Paul Collins Beat, 20/20, Sinceros & more - Live! at The Palladium, NYC 12/17/79

Okay, so I've been throwing a lot of no-names at you lately, some of which I've had mixed opinions about myself.  I figure it's high time to dip into the archives and present to you a bona fide classic.  I don't have any formal info to share regarding this concert, aside from the banter provided by the WNEW djs who hosted (and at some point broadcasted) this event featuring four red-hot up-and-comers on the CBS Records roster: The Beat, The Sinceros, 20/20, and the little spoken of Bruce Wooley & the Camera Club.  I don't believe any of these performances are presented in their entirety, save for perhaps the Sinceros, who were in the midst of a US tour, visiting from the other side of the pond.

If re-enacted by the original participants today, this gig would have been just as much of a treat as it certainly was some 30 years ago.  Needless to say this is a thoroughly astonishing lineup capturing all four combos in their prime, although in power-pop circles only 20/20 and Paul Collins & Co are the ones that are consistently revered to this day.  We're treated to the best of the best from The Beats' seminal debut album, and although 20/20's set is pared down to a mere three songs, they pick the ones that truly matter, including the genre-defining, "Yellow Pills." As some of you may know, Bruce Wooley was responsible for penning "Video Killed the Radio Star," not the Buggles, who of course had significantly better success with it.  Finally, this concert serves as solid introduction to the Sinceros, who's The Sound of Sunbathing album has been recently reissued.

There are numerous announcements here proclaiming that the 1980s were just two weeks in the offing (true that).  The crowd at the Palladium that evening could only guess what the ensuing decade had in store for them, but I'm sure this show in itself was nothing short of a revelation.  It was a concert fit for the gods...and the gods all came. 

The Beat
01. Rock n Roll Girl
02. I Don't Fit In
03. Walking Out on Love
04. Working Too Hard
05. Across the USA
06. Work-a-Day-World
07. Don't Wait Up For Me
08. Look But Don't Touch

The Sinceros
09. Something Happening Now
10. I Still Miss You
11. Wow Oh Oh
12. Count the Beating Hearts
13. Disappearing
14. Not ANother Little White Light
15. Good Luck
16. Take Me to Your Leader
17. Walls Apart

20/20
18. Yellow Pills
19. Remember the Lightning
20. Tell Me Why

Bruce Wooley & the Camera Club
21. I'm the Clown
22. You Got the Class
23. Video Killed the Radio Star
24. Clean Clean

Hear