Johnny Thunders
Live At Leeds

Click here to see from photos from the show.

This concert was recorded in England at Leeds Warehouse on August 28, 1984 and it shows Johnny Thunders in great form. The backing band includes Jerry Nolan on drums and Billy Rath on bass. Sound quality is not too bad but is still quite rough in parts. It sounds like a soundboard recording so it's a bit muddy but still good. You can see from the following track listing that this gig has a good mix of tunes including Johnny's signature songs 'Chinese Rocks' and 'Pipeline'. Johnny talks to the audience a bit between tracks and seems to be having a good time. Overall, it's a good show and I wish I was there.

Liner notes are by Ian Corbridge and they put the show in perspective. Ian says that JT and the band performed 5 consecutive sold out shows at London's Marquee during "Thunders Week" then moved into Nottingham and Leeds where this CD was recorded. Many people had written Johnny off by 1984 as just another wasted junkie but in this CD you can hear that it's not true. The show rolls along with power and momentum and by this time JT was a polished performer. The band is tight and whips things along.

My only complaints about this CD are that the sound is not top notch and the CD booklet looks a bit cheap. The cover photo was taken by JT's main sax player Jamie Heath (now departed) and is moody and dark - perfect. Unfortunately the picture is not printed very well in the booklet. This shouldn't be your first JT album but it will make a nice addition to your collection.

Track Listing

1. Countdown Love
2. Personality Crisis
3. A Little Bit Of Whore
4. Who Do Voodoo
5. Too Much Junkie Business
6. In Cold Blood
7. Sad Vacation
8. Don't Mess With Cupid
9. I Love You
10. Born To Lose
11. I Wanna Be Loved
12. Alone In A Crowd
13. It's Not Enough
14. Pirate Love
15. Baby Talk
16. Chinese Rocks
17. Pipeline
18. Who Needs Girls
19. MIA

Musicians

• Johnny Thunders - guitar, vocals
• Jerry Nolan - drums
• Billy Rath - bass

This is not a bootleg but licensed by the JT estate so profits go back where they belong.

There may still be a few copies left of this CD. Contact Russell Craven (hnrelect@legend.co.uk) at Final Productions for availability.