Over the years, a lot of American artists played live for British TV and radio but, while some of them might have looked incongruous there, it wasn’t the case when it came to Todd Rundgren who appeared on various Beeb programs to flaunt his Anglophilia. In fact, Todd appeared there more times than many other artistes thanks to his ever-changing tack. And now, this part of Rundgren’s past – as part of his ongoing archive series on Esoteric Recordings – gets a box-set treatment. “At The BBC – 1972-1982“ will be out on October 27th and feature, on three CDs and a DVD, all of the Hermit Of Mink Hollow’s surviving broadcasts in Blighty, solo and with UTOPIA.
The band’s 1977 performance deserves a special mention as it cathes the quartet deliver most of the yet-to-be-released “Ra” album plus “Windows” which wouldn’t see the light of day until “Oops! Wrong Planet” much later in the year, while a 1982 TR’s “The Old Grey Whistle Test” special includes two songs not aired originally. A treasure trove, indeed… and a fantastic way to bide the time (and time again) until the spring when the veteran delivers a studio successor to last year’s "State".
CD One:
TR – Radio One “In Concert” – Paris Theater, London, July 6th, 1972
1. I Saw The Light
2. It Wouldn’t Have Made Any Difference
3. Piss Aaron
4. Hello, It’s Me
5. Be Nice To Me
6. Black Maria
TR with UTOPIA – “The Old Greay Whistle Test” – October 14, 1975
7. Real Man
8. The Seven Rays
CD Two:
TR with UTOPIA – Hammersmith Odeon, October 9th, 1975
1. Freedom Fighters
2. Mister Triskets
3. Something’s Coming
4. The Last Ride
5. Sunset Boulevard / Le Feel Internacionale
6. Heavy Metal Kids
7. The Wheel
8. Open My Eyes
9. Sons Of 1984
10. Do Ya
11. Couldn’t I Just Tell You
CD Three:
TR with UTOPIA – Oxford Polytechnic, January 25th, 1977
1. Communion With The Sun
2. Love Of The Common Man
3. Sunburst Finish
4. Jealousy
5. Windows
6. Singring And The Glass Guitar
7. Utopia Theme
DVD:
TR with UTOPIA – “The Old Grey Whistle Test” – October 14, 1975
1. Real Man
2. The Seven Rays
TR with UTOPIA – “The Old Grey Whistle Test” – May 2nd, 1978
3. Bearsville Picnic feat. Singring And The Glass Guitar
TR – “The Old Grey Whistle Test” – June 3rd, 1982
4. Love Of The Common Man
5. It Wouldn’t Have Made Any Difference
6. Too Far Gone
7. Can We Still Be Friends
8. The Song Of The Viking
9. Compassion
10. Lysistrata
11. Tiny Demons
12. Time Heals (promo video)
13. One World
14. A Dream Goes On Forever