On a beautiful Saturday night in July 1996, my girlfriend and I watched Renegade Soundwave live on stage at the Ashton Court Festival in Bristol.
A relatively short but sweet set, but one of the best live experiences ever. And I didn't even know they were playing until I got there!
My girlfriend was largely of a jangly music persuasion but somehow I convinced that it was worth checking out Renegade Soundwave performing on one of the side stages than seeing who was playing the main stage at the same stage. Somehow, it worked and once we were there, we were locked in.
I remember the audience going mad for Biting My Nails and their self-titled single, possibly the only ones that the majority may have recognised, but I also loved the nods to their bass-heavy albums RSW in Dub and The Next Chapter Of Dub.
The set finished with a blistering version of the Bryan Ferry-sampling Positive i.D., with an extended outro that I wished would go on forever, though inevitably came to a close, leaving us all wanting more. The sun was beginning to set and there was more music to follow, yet for me nothing to top what I'd just witnessed for the last 30 or 40 minutes.
It turns out that this is one of the last gigs that Renegade Soundwave played. Setlist points to the Leysin Alps Festival in Switzerland in August and the Surfers Against Sewage festival in St. Agnes, Cornwall in early September, but no more.
There's no record of what Renegade Soundwave played in Bristol that night, so I've combined the setlist from the Leysin Alps Festival with a not-dissimilar gig in Roskilde, Denmark in July 1995 to create a hybrid selection for your listening pleasure.
I've done a cheeky wee edit of Renegade Soundwave (the song), splicing the intro from one of the single remixes onto the album version.
To recreate the majesty of set closer Positive I.D., I've edited the first half of the album version with the second half of the Positive Mindscape remix from the single. I think I just about get away with it!
A final nod to the ticket above, which of course is a complete fabrication. The Bristol Community Festival was still ticketless and free entry in 1996, although you could pay three quid for a programme and/or chuck some money in a bucket wielded by one of the roving BCF charity collectors. Those were the days!
This facsimile is courtesy of the wonderful Souvenir Ticket Generator app, another genius idea put out there by Tim Burgess of The Charlatans. It's lots of fun and, even better, it's free!
1) Blast 'Em Out (Album Version) (1994)
2) Biting My Nails (Vocal) (1988)
3) Cocaine Sex (Turbo Lust Mix) (1987)
4) Renegade Soundwave (Whistling Guitar Intro / Album Version) (Khayem Re-Edit) (1994/2026)
5) Kurdistan (Album Version) (1995)
6) Black Eye Boy (Album Version) (1990)
7) Thunder (Seven Inch Edit) (1990)
8) Deadly (Album Version) (1990)
9) The Phantom, It's In There (Single Version) (1989)
10) Positive I.D. (Radio Mindscape Re-Edit By Khayem) (1995/2026)
1987: Cocaine Sex EP: 3
1988: Biting My Nails EP: 2
1989: Space Gladiator / The Phantom EP: 9
1990: RSW In Dub: 6, 8
1990: Thunder II EP: 7
1994: Howyoudoin?: 1, 4, 10
1994: Renegade Soundwave EP: 4
1995: Positive Dub Mixes EP: 10
1995: The Next Chapter Of Dub: 5
I really enjoyed playing around with the souvenir ticket app - would recommend for anyone who misses their old tickets for gigs..
ReplyDeleteSlightly misled by the title. I thought this was going to be an in depth appreciation of the Bay City Rollers, obviously slanted towards their later work as The Rollers to enhance your credibility.
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