Leeds Town & Country – April 9th 2000

leeds1For some reason, it’s the Leeds gigs to which the friends and family seem to have come, rather than Newcastle, and they certainly got a cracking evening here.

Why is this the best gig of the UK leg of the tour? Well for a start it seems uniquely relaxed. When a latecomer requested “Bonny” which had been played earlier on, Paddy – whom you get the impression would rather tiptoe barefoot over a lava field than vary the set – obliged with a few bars. And the redoubtable Juli from the Zorrophonic list who was in attendance and heckling affectionately throughout – managed to persuade him to sing “Wichita Lineman”. Which coincidentally, 15 years on less one day, Jimmy Webb was singing in Durham before making a fascinatingly cryptic comment about Paddy working with Art Garfunkel.

And to cap it all, it’s brilliant recorded. Released on the “Temple of Sound” bootleg label in Asia too as a pressed CD, and anyone with an original copy of one of these could easily swap for, say, a Candle “Lions” should they want to. Because I covet it.

Truly one of the highlights of the tour. One to cut out and keep.

Another day off tomorrow, then we hit Madchester. Don’t forget the competition: at time of posting, there are relatively few entries and there’s an excellent chance of winning just with a guess. For those wanting more science and details of capacities, google is your friend….

3 thoughts

  1. Wow — goldmine! Fabulous… found you on the Paddy & Sprout FB page. Thanks so much for the great music. Hearing Paddy say ‘Lisa Marie’s toys’ confirmed all of my obvious suspicions about the song. I think there’s three song cycles on Jordan: the Comeback. The Elvis song cycle consists of ‘Moondog’ , ‘Jordan the Comeback ‘ and ‘Doo- Wop in Harlem’… well enuffa my yakkin’ .. will be following and enjoying your blog.

  2. Thanks for posting such a wonderful show. In spite of lack studio production. PREFAB SPROUT did justice LIVE to the studio versions. Energetic performance. Best band of the eighties. Greetings from Brazil fans.

  3. Goldmine indeed. Prefab Sprout was always the number one of my 4 favourite artists: PREFAB SPROUT, THOMAS DOLBY, SWING OUT SISTER and KATE BUSH. Loved the ballad version of LIONS and the powerful performances of BONNY, CARNIVAL, ATLANTIS, PRISONER, MOVING THE RIVER, APETITE, JORDAN, etc… Does anyone know the line-up of the band?? Who is playing keyboards?? Thank you prefab-heads.

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