Loading...
Tulum's Collection

Echo & the Bunnymen   08/02/1979

YMCA, London, England
Source Soundboard
Media FLAC   6 discs
Notes This is the second of two circulating copies of a soundboard recording made at the Prince of Wales Conference Centre below London's YMCA when the 3-piece Echo + The Bunnymen played support to The Teardrop Explodes, Joy Division and Essential Logic (they were also the last act to be added to the bill). It's the earliest extant live recording of the band with their drum machine, predating the first Peel Session by almost two weeks. Reportedly this was the night that Pete De Freitas saw the band play for the first time. Seymour Stein, head of Sire Records, was there, too, and went on to sign the band to Sire.

There were ten songs on the setlist, but this recording is incomplete, featuring the last six songs played on the night only (no sign of an encore). This is a mono copy of the original soundboard recording, quite low-gen but by no means pristine. The exact provenance of this tape is unknown, but the same six songs can also be found on a 1987 bootleg LP released on the fabulous Hawkeye label (Hawkeye 015, if you're counting: https://www.discogs.com/Echo-The-Bunnymen-Echo/release/4996192).

The other recording, torrented in tandem with this one, features the first eight songs played on the night. That one is in stereo and has different sonic qualities, even though it must ultimately derive from the same master tape.

Taken together, the two recordings allow you to recreate the full set list of ten songs.

There was hardly any need to clean this recording up. The few stray noises present have been removed one by one. There was, however, a major issue: the recording ran way too fast. Using the other tape as a benchmark I have attempted to adjust the speed. This was done in 32-bit; afterwards I downsampled back to 16bit.

NOT on this recording:
- instrumental
- Going Up
- Read It In Books (with People Get Ready quote)
- Ashes To Ashes aka Stars Are Stars (shambolic start, as acknowledged by Mac in his lyrics!)
Trades Allowed Yes
Owned by Tulum · Last Updated Jun 21, 2025