| The Come Back, All is Forgiven Tour: Live | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Video by | ||||
| Released | 13 October 1989 | |||
| Recorded | 1989 | |||
| Genre | Concert Performance Video | |||
| Length | 75 minutes | |||
| Label | Odyssey | |||
| Director | Steve Hills | |||
| Producer | Vance Goodwin | |||
| Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Come Back, All is Forgiven Tour: Live is a live concert video by the British rock band Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, which was filmed during their 1989 tour. The concert video has also been released in a variety of guises as a live album.
Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel's 1989 "The Come Back, All is Forgiven" tour was the band's first since their 1981 Christmas tour, and their first concert since a one-off show in London in 1984. [1] Harley made the decision to go back out on the road with a new line-up of Cockney Rebel in 1988 and a UK tour took place in February and March 1989. In addition, Harley made future plans to release new material by returning to the studio during the previous month. With guitarist Jim Cregan, keyboardist Duncan Mackay and drummer Stuart Elliott, six tracks were recorded, including "When I'm with You", which Harley hoped would help the band gain a record deal. [2] Speaking of the tour's name, Harley told the Newcastle Journal in 1989, "That's me being ironic. It stops anyone in your profession calling it a comeback tour or anything derogatory like that." [3]
Following the UK tour, the band returned with a larger 64-date tour under the same name, which covered both the UK and Europe. [4] Two of the concerts on the tour, at the Dome Theatre in Brighton (17 June) and the Derngate Theatre in Northampton (28 June), were professionally filmed to produce a concert video. [5] The Come Back, All is Forgiven Tour: Live was released by Odyssey on VHS in October 1989. [6] Featuring fourteen songs of Harley's own personal choice from the two concerts, it was directed by Steve Hills, produced by Vance Goodwin, and produced by G & H Production Partnership in association with Steve Mather for JSE and Adrian Munsey for Odyssey Video. [5] The tour was deemed a success, and the band, under different line-up changes, have continued to tour since. [1]
On the back cover of the VHS, Harley was quoted: "So, how long has it been? Six, perhaps seven years since the last British tour? It's been far too long, of that I am certain. And there's no good reason for it, really. You know how much I love it up there. Quite honestly, there is nowhere I'd rather be. When you sing with me the choruses (often the entire lyrics!) of "Make Me Smile", the smile is genuine. The thanks are from deep inside; the joy is unequalled. To you, without whom... thanks." [5]
The Come Back, All is Forgiven Tour: Live was originally released on VHS on 13 October 1989 by Odyssey. [6] On 20 February 2012, Odyssey gave the video its first DVD release, released under the title Steve Harley + Cockney Rebel - Live. [7]
The audio of the video has been released as a CD album under many guises across Europe and beyond. These albums have been released by a number of different 'super-cheapo' labels. [8] The majority of versions of the album omitted the opening track "Dancing on the Telephone", while others placed "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" as the first track.
| Title | Year | Country | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live and Unleashed! [9] | 1990 | UK | Tring International PLC (also on cassette) |
| Live: Make Me Smile [10] | 1992 | Netherlands | Point Productions (as part of the Concert Collection series) |
| Live in the UK [11] | 1993 | UK & Europe | Realisation Records |
| Star for a Week [12] | 1993 | Germany | Pilz |
| The Best Years Of Your Life (Live) [13] | 1993 | UK | Going for a Song/Cedar |
| Sebastian [14] | 1994 | Germany | Legend Records |
| In Concert [15] | 1994 | Europe | Digimode |
| Live in Concert [16] [17] | 1994 | Australia | Tempo Communications Pty Ltd |
| The Lighthouse [18] | 1994 | Europe | Cosmus |
| Make Me Smile - Live on Tour [19] | 1994 | UK | Music De Luxe |
| The Great Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel [20] | 1995 | Europe | Goldies |
| Greatest Hits [21] | 1996 | Europe | Merlin |
| Experience [22] | 1996 | Europe | Experience |
| Legend of Rock [23] | 1996 | Greece | Free supplement with the Greek newspaper "Free Press" |
| Gold [24] | 1996 | Netherlands | Gold |
| Greatest Hits - Live in Concert [25] | 2004 | Europe | Eurotrend |
| The Magic Collection [26] | Unknown | Netherlands | Arc Records/Telesonic |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Intro/Dancing on the Telephone" | Steve Harley, Jim Cregan, Stuart Elliott | 4:51 |
| 2. | "Mr. Soft" | Harley | 3:25 |
| 3. | "Mr. Raffles (Man, It Was Mean)" | Harley | 5:14 |
| 4. | "When I'm with You" | Harley, Cregan, Elliott | 4:01 |
| 5. | "Star for a Week" | Harley | 5:25 |
| 6. | "Riding the Waves (for Virginia Woolf)" | Harley | 6:13 |
| 7. | "The Lighthouse" | Harley | 7:00 |
| 8. | "The Best Years of Our Lives" | Harley | 5:32 |
| 9. | "Sweet Dreams" | Harley | 1:46 |
| 10. | "Psychomodo" | Harley | 4:06 |
| 11. | "Sling It!" | Harley | 2:49 |
| 12. | "Sebastian" | Harley | 10:07 |
| 13. | "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" | Harley | 6:27 |
| 14. | "Love's a Prima Donna/Closing Credits" | Harley | 7:01 |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [27] |
Upon its release, Robin Duke of the West Lancashire Evening Gazette considered Cockney Rebel's return to be "one of the least likeliest comebacks of this year", with Harley now "look[ing] and sound[ing] like one of rock's older statesmen even though his band look and sound eminently contemporary". He picked "Sebastian" as one of the highlights and concluded, "Never one to show much enthusiasm about the traditions of the rock world, does Harley actually mean what he is doing this time around or is this simply a money spinner? It would be a shame if it was the latter." [28] In an AllMusic review of the 1994 Make Me Smile - Live on Tour CD release of the concert, Dave Thompson picked "The Lighthouse" and "Star for a Week" as two highlights from the show and noted they "work far more effectively live than they did in the studio" [on 1992's Yes You Can ]. He felt the older material "offer[s] only isolated sparks of interest and innovation - ten minutes of 'Sebastian' impress with their portentousness, and the medley of 'The Best Years of Our Lives'/'Sweet Dreams' is perverse enough to demand a second listen. The problem is, this is meant to be a Steve Harley album. The audience often sings louder than he does." [27]
Steve Harley + Cockney Rebel
Concert crew
Video production team
Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel were an English rock band who formed in the early 1970s in London. Their music covered a range of styles from pop to progressive rock. Over the years, they have had five albums on the UK Albums Chart and twelve singles on the UK Singles Chart.
Stephen Malcolm Ronald Nice, known by his stage name Steve Harley, was an English singer-songwriter and frontman of the rock group Cockney Rebel. The band achieved six UK hit singles in the mid-1970s, including "Judy Teen", "Mr. Soft", and the number one "Make Me Smile ". Harley later scored a further three UK hit singles as a solo artist, including "The Phantom of the Opera", a duet with Sarah Brightman.
The Psychomodo is the second studio album by Cockney Rebel, released on 2 June 1974 by EMI. It was produced by Steve Harley and Alan Parsons.
Yes You Can is the third solo studio album by British singer-songwriter Steve Harley. It was released by CTE in Europe in 1992 and by Food For Thought Records in the UK on 4 May 1993.
Poetic Justice is the fourth solo studio album by English singer-songwriter Steve Harley, which was released by Transatlantic on 26 August 1996.
"(I Believe) Love's a Prima Donna" is a song by the British rock band Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, released on 1 October 1976 as the second single from their fifth studio album Love's a Prima Donna. The song was written and produced by Harley. It reached number 41 in the UK Singles Chart and would be the band's last charting single before their split in 1977.
"Star for a Week (Dino)" is a pop-rock song by British singer-songwriter Steve Harley, which was released as a promotional single in 1993 from his third solo album Yes You Can. The single coincided with the UK release of the album that year (Yes You Can had been released in Europe in 1992). It was the second single to be released from the album, following "Irresistible" as a European single in 1992. "Star for a Week (Dino)" was written by Harley, and produced by Harley and Matt Butler.
"I Can't Even Touch You" is a song by the English singer-songwriter Steve Harley, released under his band's name Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel by Chrysalis as a non-album single on 12 March 1982. The song was written by Harley and produced by Midge Ure.
"Mr. Raffles " is a song by the British rock band Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, released on 23 May 1975 as the second and final single from their third studio album The Best Years of Our Lives. The song was written by Harley, and produced by Harley and Alan Parsons. "Mr. Raffles " reached number 13 in the UK Singles Chart.
"Psychomodo" is a song by the British rock band Cockney Rebel, fronted by Steve Harley. It was released in 1974 as the lead single from their second studio album The Psychomodo. "Psychomodo" was written by Harley, and produced by Harley and Alan Parsons.
"Tumbling Down" is a song by the British rock band Cockney Rebel, fronted by Steve Harley. It was released in 1975 as the third and final single from the band's second studio album The Psychomodo (1974). The song was written by Harley, and produced by Harley and Alan Parsons.
Acoustic and Pure: Live is a live acoustic album by English songwriter and musician Steve Harley, released in 2003. The album features ex-Cockney Rebel guitarist Jim Cregan, while certain tracks also include other members of Cockney Rebel.
"Judy Teen" is a song by the British rock band Cockney Rebel, fronted by Steve Harley. It was released as a non-album single in 1974, and became the band's first UK hit, after their debut single, "Sebastian", was only a hit in continental Europe. "Judy Teen" was written by Harley, and produced by Harley and Alan Parsons.
"Mr. Soft" is a song by the British rock band Cockney Rebel, fronted by Steve Harley, which was released in 1974 as the second single from their second studio album The Psychomodo. The song was written by Harley, and produced by Harley and Alan Parsons. "Mr. Soft" peaked at number 8 in the UK Singles Chart.
"Sebastian" is a song by the British rock band Cockney Rebel, fronted by Steve Harley. It was released as the band's debut single in 1973 from their album The Human Menagerie. The song was written by Harley and produced by Neil Harrison.
"When I'm with You" is a song by the English singer-songwriter Steve Harley, released by Vital Vinyl as a non-album single on 1 June 1989. It was written and produced by Harley, ex-Cockney Rebel guitarist Jim Cregan and drummer Stuart Elliott.
"The Best Years of Our Lives" is a song by the British rock band Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, released in 1975 as the title track from the band's third studio album The Best Years of Our Lives. In 1977, a live version of the song was released as a single from the album Face to Face: A Live Recording.
Live at the BBC is a live compilation album by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, released by Windsong International Records in 1995. The compilation features three different sessions by the band for the BBC: two in 1974 and one in 1992.
Barry Wickens is a British musician, multi-instrumentalist and composer. Primarily a violinist and guitarist, he also plays mandolin, viola, Appalachian dulcimer (psaltery), dobro and keyboards. He is best known for being one of the longest-serving members of Steve Harley's rock group Cockney Rebel, and for being a former member of the pop group Immaculate Fools. He also taught violin and guitar in schools for Create Music, formerly Brighton & Hove Music & Arts, between 2001 and 2023.
Live from London is a live concert video by the British rock band Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, filmed during a concert in 1984. It was the band's first release on VHS, being released in 1985.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) Accessed on 22 February 2016.