Gilbert O'Sullivan had a lot of hit songs and popular albums from 1970 to 1975. After that, his popularity dropped considerably. He did have one last hit single in 1980 with "What's in a Kiss?" But at the time of this concert, his popularity was at an all-time low for him. His most recent album, "Southpaw," released in late 1977, didn't even make the album charts anywhere. New musical styles like disco, punk, and new wave were all the rage. It didn't help that he was having trouble with his record company. He discovered they were ripping him off. After years of legal trouble, in 1978, he won about 45 million dollars (adjusted to its 2025 value). But presumably the record company retaliated by failing to promote him. He later said the legal battle effectively put his music career on hold for years.
So kudos to the BBC for giving him this prominent platform in 1978 anyway. "Sight and Sound" was a BBC TV show (thus the "sight" as well as the "sound"). It showed O'Sullivan rocking more than in the past, and still a very capable songwriter and performer.
I don't think this has been shared as an audio bootleg before. I found a video of the concert on YouTube, converted it to audio, and broke it into mp3s. Despite that, the sound quality is excellent.
This album is 35 minutes long.
01 talk (Gilbert O'Sullivan)
02 If I Can't Have You All to Myself (Gilbert O'Sullivan)
03 Things that Go Bump in the Night (Gilbert O'Sullivan)
04 talk (Gilbert O'Sullivan)
05 For What It's Worth (Gilbert O'Sullivan)
06 talk (Gilbert O'Sullivan)
07 Nothing Rhymed (Gilbert O'Sullivan)
08 talk (Gilbert O'Sullivan)
09 Miss My Love Today (Gilbert O'Sullivan)
10 talk (Gilbert O'Sullivan)
11 The Best Fun I Ever Had (Gilbert O'Sullivan)
12 talk (Gilbert O'Sullivan)
13 That's Where I Belong (Gilbert O'Sullivan)
14 talk (Gilbert O'Sullivan)
15 Forever Wondering (Gilbert O'Sullivan)
16 Get Down (Gilbert O'Sullivan)
https://pixeldrain.com/u/4xWfkQ77
alternate:
https://bestfile.io/en/5raLW9vkL5qBFUr/file
The cover image is a screenshot I took from this exact concert. I used the Krea AI to boost the low-res image quality somewhat.
Thanks very much. I passed over Gilbert O'Sullivan at the time, thinking he wasn't 'cool enough' for the burgeoning rocker i was trying to become, but fortunately i overcame my early prejudice. A talented man indeed.
ReplyDeletePaul, thanks for this improved album. I bought the Japanese CD in the aftermarket years ago and enjoyed it. However, I enjoyed your write up more than the CD! I befriended Joey at a concert and we had a loose connection via email after that. He was gracious and, I think, underappreciated. So sorry to see that almost everyone associated with Badfinger have left us.
ReplyDelete