National Health - The Collapso

[oregonbobv]

I do not know much about National Health but Dave Stewart is a brillany musician and composer. His work on Bill Bruford One of a Kind is outstanding.

[enenemenene]

is that the melody from vdgg's "theme one"?

[fabrikk60]

@enenemenene

You mean the guitar right? Funny, I've always heard that similarity too (BTW Theme One wasn't originally by vdgg but by George Martin; vdgg's was a cover)

[losttango]

@fabrikk60 - I don't think it's funny, I think it's a deliberate quotation. I just today found out that George Martin wrote it too.

[zappacarla]

THE BEST CANTERBURY

HELLO VENEZUELA..

[timjmoran]

Is that CARL PALMER on the drums ?!?!?

[hothaggis1]

@timjmoran Usually Pip Pyle (on the album anyway)

[mchampag]

Wonderful to see the group live. And there's so much Rite of Spring in this tune!

[jonsilence]

Woefully out of sync!

[timjmoran]

audio seems to be TOtally out of synch w/ the vid. anyone else getting that?

[nukli1]

Fantastic! One of my favourite bits of footage of the Hats (a shame it's slightly marred by the out-of-synch sound though)

[HELLO2YOU3]

over my fookin head

[veriteri32]

WOW! Pip- RIP Still my favorite drummer. One of my favorite bands !

[notrombones]

Pip!!!!!!

I miss Pip. :(

Actually, he looks a bit like Keith Emerson

in this vid.

And I'm not even high right now!

[NoelGrassy]

Can anyone indicate how to obtain these

freakin' OG Whistlestop vids?

Help a crotchety old geezer and he'll show you how to hook a catheter to your squirting lapel flower...

[hansbruno]

I bought them from BBC.......

[sasak0123]

Holy shit !!

[mrich223]

My fusion band opened for them with Alan Gowen on keyboards -- freaking fantastic! They played tight arrangements and improvised spontaneously. We were lucky we went on first.....!

[elintrafalario]

...great band¡¡¡ I love T.N.T.F.X. Please more... Thank's for the post.

[Bruford89]

I love "Agrippa" with bill bruford on the drums and steve hillage on guitar

[ipoohkumasan2]

cool gig.

[geffel]

Annie Nightingale - is she dead yet?

[aanightingale]

not fucking quite

[geffel]

Oops!

[geffel]

I love Annie really!

[aliensporebomb]

Best comeback ever.

[Beadbud5000]

@aliensporebomb I think its their best LP.

[ronh73]

From 1:17 it is really getting awesome.

[vmorts]

Isn't this actually "Squarer for Maud"?

[tonlitt]

it sounds more like 'Apocalypso' than the 'collapso' version

[cri720]

John Greaves is drunk. It's funny until he clams on the big break, and then makes up for it with arrogance afterwards. It'd be fun if everyone was in the same zone, but clearly it was upsetting to the others. I spent alot of time as youngun learning this bass part from "Of Queues and Cures", dropping the needle, looping this bass part, and I learned it to perfection. I wrote down the form, I know all the parts, so it's kind of insulting when it gets shat on. Especially when I love the song.

[threeby8887]

@cri720 Maybe this was Greaves' way of bringing some then-fashionable punk attitude to a prog band. Who knows what was going on?

Great tune, though.

[FredStembottom]

Music carries sooooo much baggage! I always loved the attitude of Nat. health (and related Cant. bands) which is simply: Playing around with music is fun! That is the rarest approach to music of all.

[thewordofgord]

yes indeed sir! national health, pure genius and bags of fun too !

god i love these guys...and they were caught on film too! life is just too kind!

the word of gord

[AntoPete]

Absolutely tremendous!!!! John Greaves may be the closest thing to Sid Vicious any canterbury band ever had.

[threeby8887]

Which is all the more amazing that prior to joining National Health, he was in that most un-Sid Vicious of bands, Henry Cow.

[novello08]

gfzjshjfds

[tfk3160]

Thanks for posting this, I listened to these guys all the time in college and never got to see them.

[richleonard55]

I put the Health on at my college back in...um...some point in the 70s, and since they were one of my fave bands, I laid on a better than usual spread of food in the dressing room. A couple of days later I got a long handwritten letter from Dave S thanking me for the food! Nice people.

[panodafish]

ce groupe est genial !!!

[binnyman]

Fabulous !!! Love seeing this !! Pythonflying is right, also. "Dreams Wide Awake" has the most intense organ solo !!! Thanks SO VERY MUCH for this !!:)

[Indymirage]

Ah! Love it! Thanks for posting this...a real treasure!

[pythonflying]

Nice! I waited 25 years to see this, thanks so much. I never knew John to be so animated. Keep 'em coming!!! Dreams Wide Awake was one of my fav's, Dave Stewart's organ solo in that can't be beat.

[RAndyVee]

Wonderful stuff ... I couldn't believe there'd be anything around and so had never bothered searching before :-$.

My absolute favourite Canterbury band :-D.

[jazzpiano10]

Are their albums still in print?

[MrFrench439]

Not sure; but in 1990 East Side Digital put out "Complete" (can be found used, also looks like ESD still offers it direct): a 2-CD set incl. ALL tracks from the albums; a pre-first-album rarity w/ Bill Bruford; and a Stewart remake of The Collapso(retitled "The Apocalypso"). Also includes a great booklet w/ pics & lyrics; commentary and a LONG dissertation on the band's history, all by Dave Stewart; and a diagram (?!), "Suggested Dance Steps for 'The Collapso'".

[rushomancy]

The long dissertation on the band's history by Dave Stewart also features a very amusing section on this very performance- well worth reading!

[olegaaso]

Ah, I love this!

[myworms]

Here are the performers, for those who are wondering and don't feel like doing the research:

John Greaves - bass

Dave Stewart - keyboards

Pip Pyle - drums

Phil Miller - guitar

Great video! For the poster wishing to see Hatfield video...absolutely. If that exists anywhere, it MUST see the light of day.

[elisa7691]

I wish there were more videos... I'd die if I could find National Health playing Tenemos Roads *-*

[spikerooney011]

Tenemos Roads - my favourite NH track! :) If only.......

[MrFrench439]

Now if only old Hatfield video existed... ah, well. This was great; one of my favorite NH tracks (not like there were many stinkers). Sad that Pip's gone; but the music lives on. Thanks for posting.

[RAndyVee]

Of course now there is ... do a search if you've not checked and you'll be delighted :-).

[DynaDash]

THANKS for sharing this.