Budgie - Wrocław 1982

Line-up:
Burke Shelley - vocals, bass
Steve Williams - drums
John Thomas - vocals, guitar

Info:
A very rare recording from the legendary 1982 Polish tour. Burke seemed to be in a very cheerful mood, much likely for the extremely positive reaction the band had from Polish audiences during those concerts, that's why they consider it the best they've ever done. Besides, Budgie carries the merit of being the very first hard rock band to tour across the iron curtain and certainly gave what the Polishes were expecting for. The Wroclaw concert was the 5th out of 16 scheduled concerts (the last one in Bialystok had to be cancelled due to lack of electricity!) and was fortunatly captured on tape from the audience. Sound quality is not perfect, although it is completely listenable and good enough to realise the outstanding atmosphere of the concert.

The 1982 Polish tour in the words of Burke Shelley...

ôWhen we found out weĺd been booked to go we were like: ĹAre you mad?ĺ [...] Thereĺd been a lot of unrest, folks rising up against the oppressive communist regime and martial law was on the streets. The government set up goon squads called ZOMOs, thugs with licences basically, to go out and bash anyone who dissented. I remember looking out the hotel window over Victory Square in Warsaw and asking someone what the thousands of lit candles strewn around the place were for [...] They told me they were to commemorate all the people killed ľ it really brought home the reality of the situation [...] They (the ZOMOs) were swiping at the crowd with their batons, they beat the hell out of one fan, our photographer too. Iĺll never forget our drummer Steve Williams, he was so brave, went to the front of the stage with an interpreter and calmed them down. He told them he understood they had problems but that we should all stop mucking about and just rock, you know? [...] There were thousands there, party officials jumping up and down, soldiers throwing their hats in the air, it was mental [...] Thereĺd be Stasi-like spies backstage and on the tour bus with us. They definitely had a file on us.ö
(Source: WalesOnline.co.uk)

...and in the words of Steve Williams

"It was indeed the most extraordinary tour we'd ever embarked on and none of us had any idea of the incredible reaction we would get from Polish audiences. I look back now with bitter sweet memories of that time. The shows were amazing and we were treated like royalty but at the same time Polish people were fighting for the freedoms we took for granted. All around us there was an air of hope tinged with an age old fear of authority that made me sad and angry at the same time. It took me many months to get over those feelings when we returned home but I was so glad we'd been privileged enough to play to what was, and still is, one of the best rock audiences in the world [...] I remember all the shows as if it was yesterday! As I said the reaction we got was incredible. We played to large crowds who were eager to hear live rock music and who totally blew us away at each gig by singing along to all the songs. We've done more tours than I can count but those two weeks in 1982 will always be the most memorable [...] We were playing an open air show and the security, even for those days, was way over the top. People were being beaten back from the front of the stage and fights were breaking out everywhere. One fight in particular spilled over onto the stage with a guy from the crowd being beaten up right next to the band by around a dozen security guards. We stopped playing and left the stage. There was no doubt if the situation didn't improve we would have a riot on our hands and people were going to get badly injured. The noise from the crowd was deafening and even the Zomo's were getting nervous. Somebody had to do something so I got our Polish interpreter and walked out onto the stage. With his help I managed to quiet everyone down and explain how difficult it would be for Budgie to finish the show without order being restored. Unbelievably that's exactly what happened. The security backed off and the show restarted and what a show it turned out to be. What could have been a total disaster, caused not by the audience but the security guys, became an unforgettable day to rival any on the tour."
(Source: Hard Rock Service)

Dodano: 2.3.2016