Sorry for the title typo!
I don't think we've had a thread on these but they've always fascinated me.
The reason they initially existed was because of strict musicians' union restrictions on how many records could be played by the BBC- 'needle time'. But that was a blessing because artists had to do live performances to get themselves heard on the BBC. And most artists took the opportunity to offer something different. The Beatles for instance recorded 30 odd songs they never did for EMI, in addition to the 'new' versions of their releases.
Another great one is an experimental broadcast in stereo by The Rolling Stones (half the sound on radio, the other half on TV!). This sounds better than their early Decca recordings. And their first session has a better version of 'Come On' than the single.
In later years there was a move to longer concerts with audiences- various great ones by Floyd, Zeppelin, Bowie etc.
Anyone have any particular favourites?
Bookmarks