Stiffs Live
Encyclopedia
Live Stiffs Live is a live album
released in 1978, containing performances by various Stiff Records
artists from the first "Live Stiffs Tour", which ran from 3 October to 5 November 1977.
It features tracks by Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Ian Dury & the Blockheads, Nick Lowe
, Wreckless Eric
and Larry Wallis
.
The album opens with tour MC (and later Clash
road manager) Kosmo Vinyl
calling audience members away from the bar and introducing the first act as "Nick Lowe's Led Zeppelin
". The final cut of the album is a performance of Ian Dury's hit, "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll" performed by all of the tour's artists and crew.
release on 17 February 1978 was Live Stiffs Live. The album was later re-issued on Music for Pleasure
(MFP 50445) as simply Live Stiffs.
The album was subsequently released by Demon Records
on CD in 1994 (Demon 621) and re-released in 1997 (Edsel
621 & Diablo Records 851)
Wreckless Eric & the New Rockets (side one, tracks 3 & 4)
Larry Wallis' Psychedelic Rowdies (side one, track 5)
Elvis Costello & the Attractions (side two, tracks 1 & 2)
Ian Dury & the Blockheads (side two, tracks 3 & 4)
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
released in 1978, containing performances by various Stiff Records
Stiff Records
Stiff Records is a record label created in London in 1976, by entrepreneurs Dave Robinson and Andrew Jakeman , and active until 1985. It was reactivated in 2007....
artists from the first "Live Stiffs Tour", which ran from 3 October to 5 November 1977.
It features tracks by Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Ian Dury & the Blockheads, Nick Lowe
Nick Lowe
Nicholas Drain "Nick" Lowe , is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer.A pivotal figure in UK pub rock, punk rock and new wave, Lowe has recorded a string of well-reviewed solo albums. Along with vocals, Lowe plays guitar, bass guitar, piano and harmonica...
, Wreckless Eric
Wreckless Eric
Wreckless Eric is an English rock and roll/new wave singer-songwriter, best known for his 1977 single " Whole Wide World" on Stiff Records. More than two decades after its release, the song was included in Mojo magazine’s list of the best punk rock singles of all time...
and Larry Wallis
Larry Wallis
Larry Wallis is a guitarist, songwriter and producer. He is best known as a member of the Pink Fairies and an early member of Motörhead.-Early bands:...
.
The album opens with tour MC (and later Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
road manager) Kosmo Vinyl
Kosmo Vinyl
Kosmo Vinyl was a longtime associate and sometime manager for The Clash, as well as being associated with The Jam, two English bands of the 1970s and 1980s...
calling audience members away from the bar and introducing the first act as "Nick Lowe's Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
". The final cut of the album is a performance of Ian Dury's hit, "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll" performed by all of the tour's artists and crew.
Album name
The album has various names from Stiffs Live Stiffs, Stiffs Live and Live Stiffs. The correct name of the original Stiff RecordsStiff Records
Stiff Records is a record label created in London in 1976, by entrepreneurs Dave Robinson and Andrew Jakeman , and active until 1985. It was reactivated in 2007....
release on 17 February 1978 was Live Stiffs Live. The album was later re-issued on Music for Pleasure
Music for Pleasure (record label)
Music for Pleasure was a record label that issued budget-priced albums of popular and classical music, although the latter were marketed under the Classics for Pleasure name...
(MFP 50445) as simply Live Stiffs.
The album was subsequently released by Demon Records
Demon Music Group
Demon Records is a United Kingdom record label founded in 1980 by former United Artists A&R executive Andrew Lauder and Jake Riviera who had previously started Stiff Records...
on CD in 1994 (Demon 621) and re-released in 1997 (Edsel
Demon Music Group
Demon Records is a United Kingdom record label founded in 1980 by former United Artists A&R executive Andrew Lauder and Jake Riviera who had previously started Stiff Records...
621 & Diablo Records 851)
Side one
- "I Knew the BrideI Knew the Bride"I Knew the Bride " is a song written by Nick Lowe and first popularized by Dave Edmunds. It was released on Edmunds's 1977 album Get It and a year later in a live version by Nick Lowe's Last Chicken in the Shop for a compilation released by Stiff Records.Lowe performed the song during a Stiff...
" (Nick LoweNick LoweNicholas Drain "Nick" Lowe , is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer.A pivotal figure in UK pub rock, punk rock and new wave, Lowe has recorded a string of well-reviewed solo albums. Along with vocals, Lowe plays guitar, bass guitar, piano and harmonica...
) - Nick Lowe's Last Chicken in the Shop - 3.25 - "Let's Eat" (Lowe) - Nick Lowe's Last Chicken in the Shop - 2.44
- "Semaphore Signals" (Wreckless EricWreckless EricWreckless Eric is an English rock and roll/new wave singer-songwriter, best known for his 1977 single " Whole Wide World" on Stiff Records. More than two decades after its release, the song was included in Mojo magazine’s list of the best punk rock singles of all time...
) - Wreckless Eric & the New Rockets - 3.25 - "Reconnez Cherie" (Eric) - Wreckless Eric & the New Rockets - 3.45
- "Police Car" (Larry WallisLarry WallisLarry Wallis is a guitarist, songwriter and producer. He is best known as a member of the Pink Fairies and an early member of Motörhead.-Early bands:...
) - Larry Wallis' Psychedelic Rowdies - 3.59
Side two
- "I Just Don't Know What to Do with MyselfI Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself"I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.-Original version:"I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself" was first recorded by Tommy Hunt in a session produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, with Burt Bacharach arranging and conducting...
" (Burt BacharachBurt BacharachBurt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
, Hal DavidHal DavidHarold Lane "Hal" David is an American lyricist. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York. David is best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach.-Career:...
) - Elvis Costello & the Attractions - 2.27 - "Miracle Man" (Elvis CostelloElvis CostelloElvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
) - Elvis Costello & the Attractions - 3.56 - "Billericay Dickey" (Ian DuryIan DuryIan Robins Dury was an English rock and roll singer, lyricist, bandleader and actor who initially rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and New Wave era of rock music...
) - Ian Dury & the Blockheads - 4.24 - "Wake Up & Make Love with Me" (Dury) - Ian Dury & the Blockheads - 3.32
- "Sex Drugs Rock & Roll & Chaos" (Dury) - All artists - 5.41
Personnel
Nick Lowe's Last Chicken in the Shop (side one, tracks 1 & 2)- Nick LoweNick LoweNicholas Drain "Nick" Lowe , is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer.A pivotal figure in UK pub rock, punk rock and new wave, Lowe has recorded a string of well-reviewed solo albums. Along with vocals, Lowe plays guitar, bass guitar, piano and harmonica...
- bass, vocals - Larry WallisLarry WallisLarry Wallis is a guitarist, songwriter and producer. He is best known as a member of the Pink Fairies and an early member of Motörhead.-Early bands:...
- guitar - Terry WilliamsTerry Williams (drummer)Terrence "Terry" Williams is a Welsh rock drummer, whose resume includes work for Dire Straits, B. B. King, and Bob Dylan....
- drums - Pete ThomasPete ThomasPete Thomas is best known as the longtime drummer for Elvis Costello. Tom Waits has referred to him as "one of the best rock drummers alive".-Career:...
- drums - Dave EdmundsDave EdmundsDavid 'Dave' Edmunds is a Welsh singer, guitarist and record producer. Although he is primarily associated with Pub rock and New Wave, and had numerous hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, his natural leaning has always been towards 1950s style rock and roll.-Early bands:As a teenager Edmunds first...
- guitar - Penny Tobin - keyboards
Wreckless Eric & the New Rockets (side one, tracks 3 & 4)
- Wreckless EricWreckless EricWreckless Eric is an English rock and roll/new wave singer-songwriter, best known for his 1977 single " Whole Wide World" on Stiff Records. More than two decades after its release, the song was included in Mojo magazine’s list of the best punk rock singles of all time...
- guitar, vocals - Davey PayneDavey PayneDavid 'Davey' Payne is an English saxophonist best known as a member of Ian Dury's backing band The Blockheads, and his twin saxophone solo on their 1978 UK #1 single "Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick"....
- saxophone - Denise Roudette - bass
- Ian DuryIan DuryIan Robins Dury was an English rock and roll singer, lyricist, bandleader and actor who initially rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and New Wave era of rock music...
- drums
Larry Wallis' Psychedelic Rowdies (side one, track 5)
- Larry WallisLarry WallisLarry Wallis is a guitarist, songwriter and producer. He is best known as a member of the Pink Fairies and an early member of Motörhead.-Early bands:...
- guitar, vocals - Nick Lowe - bass
- Penny Tobin - keyboards
- Terry Williams - drums
- Pete Thomas - drums
Elvis Costello & the Attractions (side two, tracks 1 & 2)
- Elvis CostelloElvis CostelloElvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
- vocals, guitar - Steve NaiveSteve NieveSteve Nieve is an English keyboardist, best known for his work with Elvis Costello and the Attractions and Elvis Costello and the Imposters.-Musical career:...
- keyboards - Bruce ThomasBruce ThomasBruce Thomas is best known as bassist for The Attractions; the band formed in 1977 to back Elvis Costello in concert and on record....
- bass - Pete Thomas - drums
Ian Dury & the Blockheads (side two, tracks 3 & 4)
- Ian DuryIan DuryIan Robins Dury was an English rock and roll singer, lyricist, bandleader and actor who initially rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and New Wave era of rock music...
- vocals - John Turnbull - guitar
- Charley Charles - drums
- Norman Watt-RoyNorman Watt-RoyNorman Watt-Roy is the bassist for The Blockheads, previously known as Ian Dury & the Blockheads.In November 1954 the Watt-Roy family, including Norman, his older brother Garth and his sister, moved to England...
- bass - Chaz Jankel - guitar
- Mickey Gallagher - keyboards
- Davey Payne - saxophone