Live at the BBC (Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel album)

Background

Released in 1995, Live at the BBC features fourteen tracks, consisting of three separate performances by the band. The two 1974 performances feature the original Cockney Rebel line-up that split in July 1974. The first five tracks make up the first session, which was recorded for John Peel on 28 May 1974. The second set of four tracks were recorded 'Live in Concert' on 22 January 1974. The final five tracks were recorded for Nicky Campbell in 1992. The session features Harley and three of the existing Cockney Rebel line-up of that time. Of the five 1992 tracks, two are abridged versions of "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" and "Riding the Waves".

Speaking in the liner notes of the compilation, Harley commented of the 1974 sessions:

"The tracks herein are the musical manifestation of a group of boys on the first rung of a most unstable ladder. We didn't reach the top together. But here lies proof that these early, 'live' recordings and their inherent memories fill me with pride.

The two 1974 sessions remained exclusive to the Live at the BBC compilation until 2012, when the remastered anthology Cavaliers: An Anthology 1973-1974 was released. This featured the both 1974 sessions in their entirety. The notable inclusion on the anthology is an additional track, "Hideaway", as part of the 'Live in Concert' performance. The song was not included on the Live at the BBC compilation.

During "Mr Raffles", from the 1992 Nicky Campbell session, Harley forgot some of the lyrics in the second-half of the song. In the liner notes, he added: "Forgive the "condor moment" in "Mr Raffles". This late night interview/session fell in the middle of a very long tour. I must have been a little tired."

Release

The album was released by Windsong International Records on CD in the UK only. The independent label specialised in releasing recordings made for or by BBC Radio One for broadcast on the "In Concert" radio programme. The liner notes were written by Harley in February 1995, and features him recollecting the original Cockney Rebel line-up. In 1998, the album was re-issued under a new title: On Air. The two albums used the same close-up photograph of Harley on their front covers. The photograph was taken by Mick Rock in 1974. Today, both releases are now out-of-print.

Critical reception

In the September 1995 issue of Q magazine, writer John Bauldie reviewed the album, and stated: "A timely reminder, now that the '90s version of the Rebel seem to have been put (hopefully temporarily) to bed again, of just how good the first Cockney Rebel were, for nine of the 14 tracks here were recorded by that orignal eccentric line-up, five in session, four in concert. The session is excellent, especially the opener, Bed in the Corner, where Harley's voice laughs, swoops and darts with impressive flexibility as the electric piano and violin of Milton Reame-James and Jean-Paul Crocker trace intricate patterns around and about his warblings. The concert tracks, notably Sebastian and Death Trip, are absurdly but impressively melodramatic, while the 1992 session, three songs and two fragments, which completes the collection services to remind that it wasn't Steve Harley who changed, just the times."

Dave Thompson of AllMusic retrospectively reviewed the album, and wrote: "Two groups of sessions recorded 18 years apart certainly make for a disconcerting listen. Live at the BBC begins, as one would wish, with a straightforward examination of the original Cockney Rebel legacy. Then vocalist Steve Harley presses the fast-forward button and suddenly it's 1992, and he's on another of those interminable comebacks, mixing old classics with new half-hopers and, though you can kind of see the connection, it's still hard to believe that the verbosity, vision, and doom-laden prophecy of the olden days could ever have become so self-satisfied. In 1974, Harley sung with the desperation of a man clinging by his fingertips to the last shreds of decency and sanity, while crazed violins curdled his blood and fairground melodies haunted his daydreams. In 1992, he didn't. Simple (and sad) as that. So don't play the later stuff. The early performances alone are worth the price of admission and then some. Rearranged with brutal simplicity, the Psychomodo material is vastly different than the album versions. The live material, cut earlier in the year, captures Cockney Rebel in even more uncompromising form. The biggest disturbance is the crash of your chair falling over, as you race to switch the CD off before the last five tracks begin. But that's a small price to pay for all that came before."

Personnel