Surfacing Chronology / Source Upgrades

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Surfacing Chronology

My efforts at keeping a timeline of new Coil recording surfaces since beginning my Coil research in 2014.

2014

2014-xx-xx: 1983-08-04 “A Manifestation of the Will” – Club Magenta, London, England, UK [AUD #1b]
Concert indexed into 4 tracks, seems to be the best and most complete source thus far.

2014-10-07: 2004-07-25 Ocean, Hackney, London, England [AUD #2]
Complete recording, but unfortunately horrible quality. Still, brilliant performances of “Edgeways,” “Wraiths and Strays,” and “Black Antlers” shine through. Thank you, Anders B.!

2014-12-xx: 2002-04-27 Play Game On-Only Connect – The Barbican, London, UK [AMT #1a]
Clips of a couple of songs only as a part of a larger sampler video, but the full video is in archives somewhere. Thank you, Robin Rimbaud!

2015

2015-xx-xx: 2002-04-06 Teatro delle Celebrazioni, Bologna, Italy [AUD #1]
Mono audience recording, sounds far different from the official MIX release. A lot of the songs are prone to peaking and are sadly unlistenable, but it’s just cool to have an alternative. Thank you, Ben S. (not the taper; just shared it)!

2016

2016-07-23: 2004-10-23 Dublin Electronic Arts Festival – City Hall, Dublin, Ireland [AUD #1]
Previously only available on YouTube. Still incomplete, not the best recordng, but pretty cool to have regardless. Thank you, Alex Thompson (not the taper; just shared it)!

2016-07-24: 2002-03-30 Artooz Festival, John Lennon Municipal, Limoges, France [AUD #2]
Great quality recording of Coil’s 1st “Backwards / Remote Viewer” phase. It replaces AUD #1, which is essentially unlistenable. Thank you, Stefan Beiersmann (not the taper; just shared it)!

2016-07-24: 2002-04-10 Fabrik, Hamburg, Germany [AUD #2]
Incomplete recording that has bad portions of peaking and a stereo imbalance, but has moments of great quality. More hurdy-gurdy and bagpipes than on AUD #1. Thank you, Stefan Beiersmann (not the taper; just shared it)!

2016-07-24: 2002-04-12 Volksbühne, Berlin, Germany [AMT #1b]
Same video as AMT #1a and in worse quality, but it’s one full video file and the frame is significantly zoomed out; this begs so many questions about the other source. Thank you, Stefan Beiersmann (not the taper; just shared it)!

2016-07-24: 2002-10-29 Flex, Vienna, AT [AUD #2]
Until this day, only “I Am Angie Bowie (Sine Waves)” from this source has surfaced. Unfortunately, this source is ruined by glitches throughout, and like AUD #1, it too is missing “An Unearthly Red.”

2016-07-xx: 1999-12-14 “20′ to 2000” – Volksbühne, Berlin, Germany [AMT #1]
There’s much debate as to whether this was an actual gig or not. Live footage seems to indicate it was an actual concert, but the video is so dark and pixelated it’s hard to make anything out. I can recognize the layout of the venue, but not much else. Still, pretty unique recording. Thank you, Stefan Beiersmann (not the taper; just shared it)!

2016-08-16: 1983-12-03 Atonal Festival II – Berlin, DE [EDIT #1]
Incomplete professional edit, uploaded to Youtube only. Apparently this edit was released on a few obscure VHS tapes that no one knows or has. Pretty amazing to see more video footage from 1983! It’s a 2-camera edit that sounds and looks pretty good. Hopefully the full thing surfaces some day! Thank you, Claus Laufenburg (not the taper; just uploaded it)!

2016-08-xx: 2002-10-12 Megalithomania – Conway Hall, London, UK [AUD #1]
Includes an announcer intro not included on the SBD! The sound is decent and shows some audience participation.

2016-09-16: 2002-04-04 Rote Fabrik, Zürich, CH [AMT #1b]
For years, only backstage footage, officially uploaded to Vimeo by Black Sun Productions, was available. Finally, Pierce Wyss and Massimo Villani, in conjunction with Claus Laufenburg, posted the full recording of the gig to Youtube (and later onto archive.org, the only BSP tape to be uploaded there) as the 1st installment in a free alternate CSO. This was a brand new gig, so it made big waves in the community. This is a 2nd-gen copy that sadly cuts out towards the end of “Backwards.” Thank you, Massimo and Claus!

2016-10-08: 2002-07-13 Dour Festival – “La Plaine de La Machine à Feu,” Dour, Belgium [AMT #1]
The 2nd installment in Black Sun Productions’ alternate, free Colour Sound Oblivion, uploaded to Youtube in conjunction with Claus Laufenburg. This was a brand new gig, so it made big waves in the community. This is a 2nd-gen copy that sadly cuts out towards the end of “Backwards.”

2016-11-16: 2002-10-27 Palac Akropolis, Prague, Czech Republic [AMT #1]
The 4th installment in Black Sun Productions’ alternate, free Colour Sound Oblivion, uploaded to Youtube and stretched to widescreen in conjunction with Claus Laufenburg. Tiny cuts throughout. The centered camera angle used on EDIT. This was one of my most requested gigs to see in full, and it was pretty cool seeing it in full, albeit in widescreen and compressed Youtube quality.

2016-11-16: 2004-05-31 Wave Gotik Treffen, Day 4 – Haus, Leipzig, Germany [AMT #2]
The 3rd installment in Black Sun Productions’ alternate, free Colour Sound Oblivion, uploaded to Youtube and stretched to widescreen in conjunction with Claus Laufenburg. Tiny cuts throughout. Probably the best watch among this alternate CSO – Massimo is an excellent cinematographer and he was situated right at the front of the stage! It’s baffling why Peter did not use it on CSO!

2016-11-19: 2002-04-07 Muffathalle, München, DE [AMT #1]
The 5th installment in Black Sun Productions’ alternate, free Colour Sound Oblivion, uploaded to Youtube and stretched to widescreen in conjunction with Claus Laufenburg. Tiny cuts throughout. Tragically incomplete, but includes some amazing shots.

2016-11-19: 2002-06-07 New Forms III – Theater aan het Spui, Den Haag, NL [AMT #1]
Bonus in Black Sun Productions’ alternate, free Colour Sound Oblivion, uploaded to Youtube and stretched to widescreen in conjunction with Claus Laufenburg. Tiny cuts throughout. Soundcheck footage. It’s baffling why Peter did not use it on CSO!

2016-11-19: 2002-07-26 Il Violino e la Selce – Corte Malatestiana, Fano, IT [AMT #1a]
The 6th installment in Black Sun Productions’ alternate, free Colour Sound Oblivion, uploaded to Youtube in two parts and stretched to widescreen in conjunction with Claus Laufenburg. Tiny cuts throughout. The first half is excellent quality, but has bad cinematography, and the second half is lesser quality, but better cinematography! Well worth a watch regardless, despite bad sound.

2016-11-22: 2002-04-04 Rote Fabrik, Zürich, CH [AMT #1a]
“Backwards” from the master tape surfaced on Youtube, albeit in incomplete form and stretched to wide-screen.

2016-11-23: 2002-04-06 Teatro delle Celebrazioni, Bologna, IT [AMT #1]
The 8th installment in Black Sun Productions’ alternate, free Colour Sound Oblivion, uploaded to Youtube and stretched to widescreen in conjunction with Claus Laufenburg. Tiny cuts throughout, not present on EDIT. Better video quality than EDIT, but horrible sound.

2016-11-23: 2002-04-06 Teatro delle Celebrazioni, Bologna, IT [AMT #2]
Bonus in Black Sun Productions’ alternate, free Colour Sound Oblivion, uploaded to Youtube and stretched to widescreen in conjunction with Claus Laufenburg. Tiny cuts throughout. Rehearsal footage, originally labeled as an “invocation to bring Colour Sound Oblivion” into existence by Anarcocks, who uploaded part of it in February 2009. This is the complete version and it’s amazing, having the most backstage footage of Coil ever. It’s baffling why Peter did not use it on CSO!

2016-11-23: 2002-04-06 Teatro delle Celebrazioni, Bologna, IT [AMT #3/4]
Bonus in Black Sun Productions’ alternate, free Colour Sound Oblivion, uploaded to Youtube and stretched to widescreen in conjunction with Claus Laufenburg. Tiny cuts throughout. Interview footage; gig footage was also shot but not present on these tapes, unfortunately. One of the only interviews to have John Balance present! Great interview, too. It’s baffling why Peter did not use it on CSO!

2016-11-23: 2002-06-07 New Forms III – Theater aan het Spui, Den Haag, NL [AMT #2a]
The 7th installment in Black Sun Productions’ alternate, free Colour Sound Oblivion, uploaded to Youtube and stretched to widescreen in conjunction with Claus Laufenburg. The full onstage camera angle as seen on EDIT.

2016-11-23: 2002-10-29 Flex, Vienna, AT [AMT #3]
Bonus in Black Sun Productions’ alternate, free Colour Sound Oblivion, uploaded to Youtube and stretched to widescreen in conjunction with Claus Laufenburg. Tiny cuts throughout. Interview footage. More complete and better sound than the AMT #2 interview footage. It’s baffling why Peter did not use it on CSO!

2016-12-24: 2002-06-07 New Forms III – Theater aan het Spui, Den Haag, NL [AMT #3]
Shared on the “Coil” Facebook page by Massimo Villani (not the taper; just sharer) for Christmas. 15-second clip of “Backwards.” Front row recording makes it surprisingly watchable for a phone clip. Thank you!

2016-xx-xx: 2002-10-25 St. John’s Church, Gdansk, Poland [AMT #1]
I had never even heard rumors of this video before, so seeing it for the first time was a big deal for me. Decent quality static camera that includes some valuable pre-show footage of Peter, tragically cuts out after the first four songs. Thank you, Pete Greening (not the taper; just sharer)!

2017

2017-02-16: 2004-06-03 Melkweg, Amsterdam, NL [AUD #1, MP3]
Part of Black Sun Productions’ alternate, free Colour Sound Oblivion, digitized and shared online in conjunction with Claus Laufenburg. Peaks terribly – EDIT has better audio but this source is complete. Thank you, Massimo and Claus!

2017-03-08: 2004-05-23 La Loco, Paris, France [AUD #2]
Part of Black Sun Productions’ alternate, free Colour Sound Oblivion, digitized and shared online in conjunction with Claus Laufenburg. While this one is incomplete, it is good quality and a better alternative to the SBD than AUD #1. Thank you, Massimo and Claus!

2017-03-08: 2004-05-31 Wave Gotik Treffen, Day 4 – Haus, Leipzig, Germany [AUD #2]
Part of Black Sun Productions’ alternate, free Colour Sound Oblivion, digitized and shared online in conjunction with Claus Laufenburg. Unfortunately, this source has a horrible stereo imbalance, with the left channel peaking constantly. Still, in includes some interesting pre-show and post-show audio. Thank you, Massimo and Claus!

2017-03-08: 2004-07-11 Il Violino E La Selce Festival – Jesi, IT [AUD #2]
Part of Black Sun Productions’ alternate, free Colour Sound Oblivion, digitized and shared online in conjunction with Claus Laufenburg.Prone to peaking during “The Gimp (Sometimes)” and “Sex With Sun Ra,” mix dramatically changes midway through the latter song, indicating Pierce ans Massimo changed the recorder’s settings on the fly, and the recording largely stops peaking from there. Some other problems, but this is a great recording and a great alternative to the cut-riddled SBD! Thank you, Massimo and Claus!

2017-03-11: 2002-10-05 Ydrogeios Club, Thessaloniki, Greece [AMT #3]
9 phone clips, including two clips of a previously unavailable “Bang Bang”! Thank you, Davide Gostoli!

2017-04-15: 2000-04-02 Cornucopea (Two South Bank Evenings with Julian Cope) – Royal Festival Hall, South Bank, London, UK [AMT #1]
This was a total surprise. I stumbled onto a clip of it on Youtube, contacted the poster, and they shared it with me! It’s not the best watch, given the taper had to be clandestine, lest get their camera taken away, and all the video effects really make it a drag, but with a little bit of editing, this recording has its moments. It’s cool just knowing it exist. Thank you, RileyElFuk!

2017-05-29: 1983-10-12 Recession Studios, London, UK [AUD #1]
5 minutes only of what we can ascertain to be “Baptism of Fire” in decent quality; the rest is Peter North and Attrition. Nevertheless, this is a historically significant recording, as it took over 34 years for the final 1983 gig to surface in any capacity. Thank you, Javier Hernando!

2017-06-24: 2004-07-11 Il Violino E La Selce Festival – Jesi, IT [AMT #3a]
Brand new footage, “All the Pretty Little Horses” and “Bang Bang” only. The latter song was wonderful to surface, given AMT #1 and AMT #2 lacked it. Also includes ~16 minutes of Antony and Julia Kent’s set, which is very nice. Thank you, Brian Conniffe (not the taper; just sharer)!

2017-07-04: 2002-06-07 New Forms III – Theater aan het Spui, Den Haag, NL [AMT #2b]
Unknown DVDr release, unlisted on Discogs and possibly semi-official. Same as AMT #2a, except not in wide-screen; better watch because of it. Thank you, Jon Whitney (not the taper; just sharer)!

2017-07-04: 2002-07-26 Il Violino e la Selce – Corte Malatestiana, Fano, IT [AMT #1]
Unknown DVDr release, unlisted on Discogs and possibly semi-official. Second half is the same as the second half of AMT #1a, but fewer cuts. “The Last Rites of Spring” is an amazing discovery by itself! Sound is plagued by burn errors, unfortunately. Thank you, Jon Whitney (not the taper; just sharer)!

2017-09-18: 2004-07-11 Il Violino E La Selce Festival – Jesi, IT [AMT #3b]
Unofficially bootlegged on 2008’s All The Pretty Little Horses vinyl/DVDr boxset; the boxset was extremely limited, so this was the first time this footage had ever been available publicly. Better quality than AMT #3a, adding all the other songs, including “Amethyst Deceivers”! Thank you, Maarten Schermer (not the taper; just sharer)!

2017-10-10: 2002-10-25 St. John’s Church, Gdansk, Poland [AMT #2]
Salvaged from a broken VHS tape. The taper, Ash Neuro, credits me for inspiring him to dig out the tape and digitize it! Thank you, man! Because the tape was broken, a lot of footage tragically got lost, but at least we have what we have.

2017-10-17 + 2017-10-21: 2000-09-19 “Persistence is All” – Royal Festival Hall, London, England [AMT #2a + AMT #2b]
Uploaded to Youtube out of nowhere! It was a nice surprise. Static camera, but well-positioned; the backing video projections provide enough entertainment, even as the band are obscured in darkness. AMT #2a was originally uploaded in 240p with screwed up stereo sound, but the archive.org upload, AMT #2b, is edited, i.e. it has better quality and mono sound, making it the superior watch (despite the sync issues at the end of the last song).

2018

2018-02-11: 2002-04-13 Alte Spinnerei, Glauchau, Germany [SBD #1b]
Previously, only “Sick Mirrors” (SBD #1a) was available. This is the first SBD to surface in years, so this is just fantastic! This recording marks the first time “Anarcadia: All Horned Animals,” “Slur,” and “A Cold Cell” are available in SBD quality! Thank you, Don Rubin (not the taper, just the sharer)!

2018-04-02: 2002-10-12 Megalithomania – Conway Hall, London, UK [AUD #2]
Morgan Yew dedicated digitizing his mini-disc of this show to me. It’s much better than AUD #1 and includes other funny tid bits at the show. John’s comments off-microphone are quite audible. Thank you, man!

2018-05-06: Threshold HouseBoys Choir 2009-05-15 Luchtbal, Antwerp, Belgium [AMT #1]
The first non-Coil related notation on this website (possibly hinting at things to come). This is the first nearly complete THBC live recording to surface, of which we are aware. Shot from the balcony, it has a lot of bumps in the audio where the frame changes, but is surprisingly watchable, getting better as it goes along. Surfaced in two parts, the second part is tragically broken, with 0:40-0:58 being unwatchable. You must skip this portion manually in your video player. This recording is at best M1 or M2; thujone23 recorded it and cannot access his master at the moment, so this is the best we have. Thank you to the anonymous donor for sharing the recording with us and thujone23 for allowing us to share it publicly.

2018-05-11: 2001-03-25 Oblique LU Nights Festival – Le Lieu Unique, Nantes, France [AMT #1]
Previously, of this source, only two stills showing John and Thighpaulsandra wrestling had surfaced. Finally, we got the full video, and it’s a great watch. A little dark and muddy, but the framing is excellent throughout, only occasionally going out of focus or shaking to the point of distraction. It’s complete, thankfully, and also it’s very nice seeing more footage of “Titan Arch,” which was only played twice. Thank you, Chris (not the taper, just the sharer)!

2018-05-20: 2001-06-03 Wave Gotik Treffen, Day 3 – Agra Hall, Leipzig, Germany [AUD #4]
Not as good as AUD #1, as it is relatively distant sounding before the mix changes a few times, but this item is very nice to have. Thank you, Chris (not the taper, just the sharer)!

2018-05-27: 2004-10-23 Dublin Electronic Arts Festival – City Hall, Dublin, Ireland [AUD #2]
Lineage: Audio cassette from eBay (M?) > Denon Stereo Cassette Tape Deck DR-M11 > E-MU 0404 PCI Card > Wavelab 6 > .wav > flac. It came in a VHS-style case, housing an audio cassette and four pictures of John, Peter, Ossian, and Cliff. Only a few copies were sold on eBay in this way. This source is a bit of a mystery. We compared it with the CSO 14 audio and it seems to be the same source…at least partially. The audience dialogue during “Stranded with Gifts” is the same, but other parts of the audio differ, for example the level of peaking during “White Rainbow” and the fact that “Tom’s Radio Weston” cuts in. I always thought CSO 14’s audio was a mix of the 3 camera sources used in the edit, given that’s what it says on the DVD’s title card. Without the raw video sources to compare audio with, it’s unclear if that’s the case, or if Peter used an external audio source, i.e. an AUD, for the boxset. Even if this source is the same, or one of the same sources as CSO 14, it seems to be rawer audio, given it’s quieter and a little less hissy. Not sure if this makes it a higher or lower-generation source. Good to have, nonetheless. Thank you, Chris (not the taper, just the sharer)!

2018-06-20: 2002-10-05 Ydrogeios Club, Thessaloniki, Greece [AUD #1]
No idea this source existed – nice surprise! It’s lo-fi, compared to the SBD #1, but it is the most complete source of the show we have obtained so far, with audience banter not available on any other sources, with only two cuts. Thank you, Chris (not the taper, just the sharer)!

2018-10-23: 2003-07-12 Supersonic Festival – The Custard Factory, Birmingham, England [AMT #1]
Two brief clips of this video had been available for years on Youtube in low quality. This source completely blows them away in terms of fidelity – definitely one of the highest quality video bootlegs of Coil I have yet to see. It’s also a valuable find in terms of history, as this is only the 2nd of the three gigs without John for video to surface – all that remains is the elusive Porto show. Thank you, Michael Wild von Hohenborn for sharing and Werner Kiera for encouraging him to share!

2018-11-10: 2002-07-26 Il Violino e la Selce – Corte Malatestiana, Fano, IT [PRO #2]
One of the tapes from the Black Sun Productions’ archives not originally released in 2016. For the longest time, we all believed that the professional concert videos of Coil were released on Colour Sound Oblivion – that is, after all, basically what Peter said himself. Turns out that was not true – several professional videos exist out there that went unused, including this one. This is by far the best quality live video to surface unofficially yet! Filmed by a professional television crew, this tripod camera angle never shakes, has decent sound, and has beautiful colors – an absolute MUST see! Only downside is that it’s just three songs long. Thank you, Claus Laufenburg and Massimo Villani for sharing the tape, and Stefan Beiersmann for transferring it!

2018-11-12: 2002-04-06 Teatro delle Celebrazioni, Bologna, IT [PRO #1/2]
One of the tapes from the Black Sun Productions’ archives not originally released in 2016, though the interview portion was. More precious professional footage! Strangely, this source consists of two separate videos fed through the same feed – it’s slightly distracting, but with some editing, you can watch each separately. They’re both decent quality and provide interesting new camera angles to the Bologna show, which previously only had one camera angle. Sadly, they both consist of the first four songs only. Thank you, Claus Laufenburg and Massimo Villani for sharing the tape, and Stefan Beiersmann for transferring it!

2018-11-16: 2002-04-07 Muffathalle, München/Munich, DE [AMT #2]
One of the tapes from the Black Sun Productions’ archives not originally released in 2016. Not very interesting, just post-gig footage of the bar without anything Coil-related. Thank you, Claus Laufenburg and Massimo Villani for sharing the tape, and Stefan Beiersmann for transferring it!

2018-11-28: 2002-10-29 Flex, Vienna, Austria [AMT #1]
One of the tapes from the Black Sun Productions’ archives not originally released in 2016. Wow…just wow! Seeing Vienna in full has always been a personal wish of mine, and this nearly complete video totally does it justice. Another total must-see! Besides never-before seen footage of “I Am Angie Bowie (Sine Waves)” and “The Last Rites of Spring,” we get a brand new live song: “An Unearthly Red” has not surfaced in any capacity before! Thank you, Claus Laufenburg and Massimo Villani for sharing the tape, and Stefan Beiersmann for transferring it!

2019

2019-02-28: 2002-10-05 Ydrogeios Club, Thessaloniki, Greece [AMT #4]
It’s crazy how there are these kinds of random bits and pieces out there just waiting to be discovered, still! This source is only 18 minutes, but it includes some footage of “Amethyst Deceivers” and “I Don’t Want to Be the One” not accounted for by AMT #1. It has decent video quality and sound, despite bad resolution – a master-source upgrade would be great. Thank you, Robert (not the taper, just the sharer)!

2019-03-16: 2002-10-01 Royal Festival Hall, London, England [AMT #1]
Lineage: Digital camera (M0) > .vob file. This one has been hinted at here and there for years and we finally get to see it! It’s rare to find a complete video, much less one with audio better than other available sources! The audio actually beats the circulating AUD #1 of this show! Unfortunately, the camera does not readjust focus, so much of the video is blurry. Still, it’s a decent watch from the audience perspective and a very worthy listen. Thank you, Gnat Tang for taping and sharing!

2019-04-12: 2002-10-25 St. John’s Church, Gdansk, Poland [SBD #1]
FUCK. YES. Thighpaulsandra announced the semi-official Live Five album on this date, containing a multitrack-desk recording mix done by himself earlier in the year. This was a total, wonderful surprise and hopefully a good harbinger of things to come. The recording sounds immaculate, as expected – crystal clear audio, excellent stereo separation, exceptional EQ’ing. There are some overdubs and additional effects, so it’s not a true live mix, but these hardly detract from the quality of the album. Please release more, Thighpaulsandra!

2019-04-25: 2002-10-26 Centrum Filmowe, Lódz, Poland [AMT #2]
Lineage: 8mm DV digital camera > two .mpeg files. We’ve known about video for this concert for years, so it’s incredible to finally see it. To get the negatives out of the way, the video is only about half complete. Marcelo Zammenhoff, the taper, only had one 45-minute DV tape with him at this concert. He duly recorded the first 45-minutes of the show, then rewound to capture bits and pieces of the later songs. So this source amounts to clips of all songs (except “Windowpane”), and most of them are out of order – no song is complete. It’s a funny, idiosyncratic story which I can appreciate. Now, the positives. The video quality is pretty good and the cinematography, for the most part, is excellent, especially for an AMT source. The sound quality is great for a video recording – some parts peak pretty badly while others sound quite good. Resorting the songs to play in order isn’t an issue nowadays with editing software. I am especially happy that a good chunk of “An Unearthly Red” is represented because this concert has my personal favorite performance of the song – there are even moments where John sings directly into the camera! Thank you, Marcelo, for taping and sharing!

2019-06-06: 2003-04-06 All Tomorrow’s Parties – Camber Sands, Camber, UK [AMT #2]
Lineage: DV camera > Edit to sync with SBD audio > 1280 x 720 MOV. Well, guys…it’s finally happened. One of the big three – Megalithomania, ATP, and Porto – has FINALLY surfaced in video form! This is legitimately huge, probably the biggest thing to surface in years! Peter had a copy of this, but left it off of CSO due to difficulties syncing it with the SBD audio – it’s been private until today. The footage is relatively steady, high quality tripod footage shot from behind the stage and to the right of it. It covers almost the whole show, only missing “Triple Sun Introduction” and the beginnings of the next two songs. Watch it! Thank you, Anthony, for taping and sharing!

2019-07-28: 2002-10-16 3rd Tsunami – Amager Bio, Copenhagen, DK [SBD #1]
MY GOD…First we get the ATP video, and now we get a concert that has never surfaced before! Thighpaulsandra kindly released it from his archives with the following message: “As a companion piece to Coil Live Five we are pleased to offer, as a free download, Coil Live in Copenhagen. This was recorded at Amager Bio on 16th October 2002. Although the set list is very similar to the Gdansk show (with the addition of An Unearthly Red) there are a few interesting aspects to the performance, the most notable being the amount of alcohol John Balance had consumed before we took to the stage. There is also a fairly major equipment failure during Bang Bang which resulted in John finishing the song acappella which, under the circumstances, was no mean feat.” This gesture is above and beyond. Thank you so much, Thighpaulsandra! To hear a new gig in perfect quality for free is good enough, but the performance is also spectacular as well! Very memorable versions of “The Last Rites of Spring” and “An Unearthly Red” in particular. Download the recording for yourself here. Cheers, Thighpaulsandra! 🙂

2019-10-07: 2002-10-29 Flex, Vienna, Austria [AMT #4]
I am very pleasantly surprised this one actually surfaced. This was the black camcorder footage recorded from the front row of the audience which went unused on Colour Sound Oblivion for unknown reasons. While this copy is high-gen, thus has muddy video quality and mono sound, the cinematography is quite appealing and the sound is listenable, making it a surprisingly good watch. There are a few glitches and Hi8 tape watermarks throughout the video, unfortunately, but they’re not a big deal. The audio on “An Unearthly Red” is a massive improvement to AMT #1’s audio, which greatly pleases me. Thank you, Róbert Horváth-Papp (sharer, not taper)! If you made this recording, please let us know!

2020

2020-02-03: 2002-06-07 New Forms III – Theater aan het Spui, Den Haag, NL [AUD #1]
Lineage: Mini-Disc Player w/ External Stereo Sony Microphone > WAV. The first brand new recording to surface in 2020, and in the new decade…This audience recording offers an interesting alternative listen to the more widely circulated SBD #1a and SBD #1b (in fact, it wasn’t deemed worthy of transferring at all until LCA’s request). Some instrumentation barely audible on the desk recording is heard more prominently here, however unfortunately, the mix changes periodically, due to the jostling of the microphone in the busy crowd. Thank you, Markus Karl Phlippen, for taping, transferring, and sharing!

2020-05-02: 2002-10-29 Flex, Vienna, Austria [AMT #5]
Lineage: 8mm VHS cassette (M0) > .avi video file. This one was long overdue – technical issues and delays partially brought on by COVID-19 kept this tape from us for months. Excellent quality, but tragically only 2 and a half minutes long, due to low camera batteries. If only those batteries lasted longer! Oh well. Every little bit counts. Thank you, Róbert Horváth-Papp, for sending LCA your tape, and thank you, Stefan Beiersmann, for paying to digitize it!

2020-08-21: 1983-08-04 “A Manifestation of the Will” – Club Magenta, London, England, UK [AUD #1e]
Lineage: ? > Tape obtained from a trade in the 1990s > FLAC. Interesting find. Sounds better than most other versions and is possibly a 1st-generation copy of the master tape. Thank you, Aaron Oppenheim, for transferring and sharing!

2020-09-20: 2002-04-12 Volksbühne, Berlin, Germany [AUD #1d]
Lineage: ? > Live in Berlin CDr bootleg. Same source as AUD #1c, but more complete. Interesting find. Thank you, Christophe Griveau, for sharing!

2020-09-20: 2002-10-17 Betlong, Oslo, Norway [AUD #1b]
Lineage: ? > Live in Oslo CDr bootleg. Seems to be an unofficial remaster of AUD #1a, with less stereo separation, more peaking, more hiss, and fake echo applied. The intro to “Ostia” is edited around the channel imbalance. Interesting find, but vastly inferior to AUD #1a. Thank you, Christophe Griveau, for sharing!

2020-10-10: 2000-06-17 Sónar Festival – Mar Bella, Barcelona, Spain [AMT #2]
Lineage: ? > Live In Barcelona 17th June 2000 DVDr bootleg. Excellent find. Same background camera angle used on Colour Sound Oblivion DVD #2, in poorer quality and incomplete but with the original aspect ratio. Very worthy watch. Thank you, Christophe Griveau, for sharing!

2020-10-18: 2004-05-23 La Loco, Paris, France [PRO #1b]
Easily the most substantial discovery of the new year so far. The full, uncut soundcheck/backstage footage of the Paris show, finally made available for the first time! Peter’s edit on CSO was only about 15 minutes, while this footage runs at a staggering 86! It includes extended footage of all songs soundchecked, more casual conversation among band members and Ian Johnstone, backstage footage, and restaurant footage previously unseen. Thank you, Bernard Filipetti for transferring your old mini-DVs and giving us this wonderful gift!

2020-10-27: 2002-04-02 Vooruit, Gent, Belgium [AUD #3]
Lineage: Minidisc > WAV. A nice new discovery, completely from out of the blue. Dramatic stereo separation, but it’s still probably overall better quality than the other two AUDs, and it seems to be complete. Thank you, Wouter De Sutter for transferring your old minidisc and sharing it with us!

2021

2021-06-20: 2002-04-12 Volksbühne, Berlin, Germany [AMT #2]
Lineage: 2 Mini-DV tapes > DV camera digital transfer > 2 .avi files. The first new recording to surface this year, hooray! Excellent quality video, shot from within the audience, front-facing the stage. Relatively steady, complete, with great band shots and closeups. I actually never realized Mike doesn’t play on “A Cold Cell” or “A.Y.O.R.” live until this video surfaced! Thank you, Ralf Bartholomäus, for sharing the tape, and Stefan Beiersmann for transferring it!

2021-07-16: 2002-04-27 Play Game On-Only Connect – The Barbican, London, UK [AMT #1b]
The full concert footage! Robin Rimbaud has ostensibly teased me with this tape of his for years, lol. He couldn’t do a proper transfer of it for years, due to a myriad of increasingly ridiculous technical difficulties. Finally, he figured it out and shared the recording with the world. It’s nice to finally see this footage and get closure on the gig. Sadly, even after all the finagling, there are still several digital errors and cuts throughout the video, and I think he processed the video through a video editor, accidentally diminishing the quality a little more, but at this point, Robin did all he could, so we should be grateful for this anyway. Can’t argue with the historical importance of having video footage of the last performances of “Slur,” “A Cold Cell,” and “Sick Mirrors,” and the debut performance of “An Unearthly Red.” Thank you, Jo Trotter for making the recording and Robin for transferring and sharing it!

2021-07-30: 2002-04-27 Play Game On-Only Connect – The Barbican, London, UK [AMT #2]
Extra clips from the soundcheck. Less than two minutes long, but pretty cool to see a bit more footage of “Sick Mirrors” and “Anarcadia: All Horned Animals.” I’m glad this exists and Robin cares enough to share it with the world. Thank you to him and Jo Trotter for recording.

2021-07-31: 2002-09-26 Feelee – Tochka, Moscow, Russia [AUD #1]
Lineage: Cassette tape > WAV. YAAY! Tochka was the very last Coil gig we had absolutely no audio or video for (Stockholm is still mostly unsurfaced, but we had three brief phone video snippets from it), only photos. It was also a relatively historically important one, being the first gig with the full, original “Live Four” set. Now, we officially have audio. This is arguably the most important live Coil recording ever to surface; officially, every single Coil gig from 1983 to 2004 is now accounted for in either audio or video format (to varying degrees of completeness)! Granted, this isn’t the best recording, ever. Just the first five songs, all in relatively poor quality. Денис Чащин (Denis Chashchin’s) friend held the cassette recorder for him, but didn’t flip the tape after “A Warning from the Sun,” resulting in an incomplete recording. But hey, what does that matter, given how amazing it is that this exists in the first place. Thank you to Denis and his friend for recording and sharing this with the world!

2021-09-03: 2002-09-26 Feelee – Tochka, Moscow, Russia [AMT #1]
Lineage: VHS tape > .avi file. What a nice surprise! Александр Захаров (Alexander Zakharov) commented on my YouTube upload of AUD #1 saying he videotaped this gig. After some time, he sent it to me. Who would have ever thought that we’d get back-to-back recordings of a lost Coil gig! Despite some glitches, cuts, and occasionally obscured cinematography, this is very nice, very valuable footage, providing audio for the songs unaccounted for on AUD #1. Interesting performances of “Lake View,” “Ostia,” and “Bang Bang” stand out. We now have video footage of all three of Coil’s shows in Russia. Thank you for taping, transferring, and sharing!

2022

2022-07-31: 2002-03-30 Artooz Festival, John Lennon Municipal, Limoges, France [SBD #1]
Thighpaulsandra has once again delved into his archives to give us another gem, a crystal clear recording of the first “Anarcadia” show. Very much appreciated, considering how few desk recordings from that phase have surfaced. Great recording of a great gig, emphasizing Cliff’s hurdy-gurdy and Mike’s bagpipes. Highly recommended. Download the recording for yourself here. Cheers, Thighps! 🙂

Source Upgrades

My efforts at keeping a timeline of new Coil recording source upgrades since beginning my Coil research in 2014.

2015-xx-xx: 2001-09-15 DK Gorbunova, Moscow, Russia [EDIT #2, 718 x 574 M4V]
Previously only available on the Live in Moscow 2001 VHS tape, Feelee posted a high-quality rip of the “blue” version of this show onto ITunes sometime in 2015. It’s a good alternative to the Colour Sound Oblivion “orange” version.

2017-03-08: 2004-06-03 Melkweg, Amsterdam, NL [AUD, M0 WAV]
Master WAV surfaced. Thank you, Claus Laufenburg!

2017-03-11: 2000-09-19 “Persistence is All” – Royal Festival Hall, London, England [AMT #1, M1]
1st-gen copy. Has a few more seconds on “Constant Shallowness Leads to Evil.” Thank you, Davide Gostoli!

2018-04-13: 2002-10-01 Royal Festival Hall, London, England [AUD #1a, M2 WAV]
Lineage: Mini-Disc (M0) > Straight copy of Mini-Disc (M1) > Audacity, WAV > CDr (M2) > WAV. Sounds better than previous circulating versions, rendering MP3 versions of AUD #1a and AUD #1c obsolete. Thank you, Pete Greening!

2018-04-13: 2002-10-12 Megalithomania – Conway Hall, London, UK [AUD #1, M2 WAV]
Lineage: Mini-Disc (M0) > Straight copy of Mini-Disc (M1) > Audacity, WAV > CDr (M2) > WAV. Thank you, Pete Greening!

2018-11-10: 2002-07-26 Il Violino e la Selce – Corte Malatestiana, Fano, IT [AMT #1a, M0]
Lineage: Mini DV > Sony Handycam DCR-H96E by Firewire > Sony’s Play Home software > .avi video file. Thank you, Claus Laufenburg and Massimo Villani for sharing the tape, and Stefan Beiersmann for transferring!

2018-11-10: 2002-07-26 Il Violino e la Selce – Corte Malatestiana, Fano, IT [PRO #1, M1 (?)]
Possible lineage: Master tape > copied onto a Mini-DV tape as owned by Black Sun Productions > Sony Handycam DCR-H96E by Firewire > Sony’s Play Home software > .avi video file. I originally thought this was an amateur video source, but that’s not the case. Thank you, Claus Laufenburg and Massimo Villani for sharing the tape, and Stefan Beiersmann for transferring!

2018-11-16: 2002-04-07 Muffathalle, München/Munich, DE [AMT #1, M0]
Lineage: Mini DV > Sony Handycam DCR-H96E by Firewire > Sony’s Play Home software > .avi video file. Thank you, Claus Laufenburg and Massimo Villani for sharing the tape, and Stefan Beiersmann for transferring!

2018-11-23: 2002-10-27 Palac Akropolis, Prague, CZ [AMT #1, M0]
Lineage: 2 Mini DV tapes > Sony Handycam DCR-H96E by Firewire > Sony’s Play Home software > two .avi video files. Thank you, Claus Laufenburg and Massimo Villani for sharing the tape, and Stefan Beiersmann for transferring!

2018-11-28: 2002-10-29 Flex, Vienna, Austria [AMT #3a + #3b, M0]
Lineage: 2 Mini DV tapes > Sony Handycam DCR-H96E by Firewire > Sony’s Play Home software > two .avi video files. 3a is the master video, while 3b is the BSP edit – both videos were originally uploaded to Youtube spliced together. Thank you, Claus Laufenburg and Massimo Villani for sharing the tape, and Stefan Beiersmann for transferring it!

2018-12-23: 2002-04-04 Rote Fabrik, Zürich, CH [AMT #1a 2nd Tape]
draZen recorded this gig on two separate mini-DV tapes – his recording is the only one we know of taken at this show. The first tape contains pre-show backstage footage all the way up to the first minute of “Backwards,” while the second tape contains the rest of “Backwards.” In 2008 or 2009, Black Sun Productions uploaded the backstage footage in edited form on Youtube and Vimeo as “an invocation to bring Colour Sound Oblivion into existence.” When thujone23 uploaded the gig onto Youtube and archive.org in 2016 as BSP’s “alternative, free and unedited Colour Sound Oblivion”, announced in October by Massimo Villani in the Coil Facebook group, he only uploaded the contents of the first of the mini-DV tapes. The first mini-DV tape is missing from the BSP/Coil archives as Live Coil Archive currently has them. So, LCA refers to AMT #1a as the master video, from which we only have backstage footage and most of “Backwards,” and AMT #1b as thujone23’s copy, which has everything except the majority of “Backwards.” Unfortunately, AMT #1b is significantly poorer quality than AMT #1a. At the time of uploading, we do not know the whereabouts of the first mini-DV tape master. Thank you, Massimo and Claus!

2018-12-27: 2002-06-07 New Forms III – Theater aan het Spui, Den Haag, NL [AMT #1 + AMT #2a, M0]
Lineage: 2 Mini DV tapes > Sony Handycam DCR-H96E by Firewire > Sony’s Play Home software > two .avi video files. Thank you, Claus Laufenburg and Massimo Villani for sharing the tape, and Stefan Beiersmann for transferring it!

2019-10-14: 2002-09-29 Feelee – Vagonka Club, Konigsberg, Russia [AMT #1]
Lineage: Video Tape (?) > ? > 2 DVDrs > two .avi video files. Edited slightly on Colour Sound Oblivion DVD #8, but this transfer is superior audio/video quality. Thank you to Wolfblood and Franciscae for filming and Sergei Ivanov for sharing!

2020-03-02: 2002-04-06 Teatro delle Celebrazioni, Bologna, IT [AUD #1]
Lineage: Mini-Disc (M0) > WAV. Thank you, Davide Valecchi, for taping this show and sharing your recording!