Live recording of two Steeleye Span concerts on February 8 and 9, 1982 at the Opera Theatre, Adelaide, Australia;
Recording Engineers: David Long with Nick Jeremy & Eric Pointon;
Remixed, compiled and mastered at Festival Studios Sydney by Warren Barnett;
Produced by David Mulhullen for ABC FM National Stereo

Twelve of these tracks were reissued—remixed and digitally remastered by Nigel Pegrum and Warren Barnett in his studios in Cairns (Northern Queensland)—on Raven Records’ CD Gone to Australia

A great many thanks to Trevor Poyner from Queensland for sending me a tape copy of this concert’s ABC FM National Stereo broadcast of 9 February 1982!

Maddy Prior: vocals;
Tim Hart: vocals, guitar;
Bob Johnson: vocals, guitar;
Rick Kemp: vocals, bass;
Peter Knight: vocals, violin;
Nigel Pegrum: drums

Tracks

LP Tracks

Side 1

1. The King (Roud 32955) (1.15)
2. Black Jack Davy (Roud 1; Child 200; G/D 2:278; Henry H124) (4.10)
3. Sails of Silver (3.15)
4. Little Sir Hugh (Roud 73; Child 155) (5.22)
5. Let Her Go Down (3.53)
6. Alison Gross (Roud 3212; Child 35) (5.32)
7. Bach Goes to Limerick (2.35)

Side 2

8. Thomas the Rhymer (Roud 219; Child 37) (5.43)
9. I Have a Wish (3.10)
10. Longbone (4.04)
11. I Live Not Where I Love (Roud 593) (4.15)
12. Gone to America (4.42)
13. Gaudete (2.32)
14. All Around My Hat (Roud 22518) (4.02)

ABC FM cassette

Side 1

1. The King (Roud 32955)
2. Black Jack Davy (Roud 1; Child 200; G/D 2:278; Henry H124)
3. Sails of Silver
4. Let Her Go Down
5. Alison Gross (Roud 3212; Child 35)
6. I Have a Wish
7. Gone to America
8. Longbone

Side 2

9. Bach Goes to Limerick
10. Little Sir Hugh (Roud 73; Child 155)
11. Thomas the Rhymer (Roud 219; Child 37)
12. All Around My Hat (Roud 22518)
13. Gaudete
14. Royal Forester (Roud 67; Child 110; G/D 7:1465)
15. Sligo Maid
16. Cam Ye O’er Frae France (Roud 5814; G/D 1:120)

Maddy Prior: vocals;
Tim Hart: vocals, guitar;
Bob Johnson: vocals, guitar;
Rick Kemp: vocals, bass;
Peter Knight: vocals, violin;
Nigel Pegrum: drums

Tracks

From Adelaide Opera Theatre 1982:

1. Black Jack Davy (Roud 1; Child 200; G/D 2:278; Henry H124) (4.25)
2. Sails of Silver (3.54)
3. Let Her Go Down (4.04)
4. Alison Gross (Roud 3212; Child 35) (6.30)
5. Barnet Fair (4.29)
6. Gone to America (4.56)
7. Longbone (5.09)
8. Bach Goes to Limerick (2.47)
9. All Around My Hat (Roud 22518) (4.24)
10. Gaudete (2.34)
11. Sligo Maid (3.09)
12. Cam Ye O’er Frae France (Roud 5814; G/D 1:120) (4.29)

From Perth Concert Hall 1984:

13. Batchelors Hall (Roud 385) (4.51)
14. Blackleg Miner (Roud 3193) (2.46)
15. Spotted Cow (Roud 956) / Sailor’s Bonnet (4.54)
16. Thomas the Rhymer (Roud 219; Child 37) (5.48)
17. The Mason’s Apron (4.41)

From Canberra Theatre 1975:

18. Sum Waves / The Devil’s Dream (4.18)

Raven Records’ press release (September 2001)

We are proud to announce the release of

Steeleye Span
Gone to Australia (On Tour 1975-1984)
(RVCD-123)

“I have always believed that STEELEYE SPAN were at their best live, in concert. We put a great deal of effort into our shows. When we toured Australia during the seventies and eighties the record company, or a radio station, would always be recording us at some concert or other. Steeleye expert Warren Barnett took it upon himself to gather these tapes together with a view to issuing them on CD. Happily he managed to find the original multi-track master tapes of most of the tracks and drummer Nigel Pegrum - now living in Australia - has remixed them. The result is a good impression of how it felt at the time. I think here is captured that live enthusiasm and our delight in the music we were producing.”

So writes Maddy Prior, lead singer with British electric folk pioneers Steeleye Span, in the liner notes to Gone to Australia (On Tour 1975-1984), the second of Raven’s Steeleye Span archival releases. And indeed, touring Australia has always held a special significance for Steeleye. This enthralling, 18-track, 77-minute collection presents material drawn from a decade of concert appearances here, and in doing so captures all the empathy and excitement that Australian audiences came to expect from the band.

Expanding on the rare and elusive 1983 Australian-only On Tour LP, Gone to Australia includes the remixed tracks from that album, plus previously unreleased live performances of such Steeleye favourites as Barnet Fair, Cam Ye O’er Frae France, Blackleg Miner, Thomas the Rhymer and The Mason’s Apron. The set is rounded out by Sum Waves / The Devil’s Dream from a 1975 performance that was painstakingly restored from the ultra-rare and only surviving acetate recording of this track and transferred to digital format specifically for the project.

Issued with full blessings from the band, the package comes complete with deluxe, 12-page colour booklet featuring rare photos and detailed liner notes by band members Maddy Prior and Peter Knight. Gone to Australia (On Tour 1975-1984) is a must for any Steeleye Span aficionado.

Adelaide Opera Theatre 1982

From all the above sources and the other Raven Records’ Steeleye Span CD, A Rare Collection 1972-1996, I think the set list of the concerts on February 8 and 9, 1982 at Adelaide Opera Theatre has been:

Set List

1. The King (Roud 32955)
2. Black Jack Davy (Roud 1; Child 200; G/D 2:278; Henry H124)
3. Sails of Silver
4. Let Her Go Down
5. Alison Gross (Roud 3212; Child 35)
6. Barnet Fair
7. I Have a Wish
8. Gone to America
9. Longbone
10. Bach Goes to Limerick
11. Little Sir Hugh (Roud 73; Child 155)
12. Thomas the Rhymer (Roud 219; Child 37)
13. All Around My Hat (Roud 22518)

Encores

14. Gaudete
15. Royal Forester (Roud 67; Child 110; G/D 7:1465)
16. Sligo Maid
17. Cam Ye O’er Frae France (Roud 5814; G/D 1:120)

Of these 17 tracks, only Little Sir Hugh and Thomas the Rhymer are still unpublished.