Gregson & Collister - BBC Sessions, Volume 1: 1985-1989

I feel a little silly, because I just posted the first Gregson and Collister BBC album a couple of weeks ago (as I write this in mid-September 2026), and already I have to rename that one from "Volume 1" to "Volume 2." That's because this is a collection of different BBC sessions, and after I posted that album, a commenter pointed out a 1985 session I'd previously missed. So that made this one start at an earlier year than the 1987 concert I've posted. Thus, the second BBC album I'm posting from them is "Volume 1."

Here's a link to that other volume, so you hopefully don't get even more confused by having two BBC albums by this duo called "Volume 1." 

https://albumsthatshouldexist.blogspot.com/2026/09/gregson-collister-bbc-sessions-volume-1.html

Anyway, that 1985 session mentioned above opens this album with two songs, and it's a very interesting one. I'm pretty sure it was recorded (for the BBC TV show "Old Grey Whistle Test") before Gregson and Collister officially became a duo with that song. Instead, they were members of Richard Thompson's backup band, and those two songs were performed by that band, including some nice lead guitar interplay between Gregson and Thompson.

Tracks 3 through 8 comes from a 1988 BBC "In Concert" radio broadcast. I put it here instead of making a separate volume for it because it's only 20 minutes long. It happens to contain "Home Is Where the Heart Is," which also was played in the 1985 session discussed in the previous paragraph. I changed the song order some so those two versions wouldn't be so close to each other.

Tracks 9 through 11 are from a 1989 BBC studio session. I don't know anything about it except it's supposed to be dated March 3, 1989. If anyone knows more, please let me know.

The remaining tracks, 12 through 18, are from another 1989 BBC studio session. More details can be seen in the mp3 tags.

I believe everything here is unreleased. The sound quality is excellent. 

This album is an hour and two minutes long. 

01 Home Is Where the Heart Is (Gregson & Collister with Richard Thompson)
02 Open Fire (Gregson & Collister with Richard Thompson)
03 This Tender Trap (Gregson & Collister)
04 You Rascal You (Gregson & Collister)
05 I Specialise (Gregson & Collister)
06 talk (Gregson & Collister)
07 How Weak I Am (Gregson & Collister)
08 Home Is Where the Heart Is (Gregson & Collister)
09 Blues on the Run (Gregson & Collister)
10 Everybody Cheats on You (Gregson & Collister)
11 This Is the Deal (Gregson & Collister)
12 Blessing in Disguise (Gregson & Collister)
13 Trying to Get You (Gregson & Collister)
14 The Minute You're Gone (Gregson & Collister)
15 talk (Gregson & Collister)
16 Here I Go Again (Gregson & Collister)
17 talk (Gregson & Collister)
18 I Shake (Gregson & Collister)

https://pixeldrain.com/u/Gmv44CNm 

alternate:

https://bestfile.io/en/bQvbfyWKBsT6lfb/file

The cover photo comes from a concert at the Ann Arbor Folk Festival, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in January 1989.

Gregson & Collister - BBC Sessions, Volume 2: Cambridge Folk Festival, Cherry Hinton Hall Grounds, Cambridge, Britain, 8-1-1987

I was going through my music collection recently and noticed that I have yet to post any music by the British folk rock duo of Clive Gregson and Christine Collister. This is an oversight on my part, because I really like them. I have three albums of them performing for the BBC. Here's the first one.

Gregson got his start being the lead vocalist and main songwriter for the band Any Trouble. They released four albums from 1980 to 1984, then broke up. Unfortunately, while they were critically acclaimed, their sales weren't great. Gregson then started a solo career, while also joining Richard Thompson's band.

Christine Collister didn't have much musical experience before also joining Richard Thompson's band in 1985, roughly the same time Gregson did. She joined after Gregson saw her performing at a folk club and recommended her to Thompson. The two of them began working together as a duo, very much in the mold of the duo of Richard and Linda Thompson in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Gregson and Collister would perform together from 1986 to 1992. They released their first two albums in 1987, "Home and Away" and "Mischief." Most of the songs here come from those albums. If you like Richard Thompson's music, you definitely should check this out. Gregson writes clever and tuneful songs, just like Thompson, and is an excellent guitarist, just like him as well. During these years, Gregson pretty much wrote all the songs, but Collister added a lot with her excellent vocals.

Here's the Wikipedia link for Gregson:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clive_Gregson

And here's the one for Collister:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christine_Collister 

Note that the first nine tracks are from the show mentioned in the title. The last four tracks are from another BBC show. It's a lucky break that all the songs are different from the first show here. I don't know anything about this show other that it too was broadcast on the BBC, and it apparently dates to November 2, 1987. If anyone has more information about it, please let me know.

Finally, thanks to musical friend Peter who made this music available to me. 

This album is 42 minutes long.

01 All the Time in the World (Gregson & Collister)
02 talk (Gregson & Collister)
03 Home Is Where the Heart Is (Gregson & Collister)
04 You Rascal You (Gregson & Collister)
05 Not a Day Passes (Gregson & Collister)
06 talk (Gregson & Collister)
07 Touch and Go (Gregson & Collister)
08 talk (Gregson & Collister)
09 I Heard It through the Grapevine (Gregson & Collister)
10 When My Ship Comes In (Gregson & Collister)
11 It's All Just Talk (Gregson & Collister)
12 Lost at Sea (Gregson & Collister)
13 All Because of You (Gregson & Collister)

https://pixeldrain.com/u/brSSyyPJ

alternate: 

https://bestfile.io/en/75Gat3c5rncKAbd/file

The cover image is a screenshot I took from an unknown TV show appearance. I don't know any details.