Read: Wire legal bootleg series.
Over the years, many Wire concerts have been recorded, circulated and traded by ardent fans. But with the unexpected success of the 1979 Rockpalast concert (released as Wire: On The Box 1979), and subsequent requests from Wire fans for the band to release more from the archives, Pinkflag has been hard at work on a project to make available live material, from the highest possible quality source material, remastered and sympathetically presented...
Pinkflag proudly presents The Wire Legal Bootleg series. Curated by long-time Wire fan Mark Bursa, the series aims to make available the very best Wire gigs, for an affordable price, and with both new fans and avid collectors in mind.
Each gig will be available individually, in digital format, for £8.99. Fans can save money buy purchasing 'batches' of three gigs, for £24.99, which include one from each decade Wire performed live in. However, for the biggest Wire fans, we're offering a series subscription for the special price of £66.99; this subscription will not only include recordings of nine classic Wire gigs, but also a DVD (including postage) of Wire's second gig of the 1980s, at Bloomsbury Theatre.
Wire legal bootlegs: set one
WIRE - 25 October 1978 Bradford University (pfb 701)
Chairs Missing meets proto-154. Raw versions of familiar songs
This set was recorded during the tour to support the release of Chairs Missing but already included early versions of songs that would turn up on 154 as well as Stepping Off Too Quick which was dropped before 154 was recorded.
- Indirect Enquiries
- Men 2nd
- Lowdown
- On Returning
- Being Sucked In
- I Feel Mysterious Today
- The Other Window
- A Mutual Friend
- Former Airline
- Mercy
- Stepping Off Too Quick
- Strange
- Another The Letter
- Sand In My Joints
- French Film Blurred
- I Should Have Known Better
- Practice Makes Perfect
- Reuters
- 106 Beats That
WIRE - 21 July 1988 Astoria, London (pfb 801)
Wire in full 80s pomp!
A full hour-and-a-half set featuring material from the A Bell Is A Cup.../IBTABA period. Fresh from a big US tour, this fearsomely efficient set gives lie to the theory that the '80s was a fallow period for Wire.
- The Queen Of Ur
- In Vivo
- Kidney Bingos
- The Finest Drops
- Silk Skin Paws
- German Shepherds
- A Public Place
- It's A Boy
- The Offer
- Eardrum Buzz
- Boiling Boy
- Drill
- Ahead
- Over Theirs
WIRE - 08 Dec 2000 Queen's Hall, Edinburgh (pfb 001)
The crucial 00s gig, with the first airing of new material and reworkings of old classics
Not only does this recording pre-figure the Read & Burn series by including an early version of Germ Ship and a version of Ally In Exile that proved an inspiration for I Don't Understand but also it contains the only recording of the atmospheric instrumental Zoom released in any format to date. Also included is an early version of He Knows an unreleased song that has been a highlight of sets from 2008 onwards.
- Zoom
- Heartbeat
- Ally In Exile
- Germ Ship
- Boiling Boy
- He Knows
- Advantage In Height
- Lowdown
- Another The Letter
- 12XU
- Pink Flag
- Drill
WIRE - 10 Nov 1979 Jeanetta Cochrane, London (pfb 702)
In the annals of Wire history the four nights at the Jeanetta Cochrane Theatre in London are legendary. Wire in both performance art & rock band modes in a striking, angular set designed by students at what was then theatre wing of The Central School of Arts (now part of the University of Arts, London). Had the band had the resources, this would have been a great gig to have recorded for posterity. However to our knowledge only one recording exists of the show (on the 11th) and it has been a labour of love to find the copy closest to the source of that recording. Frustratingly we have never been able to track down the original but this is way better than anything out there.
- Crazy About Love
- Remove For Improvement
- The Spare One
- Two People in A Room
- Lorries
- Underwater Experiences
- A Blessed State
- Ally In Exile
- Over My Head
- Our Swimmer
- On Returning
WIRE - 01 Dec 1987 Town & Country, London (pfb 803)
The last show of Wire's most extensive year of touring during the '80s featuring material from The ideal Copy but also debuting much from from the yet to be recorded A Bell Is A Cup. Wire in transition to full '80s pomp!
- Silk Skin Paws
- Cheeking Tongues
- Freefalling Divisions
- Ahead
- Come Back In Two Halves
- Madman's Honey
- Over Theirs
- Kidney Bingos
- Follow The Locust
- A Serious of Snakes
- It's A Boy
- Boiling Boy
- Drill
- Ambitious
- A Vivid Riot Of Red
WIRE - 19 Apr 2002 Fleece & Firkin, Bristol (pfb 003)
The warm up to the ATP-headlining shows of 2002 this was the debut of whist was to become the 'Send Set' played to much effect throughout the world over the following two years. The final form is however not reached as the show opens with a version of DJ Fuckoff on which every band member played guitar!
- Indirect Enquiries
- Men 2nd
- Lowdown
- On Returning
- Being Sucked In
- I Feel Mysterious Today
- The Other Window
- A Mutual Friend
- Former Airline
- Mercy
- Stepping Off Too Quick
- Strange
- Another The Letter
- Sand In My Joints
- French Film Blurred
- I Should Have Known Better
- Practice Makes Perfect
- Reuters
- 106 Beats That
The legal bootleg sets will continue to be released in sets of three at regular intervals, with each set containing a '70s, an '80s and a '00s item. Better source material continues to come to light and we'll always go with the strongest available, but potential gigs for inclusion are superior versions of: 29 Feb 1980 Electric Ballroom, London; 07 June 1985 MOMA, Oxford; 28 Feb 2004 Club Quattro, Osaka.
For further information about the Wire Legal Bootleg series, read the FAQ.