Welcome To My World - 17 March

Artrockers,

I was reminded recently of The Bootleg, and I wondered if new manifestations of this naughty art-form are still being created. Where does the Bootleg album fit into the digital age? First let’s define terms, a bootleg album is an illegal record release of a radio session, live performance or unreleased studio tracks. There are many classic examples, and I may or may not, depending on whose reading, have many examples in my collection. My favourite is probably The Sex Pistols at the Armadillo, famed for Lydon’s cowboy baiting and for Vicious failing to play one single correct note for the entire set. Bootlegs used to be much sought after – what kind of Bowie fan were you if you didn’t have a copy of The Thin White Duke? A friend of mine was desperate for a copy, so when we went to see Iggy, with Bowie on keyboards (support came from The Vibrators, we’re going back a bit here), he was made up to find a ‘legger’ standing outside the venue selling copies of this most sought after rarity. He handed over a large wad and we hit the bus home to listen to his illicit gem. We ran up to his bedroom, dimmed the light and placed the holy platter on the turntable. And guess what? Yep, it wasn’t the Brixton boy, it was Nana Mouskouri. The ‘legger’ had simply stuck a couple of photocopied labels onto a MFP (Music For Pleasure – we’re REALLY going back) greatest hits collection by the Greek songbird and sold the result to a mug. My mate. How we laughed...Well, how I laughed, my mate was really quite unhappy about being fleeced and Adios My Love by the aforementioned chanteuse, whilst charming, did little to sooth his savage brow.

But I digress. Are there still new bootlegs about in an age when folks seem to help themselves to everybody’s work anyway? Is there a point to bootlegs anymore? I need to know, so tell me.

Tom Artrocker

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