Jethro Tull - Moths & Mouse Police Never Sleeps - 1978

[Thobbeenglund]

"Geniousity" is a strange word that comes to mind listening to Ian´s music. Thank you Ian.

[jananbanana77]

one of the most underrated bands of all time... they are effin' AWESOME... pure musical GENIUS period!

[racrav]

I think the fact he IS waving the flute around is his way of saying ‘Hey guys, we where forced to dub again’. Why would he not play live if he had the choice? If you add up the amount of time he has played live on stage, it would add up to my age!

[bezabn]

loved it then......still do....what can i say more

[moonlitme]

love this album...and this song. so much of their music is on the list of 'my favorite songs...thanks for posting

[jetro777]

EPIC Video!!! Truly amazing!!

[sixftwarbler]

Sounds like right off the album. Perhaps some sleight of sound going on here.

[MegaSunshineforever]

love this ben! although ive seen tull numerous times thru my yrs live nenver seen these two live that i can recall thank you much

[daidaja]

Pure perfection!!!Heavy Horses is 100% best album of this genius!!!And orchestral aragments on album are great!!!

[alexdr2009]

Ian looks so diffrent today ...:((

[gazojka]

@alexdr2009 people change you know :/

[romeroisking]

He is not even playing the flute on the flute parts! lol

[sixftwarbler]

@romeroisking Soujnds like right off the album. Some sort of sleight of hand with the sound? Anyone see a string section>

[SpareMeYourNonSense]

@sixftwarbler its definitely dubbed or something. i mean come on, theres flute sounds in the mix when he's busy flipping it around in his hands on the stage.

[jstarang1]

i know its corny but i love these mimed tv performances tull does

[bb4960]

MI6 transmitting via synthetic telepathy/neuro-impulse weapons technology from clandestine subterranean facilities into rockers heads. Problably would've come up with it anyway.

[CyborgNinjaZombie]

Too bad this is mimed.

[beaverliqour]

MOuse...Barrimore is jamming in this one

[tullist]

Although lip synched The Mouse Police features some of the best Ian mugging I have seen which is saying something, particularly the line about purest feline ancestry, I know he means it. Also miss my favorite Tull move, the flute twirling which apparently he can no longer do, been at least ten years.

[ahagestedt]

this is why i hated growing up in the U.S. at this time....couldn't see cool stuff like this. Especially in oregon (which was back then as backwards as much of the US is now...though it's very cool now).

i had to go to europe to catch this stuff as a teen....argh. i'm still bitter!!! thanx for posting this and calming my soul a little (30 yrs too late, but that ain't yer fault)

[gunshy9]

@ahagestedt Jethro Tull boasted far more popularity and record sales in US than did Europe. I suggest going to Europe with a one way ticket.

[mark2112kram]

Oh sorry, my bad!

[mark2112kram]

This is "Moths" you idiot!

[key2kingdom]

thanks for posting Dude.

[ThePipersNicks]

Really great sound. Heavy Horses/Stormwatch is probably my favorite Tull "era". As many live Tull vids as I've seen, this still made the jaw hit the floor.

[Kohntarkosz]

Great sound=lip synched.

[irishtullfan]

the lyrics in moths pure magic and the mouse police just perfection

[Semente200]

They were perfect, even on a playback!

[helenmyeyes]

Right up there with Zeus and the Pantheon of gods who resided at Mount Olympus. :-)

[GorillaPHX]

Right up there with Yes...

[Pofazovics]

I share this opinion. However it is very interesting: basicly I don't like rock'n'roll except five or six groups' music, but particularly Tull and the Yes...

[OU8121ST]

1978 That was the first time I saw Tull Live Bursting Out Slash Heavy Horses Tour, The leaded window opened, I love Heavy Horses one of my Favorite Albums

[LittleFeechie61]

You can argue for quite awhile where Jethro Tull stands in comparision to other legendary rock bands, but it is quite clear that no other band has been able to duplicate their unique brand of music.

[LittleFeechie61]

Fabulous ....another legendary band not in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame...Whatta Joke !

[pocogirl]

Yes, Ian is always fascinating QoHV! Thanks for the titbit too! I have to smile at the comment one rock journalist made of Ian years ago: "Ian will never use one word when twelve can be used instead." or something along those lines. But Tull fans love his loquaciousness because he is so well spoken, and entertaining! However I would certainly hate to be on the opposite end of an argument with him! In his own words~ "I'm a tiger when I want love....and a snake when we disagree."

[QueenofheartsV]

Ian's fascinating, isn't he? I remember something funny he said about Martin on a BBC RADIO interview, from March 1979, called THE JETHRO TULL STORY:

"I always saw Martin, at least on the album cover, as being the one who ought to appear to be skating away, because he's fairly optimistic about things and bravely ventures into them like ... paying over the odds for a second-hand Bentley or whatever and finding out it doesn't work properly, there's no engine inside it or something."

[pocogirl]

~ sorry typo- "Oh, and I'd say that (we) never actually went out there and blew it."

[pocogirl]

When asked to write a musical obituary of Jethro Tull Ian sumed up the band, "A bunch of guys, generally with me standing on one leg, and a guitarist who always did a funny solo and an organist who never knew what day it was." Ian also added- "Oh, and I'd say that never actually went out there and blew it," I might add that after all these years, no matter what variation of the band was performing that year, they STILL have never blown it!

[pocogirl]

In the same article, when asked if he thought he was 'fit' because of the way he charged around stage, Ian replied; "I don't think I'm fit, no." When asked if he smoked and drank a lot he replied: "Yes, I suppose I drink between eight and a dozen Lowenbrau. And I smoke cigerettes. I've never been drunk in my life, and I never smoked dope. I don't like not being me. I like to be in the position of being able to listen to what's going on all the time, especially of course on stage."

[pocogirl]

On Martin Barre- "Life for Martin is a mixture of fantasy and reality. He enjoys the fantasy more. He's at home with his big house-not that big, but fairly big- his big car and lives a fairly normal life, but when he gets that break on stage for his solo, he is something fantastic, and I can't resist watching him. He's a complicated guy in one sense but straight in another. For someone to shut 'fuck off' to Martin on stage when he's playing a solo is like someone stealing my wallet or my woman."

[pocogirl]

On Jeffery Hammond Hammond, and Barriemore Barlow- "Barrie enjoys life but when he comes back off the road they are both very considerate of the other part of their lives that they have erected. They both have a conception of what life should be like off of the road. They are very friendly, have similar musical tastes, and I always think of them together. They think and feel music along the same lines. Whereas John, Martin, and I don't have so much in common."

[pocogirl]

Your welcome QueenofheartsV. I thought you might enjoy a condensed version of Ian's description of the band members from an article in Melody Maker Dec 1974. On John Evan- "Someone once gave him a duck. He carried it and took it with him everywhere. Someone must have trodden on it because it had a broken leg. He put it in a bath for a swim but the water was boiling hot and it was swimming around in circles trying to get out. He is a danger to anything living or breathing around him."

[canley1]

Funny story!!

Thanks for putting all this great info on classic 70's Tull on here :)

[pocogirl]

Ian said that Martin walked over to her, introduced himself and invited her to the concert that night. She was hesitant, but Martin had sit down with her and convinced her that he was a complete gentleman and she eventually agreed. The rest is history. The amusing part is Ian's comments on how smooth Martin was, and how unlike Martin it was to have pulled this off so well. Obviously Martin is a man who goes after what he wants and he is plenty smooth enough too! Ian seemed to have loved it.

[QueenofheartsV]

I've loved it too! Thank you Pocogirl!

[pocogirl]

Sure QoHV. Since Martin rarely does interviews, and he would NEVER discuss this subject even if he did, leave it to Ian to spill the beans on this one-lol. As anyone who follows Tull knows, Martin is a very shy, and reserved man. Ian describes him as brilliant guitarist, although very accident prone and 'clumsy'. He claims that Martin often stumbles, and breaks things. So Ian was stunned when Martin saw his future bride in a U.S. airport one afternoon and "pulled the Rock Star treatment" on her.

[pocogirl]

I agree too! They don't make them like they use to! And with Ian you not only get his devilish sexiness, a passionate artitstic nature, and his side splitting sense of humor (hypothetically of course..) you also get a true genius. Martin is incredible as well, and I love the story about how he 'met' his wife.

[QueenofheartsV]

Hi Pocogirl,

Tell us the story, please! I've never heard how he met his wife.

[QueenofheartsV]

RIGHT!!! Especially Ian, for my taste.

[bbuurrcchh]

Ian Anderson is not just a great musician, he has a wonderful sense of humour also.. great video!

[Zooey01110]

Wow I have a crush on Ian Anderson circa 1978...

Jethro Tull is one of the best bands ever. Wish I could make music like that.

[peacejones]

it's a lip-sync

[canley1]

No! Really?

Get over it!!

This is a great reminder of THE classic 70's Tull line-up.

Thanks Ben

[AllGoodeThings]

Thank you very much Ben Rossington, true fan and collector of Tull, boy did i enjoy that clip. Never saw it before.

Boy did he once have gusto and verve, sort of lacking in him nowadays.

[pocogirl]

At 00:48 Ian is certainly giving some young chickie devilish eye flirtations. "And the long night awakens....." he does a slight eye roll and tempts... "And we soar on powdered wings."

This man can make the nocturnal mating of moths pure sex!~ lol~

[helenmyeyes]

"Goethe, one of Germany's greatest man of letters, had also made into a metaphor, the image of the moth plunging to its death, irresistibly drawn to the naked flame with highly erotic associations. Eros throws himself violently into the arms of Thanatos as if to merge with him, when love seeks to find its highest and purest form, indeed its fulfillment, in death."

Patrick Süskind November 11, 2006 for The Guardian

[helenmyeyes]

I'm not saying Ian is not original. I'm saying he is a sensitive "antenna", bringing to rock and to our lives powerful archetypes and wonderful songs. Yes, Pocogirl, I love him too!

[johnwolcot]

So do I! But only before 1980. I will however accept the merits of Walk Into Light and Divinities.

[helenmyeyes]

And Broadsword and the Beast?

[johnwolcot]

Broadsword and the Beast is ok but now sounds a bit dated with regards 80's sounding keyboards. Also the track Beastie sounds almost childish and just not grown up enough.

[helenmyeyes]

Just O.K.? You must be kidding. It's absolutely brilliant! Some of the tracks have that "childish" approach to monsters, swords, battles against barbarians, that I find captivating. I figure Ian's son, James, (who was around 5, then) bringing "Ian's child" out to play. Plus: Seal Driver. One of Ian's finest love/sex songs. Flying Colours: perfection to describe that tense marital battle. Clasp, Pussy Willow, Slow Marching Band, Cheerio. A firm favourite!

[canley1]

I totally agree with you; it's a great album, and the last really good one that they did,in my opinion

[helenmyeyes]

I must agree it is the last really good one, but with a sigh of sorrow.

[jethrotullfreak]

Crest of the Knave was not bad at all, not as good as Broadsword, but pretty good considering that they were on a downward spiral.

[elleryman]

what's up with Barrie playing a single bass drum, and John Evans playing a Hammond H organ? were they playing borrowed (and possibly unpaid for) instruments?

[pocogirl]

Oh~ I suspect Ian is a highly sexual creature- like you said, just listen to his lyrics. They are oozing sexual references. But I gathered from his interviews that Ian is a solo hunter, selective and sensitive, and not willing to 'share' his women. Ian doesn't mince words often, you get his point when he speaks. But what he 'says' and what he 'does' may not necessarily be the same-lol! only he knows about that, and it certainly is his own business!

[QueenofheartsV]

You are completely and absolutely right!

[QueenofheartsV]

I was just teasing, tongue-in-cheek, as our hero would... ;-)

[pocogirl]

I'm not saying Ian considered the quartet 'groupies', but Ian apparently had a fairly straight-laced opinion about these sorts of things in general. A true individualist, and not one to follow the trends of the times in many areas (music as well of course!)

[QueenofheartsV]

On the other hand, how could he possibly know as much as he does about women (just listen to his lyrics, he knows what he's talking about!) being that "close to the books, early to bed" kind of guy, "never succumbing to late night charms" whatsoever? ;-)

[autodane]

He did have his second wife by then...

[pocogirl]

QoHV- lol! actually, yes I do! Ian said that some groupies had nick-named them "Jethro Dull" because they didn't sleep with the regulars. But Ian said that he couldn't imagine putting his bits into some knickers every rock musican had worn, so like-wise he passed on the groupies (at THIS point in their career) He did mention however that they had "gone through all that" at some earlier point though~ ;)

[ihope127]

What's that that sounds like a stringed instrument in Moths? (No, not the guitar.)

[pocogirl]

I meant "blur" the identities. He described them as "over sexed" and mentioned some messy business with John Evans, one of the quartet members and her jealous husband. He said they hired on David Palmer after that to prevent future problems. Ian also boasts that he was propositioned by most of them, but never succumbed to their 'late night charms'!

[QueenofheartsV]

...And you believed him? ;-)

[peterpindar]

Well Queenofhearts how goes it these days?

[pocogirl]

Ian spoke of the imfamous string quartet. He said he thought it would be a good idea to have an all woman quartet as not to 'blurt the identities of the band members' but said he forgot about them all having periods and getting surly. He said one of them attempted to 'kill' one of the roadies. He also mentions a few naughty things about them as well......

[KingHellstrings]

By the way, why does all of Heavy Horses (and Bursting Out, for that matter) sound like Ian's been smoking twice as heavily compared to all of the other albums around this era (including Stormwatch)? I never understood why his voice was so "rough" on here. It kind of detracts from the songs, and is a bad omen for the later 80s.

[PaulHartXYZ]

Yes, Ian's voice crapped out on him in December 1977... just as it was time to record "Heavy Horses".

His voice returned when it came time to record "Stormwatch" (1979).

And his voice was pretty good for the next two albums "A" (1980) and "Broadsword" (late 1981-82).

But after that, he voice started to deteriorate again.

We all know Ian was a chain smoker. His once deep golden voice became very thin and harsh.

[KingHellstrings]

It's probably my only complaint with Heavy Horses and Bursting Out (well, that and the fact that John Glascock was using a Stringray instead of a Precision bass, but now I'm just nitpicking!).

[autodane]

Hey, what's wrong with Stingrays? Perhaps he thought it looked more folky?

[PaulHartXYZ]

Mr. Rossington,

As I've said over and over... you've done a FANTASTIC job locating these never-before-seen TV appearances by Tull in Germany.

Mimed or not... it's always great to see stuff from the 70s I've never seen before.

If you REALLY want to impress me... find ANYTHING from the years 1971-1975. I dare you!!!

[KingHellstrings]

Here, here! I wanna see some Jeffery Hammond-Hammond stuff! Preferably Bungle in the Jungle, Sealion, Warchild, and Minstrel in the Gallery.

[PaulHartXYZ]

KingHellStrings...

You understand COMPLETELY.

The Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond era of Tull was by far the most creative and interesting.

(1971-1975)

Yet virtually NOTHING exists of that period on film or video... except the home 8mm stuff the audience took. I'm challenging anyone to come up with SOMETHING.

[KingHellstrings]

I especially wanna see hot string quartet... no pictures/videos exist of them either! =(

[PaulHartXYZ]

Yes, the female string quartet from the WARCHILD tour... and the first part of the MINSTREL tour in 1975.

There is no known film of them!!!!

Tis a shame.

Liz, Kathy, Rita and Helen.

Come on Ian... surely you must have some film of them locked away somewhere.

[samsombersimba]

Hey, anyone notice that David Palmer almost never appears in all these Jethro Tull videos? Does he avoid cameras or something? He had a couple seconds in this one, so now I notice. haha.

[jmharrison51]

First, Ben, thanks for this and other wonderful postings. Regarding the miming, Ian is on record as saying that he always hated doing it, because he never quite knew what to do with himself. There is a famous time when he mimed "From a Dead Beat to and Old Greaser" on UK tv and sat there drinking beer while his voice kept singing - bit like the old ventriloquist trick? :)

[bostock1002]

yeah, its a playback. I dunno, he was great in concert, but his mugging on tv didn't help him on MTV

[helenmyeyes]

ein bisschen Nebel? Barrie disappeared in the fog! Yes, bekzzo, he hated miming but it's very entertaining, don't you think? And thank you BenRossington! This is delicious!

[bekzzo]

Sorry: PLAYBACK

[bekzzo]

This looks Synched.

But why doesn't Ian pretend to play the flute in certain occations? Maybe he hated payback.