Kraftwerk Roundhouse, London 10th October 1976 Review (New Musical Express 16th October 1976)

New Musical Express (9th October 1976)

If the Sex Pistols caused a ripple of confusion through a sea of denim in the mid-70s then I am sure that the same can be said of Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider of Dusseldorf's Kraftwerk. Kraftwerk turned heads for the exact opposite reasons to Sex Pistols and their followers. As reviewer, Miles, had it below 'They are a very neat band, all dressed in suits and ties and short hair like bank managers'. By October 1976, the band in some form (always around Ralf and Florian) had been making experimental noise already for more than six years. As time had gone by that noise had come to rely increasingly on electronics and a good power supply. By October 1976, the line up had settled into what was to be the 'classic' Kraftwerk quartet of Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider, Karl Bartos and Wolfgang Flür. The band in this form had two classic albums under their belts, 'Autobahn' and 'Radioactivity' whilst live they were playing two tracks from what is perhaps their finest album 'Trans Europe Express' with the title track and 'Europe Endless' appearing in the set.

Unlike their contemporaries, Kraftwerk's music defies age, it is and still sounds timeless.

On 10th October they were in the UK appearing in a headline show at Camden's Roundhouse, a gig that the New Musical Express reviewed the following week.

New Musical Express (16th October 1976)

Kraftwerk Paradiso, Amsterdam 9th September 1976

 

Prior to hopping on to a Sealink ferry to cross the English Channel for dates in the UK including a night at London's Roundhouse, Kraftwerk played a gig in Amsterdam's legendary Paradiso. The sound on this is very good, especially when considering that the gig was played 50 years ago and recorded on the audio equipment that was available at the time.

These days Kraftwerk shows are note perfect, highly choreographed events. This is a little different, not in terms of slickness.... Kraftwerk never were a band with a reputation for cocking up! But its is great to hear these songs an a rawer, early form, not surprisingly most notably on the two 'TEE' tracks that were yet to be released.

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-RkB2j7NaE3

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-wj9MHrP4PM

The Human League Vienna 4th June 1980

They said of The Prodigy in the 1990's, the same could have been said of The Human League in the late '70's before pop stardom called by, they were Electronic Punks.

Certain bands were punk in their attitude in that they were around in '77 and didn't jump on the three chord bandwagon but instead decided to make their own unfathomable noise, in many ways as challening to the status quo as punk. Unlike the electro/new romantic bands that followed within 18 months or so the likes of The Human League and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark built their own synthesizers.... even those aspiring to be in a punk band could go down to Woolworths to get the gear, not so for the early electro-musicians, they had to make their instruments..... punks indeed, albeit in corduroy!

Unlike some of the other early electronic outfits, most notably Ultravox, The Human League did not take themselves too seriously, their music was a mixed bad of futuristic adsurdity ('The Black Hit of Space', 'Empire State Human'), unexpected covers ('Rock 'n' Roll Part 2', 'You've Lost That Loving Feeling') and songs that referenced 1970's popular culture of the day as in 'The Circus of Death' which features 'Hawaii 5-0' detective Steve McGarrett as its central character. The original Human League's take on the future was more Jetsons than robots and AI! In that sense they were not a million miles away from The Rezillos, and funnily enough Rezillos guitarist, Jo Callis, joined The League shortly after departing from Faye and Eugene.

What's more, The Human League were viewed with a certain credibility by the punk fraternity, supporting Iggy Pop and Siouxsie and the Banshees on UK tours.

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-6zLnmInGyK

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-AjzXFj1oqt

Electric Picnic Festival Stradbally Hall Ireland 2nd September 2006

 

One of several festival appearances that Numan made in 2006, this one at Ireland's 'Electric Picnic. A shortened festival 'Jagged' set.

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-pDZdqZy0bW

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-jFeYcfskQU

Heaven 17 The Adrian Flux Waterfront Norwich 8th November 2025

 

Here's something with some likely cross-over appeal. Heaven 17 putting in a solid appearance at the Waterfront in Norwich back in November of last year. There is an emotional tribute to Billy McKenzie of The Associates when the band cover 'Party Fears Two which is something of a highlight in my opinion (and not an easy song to cover by any means). Good to hear online too that the 'We Don't Need This Fascist Groove Thang' merchandise is selling very well at their gigs!

For those with an interest in British electronica, Martyn Ware's autobiography, 'Electronically Yours Vol. 1' is highly recommended.

Many thanks to Chatts for the share.

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-YTl6szllmh

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-cUCbysnfUq

 

Cliffs Pavilion Southend 23rd November 2025

 

Another brilliant Telekon 45 gig, this time from Southend. Many thanks to Chatts for the share! Although thanks to Shadow23 for the remaster and making it sound so good!

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-bKNMLMjUbc

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-TfbnzQyvVY

Mountain Oasis Electronic Music Summit Asheville NC 26th October 2013

 

To redress the balance after this mornings negative post, here's a recording of a Numan show from 2013 when he was very much heading back towards the second peak of his career. From the 'Splinter' period, this is a festival set from the grandly named 'Mountain Oasis Electronic Music Summit' in North Carolina, hosted by the U.S. Cellular Center.

Excellent sound quality for this one! Thanks to the 'Live Bootleg' blog site.

A word on the date, the original upload site states that Numan played this gig on 25th October (and whilst the Festival did run over three days from the 25th to the 27th, most sources including the official line up from the promoters indicates that the gig was played on 26th. Moreover, the NUMANME site has him playing at the Masquerade Club in Atlanta Georgia the previous night.

MP3: https://we.tl/t-YMeqFuJF20

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-BDAgzxtTgD