U.K. - LONG BEACH 1979 [MILLARD TAPE]
May 19, 2022 – 7:11 am
Fifty years ago today, Beatle George told us that All Things Must Pass. Then he told us about Living in the Material World. For 36 years, BigO has been trying to keep the spirit and history of the music alive. Before all things pass, we still need your help to live in this material world. You can help us to do this with a kind donation. Please give what you are happy to give…
HOW TO DONATE
Our costs will always be there. So readers who can donate towards the cost of the site, please open a Skrill account. Readers who wish to contribute to BigO will now have to use Skrill (click here). We are no longer able to use PayPal to receive donations. Register an account at Skrill. To make a payment, use this e-mail address as recipient’s e-mail address in Skrill: mail2[at]bigomagazine.com. Looking forward to hearing from you.
JUST TO LET YOU KNOW
To reduce spamming, the BigO website is going through Cloudflare. What it does is scan your browser to ensure the visitor is not a spam. Do not be alarmed as this usually takes only a few seconds. Email us if you still have difficulty accessing the BigO site; or playing or downloading the tracks. If you know a better way of reducing spam, do let us know.
+ + + + +
Click on the panels for a better view or to download jpg artwork.
U.K.
Long Beach 1979 [Mike Millard First-Generation Tapes via JEMS, 1CD]
The Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone Tapes Volume 134. Live at the Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, CA; November 14, 1979. Very good audience recording.
Thanks to Mike Millard; Rob, Jim R; Barry G; JEMS; BK; Goody; and mjk5510 for sharing the show at Dime.
+ + + + +
Known Faults:
- In The Dead of the Night: joined in progress.
- Likely missed before it are “As Long As You Want Me Here,” “Alaska” and “Presto Vivace”
Welcome to JEMS’ Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone series presenting recordings made by legendary taper Mike Millard, AKA Mike the MICrophone, best known for his masters of Led Zeppelin done in and around Los Angeles circa 1975-77.
Until 2020, the Lost and Found series presented fresh transfers of previously unavailable first-generation copies made by Mike himself for friends like Stan Gutoski of JEMS, Jim R, Bill C. and Barry G. These sources were upgrades to circulating copies and in most instances marked the only time verified first generation Millard sources had been directly digitized in the torrent era.
That all changed with the discovery of many of Mike Millard’s original master tapes.
Yes, you read that correctly, Mike Millard’s master cassettes, long rumored to be destroyed or lost, have been found. Not all of them but many, and with them a much more complete picture has emerged of what Millard recorded between his first show in late 1973 and his last in early 1992.
The reason the rediscovery of his master tapes is such a revelation is that we’ve been told for decades they were gone. Internet myths suggest Millard destroyed his master tapes before taking his own life, an imprudent detail likely concocted based on the assumption that because his master tapes never surfaced and Mike’s mental state was troubled he would do something rash WITH HIS LIFE’S WORK. There’s also a version of the story where Mike’s family dumps the tapes after he dies. Why would they do that?
The truth is Mike’s masters remained in his bedroom for many years after his death in 1994. We know at least a few of Millard’s friends and acquaintances contacted his mother Lia inquiring about the tapes at the time to no avail. But in the early 2000s, longtime Millard friend Rob S was the one she knew and trusted enough to preserve Mike’s work.
+ + + + +
U.K. - Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, CA; November 14, 1979
With Volume 134 of the Lost and Found series we return to the collection of newly acquired first generation recordings Mike the Mike made for Jim Ri. While most of Mike’s famous recordings were already in the hands of others, as luck would have it a handful of the shows Mike copied for Jim Ri were unique to his collection at least in terms of what Millard recordings have been gathered so far. The cassettes Jim Ri loaned us add another ten previously unavailable performances to the archive for which we are immensely grateful.
On tap this week is U.K. opening for Jethro Tull at the Long Beach Arena. Mike caught the band on their previous tour at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, July 28, 1978, and made an outstanding capture released as Vol. 66 in the Lost and Found series. Just a year later, the U.K. line-up shifted dramatically, reducing from a four-piece to a trio, with guitarist Allan Holdsworth exiting along with drummer Bill Bruford, and former Frank Zappa Band drummer Terry Bozzio coming aboard.
The 1979 iteration of U.K., on tour in support of their second album Danger Money, moved the group further along the spectrum that began closer to jazz fusion and prog rock on one side and pop music on the other. U.K. eventually dissolved in late 1979/early 1980. Everyone went their separate ways and started new projects, with both Wetton and Bozzio diving into deeper into pop-rock with Asia and Missing Persons respectively.
There’s a synth heavy sound here, courtesy of the Yamaha CS-80, but with Jobson’s violin and some underlying prog elements, UK doesn’t sound dated. If anything they sound fairly vital and it’s clear the audience thoroughly enjoys their set.
We’ve written previously that Millard rarely recorded opening acts, but having already seen U.K. before, the fact that he did here isn’t surprising, nor is him missing the start of the show, which explains the rather short, incomplete set we present here. That being said, what Mike did record is excellent quality and highly entertaining.
+ + + + +
JEMS is proud to partner with Rob, Jim R, Ed F, Barry G, Jim Ri and many others to release Millard’s historic recordings and to help set the record straight about the man himself.
We can’t thank Rob enough for reconnecting with Jim and putting his trust in our Millard reissue campaign. He kept Mike’s precious tapes under wraps for two decades, but once Rob learned of our methods and stewardship, he agreed to contribute the Millard DATs and cassettes to the program. Our releases would not be nearly as compelling without Jim’s memories, photos and other background contributions. As many of you have noted, the stories offer an entertaining complement to Mike’s incredible audio documents.
Once again, thank you to Jim Ri for sharing his tapes so we could add them to the Millard archive. We are so thrilled to check more shows off the list as “found” and we hope there are others holding similar lost recordings. Professor Goody gave us his pitch guidance and, as always, mjk5510 killing it on the post production and artwork front.
Finally, here’s to the late, great Mike the MICrophone. His work never ceases to impress. May he rest in peace.
BK for JEMS
+ + + + +
Lineage:
AKG 451E Microphones (CK-1 cardioid capsules) > Nakamichi 550 Cassette Recorder
JEMS Transfer: Mike Millard First-Generation Cassettes > Nakamichi RX-505 azimuth adjustment) > Sound Devices USBPre 2 > Audacity 2.0 capture 2496 > iZotope RX8 > iZotope Ozone 8 > MBIT+ resample to 1644 > Audacity > TLH > FLAC
Click on the highlighted tracks to download the MP3s (320 kbps). As far as we can ascertain, these tracks have never been officially released on CD.
Please Do Not Hammer The Links. Due to the size of some of the files, please be very patient when downloading the tracks. It could be that the server was very busy. The tracks should still be around. Please try again later.
Kindly email us if you encounter persistent problems downloading the files. Also email us if you have any rarities you’d like to share with our readers.
Track 01. In The Dead Of Night 0:51
Track 02. Nostalgia 4:20
Track 03. Rendezvous 6.02 5:26
Track 04. Night After Night 4:38
Track 05. The Only Thing She Needs 9:43
Track 06. Waiting For You 5:46
31 mins
Lineup:
John Wetton - bass, vocals
Terry Bozzio - drums
Eddie Jobson - violin, keyboards
Click here to order U.K. releases.
10 Responses to “U.K. - LONG BEACH 1979 [MILLARD TAPE]”
Thanks Big O
. . . . . always interesting the power pop trio
By swappers on May 19, 2022
Born Again is featured one of the worst album covers ever (it’s been voted!), and the subsequent world tour was so troubled and tragicomic. I rove Brack Sabbath
By Won Hung Low on May 19, 2022
Born Again is featured one of the worst album covers ever (it’s been voted!), and the subsequent world tour was so troubled and tragicomic. I rove Brack Sabbath!!!!
By Won Hung Low on May 19, 2022
Rumor has it this was a band of Average Uns
By U L E on May 20, 2022
Who starts these rumors?
By Jocko P on May 20, 2022
Some big ole hoagies in this group I hear . Big dudes all
By ELU on May 20, 2022
Hey anybody got the Monkeypox yet? It’s the “new” covid disease now going about.
By Nelson on May 20, 2022
I got it on my dik from fucking monkeys. Maybe I shouldn’t have fucked the male monkeys in their asses, and stuck with the females.
By Nelson on May 20, 2022
DD’s whore mom gave it to me. He said she’d fuck anyone, I thought he meant humans. Fucking slut harlot bitch.
By The Anti Christ on May 20, 2022
Twernt me above all fakes
By U L E on May 22, 2022