start in the ’80s was not met with universal acclaim. Far from it. Until subsequent albums established a set of material audiences were not quite sure what to make of a Wire stripped of all familiarity. In fact the band received some hostile receptions, none more so than at the Paradiso, a show to a packed auditorium where many felt short-changed by the lack of familiar material and the set's presumed brevity. In fact, the urban myth that the band played less than half an hour is rendered untrue by this release which clocks in at a little over 46 minutes - short by Springsteen standards but pretty standard even for late ’70s Wire.
02 MAY 2000 GREAT AMERICAN, SAN FRANCISCO
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Having re-grouped for the Royal Festival Hall show and cemented the re-emergence with an appearance at ATP, Wire set out on a short tour of the USA where the visitors to the "Desert Island" set about the process of re-inventing their back catalogue as a prelude to the next phase. 2 days of production rehearsals at the "Great American" were followed by two nights of performances in the same venue.
These releases join the previously released 25 October 1978 Bradford University (pfb 701) // 21 July 1988 Astoria, London (pfb 801) // 08 Dec 2000 Queen's Hall, Edinburgh (pfb 001) // Wire: 10 Nov 1979 Jeannetta Cochrane Theatre, London (pfb02) // Wire: 01 Dec 1987 The Town & Country, London (pfb 803) // Wire: 19 Apr 2002 Fleece & Firkin, Bristol (pfb 003) and the series subscription exclusive DVD - 21 Jul 1985 Bloomsbury Theatre (pfb 802). Pricing options are available HERE
40 VERSIONS
As well as Wire's own concerts, releases & videos there are, as we have reported previously, a number of alternative views of the band's oeuvre ranging from unofficial videos, sometimes fronted by increasingly fresh faced characters through to the odd full on Wire gig in which others get to play the part!
Here are some examples -
Patient Flees by Johnny Moped
Artificial Gravity by TheXinsert
Another The Letter by Windmills 20 and BiggestBrainSanhueza
Circumspect, Being Watched & Perspex Icon by Sara Ann Poirier.
Forum contributors will of course know all about The Outdoor Miners, Norm Fasey's tribute band, which developed out of a special birthday celebration. You can check them out here and possibly at a pub near you in the not too distant future.
And if that's not enough for how about Wire miming to their own studio version of Adapt TOTP style in the official video!
AND FINALLY
This newsletter and the website are complimentary resources. To keep abreast of Wire and and all its doings, we recommend checking pinkflag.com regularly as well as being signed up to this mailing list.
All the best,
Pinkflag