The B-52's Rock lobster Part 1,very rare

[plojka1]

For that time period, that wasn't bad video quality at all!

[TheStrainers]

love this



[ERaddock]

His airhose broke.

[dazmalski]

I'd think this was rare footage except I missed it by a couple of years. This is historical. Keep it safe, keep it backed up and thanks for sharing!

B52s were so ahead.

[djkenry]

Sounds great for such low video quality

[MattHatter]

What on earth convinced them to create such a band back then? I mean, you look at this, sounding great in it's infant stage, and it's like "Where did this come from inside of them?"

[Larinho2]

Fantastic, what a treat!

[xerocx]

This was filmed on the moon

[ColKorn1965]

Jesus H Christ on a pogo stick!!!

[pantspeeed]

Totally awesome. The drum part is actually even better than the one that made it on to the records and stuff. Amazing.

[plague432]

LOVE IT... thanks for posting. Kate Pierson never looked so sixties!

[Fogmaster]

Thanks for sharing a truly RARE piece of pop music history.

[sherpadoody]

how can anything be considered rare if it's on youtube?

[annie4825]

love this

[redaphid]

Love all the recording artifacts and camera FX

[chopinsmith]

Incredible upload!

[ididcramsmom]

I'd damn near slap my mama for a quality copy of this!!

[MrFrankutube]

Thats awsome. 

[thedeadpony]

Thank you AV club, all of us love you more than you realize. You make the world go 'round more than Bangkok prostitution. giantsno1, you're a legend. AV, por vida!

[genglemt]

This is a priceless gem!

[MEISTERBRENT]

THIS VIDEO IS GOOD FOR ITS AGE. C'MON MAN!

[NOOOQUARTER]

6 people thought this was Lowell Thomas remembers.....

[bluescat59]

J-E-A-L-O-U-S. Rock history. Thanks for posting!

[Andysays]

The Sex Pistols played this same stage just nine days earlier. Oh to have been of age and living in Atlanta that month. :)

[sosidecop64]

nice shots of Ricky. R.I.P.

[recovergirl]

Great footage . I wonder if they ever imagined the thousands of times that they would have to sing that song, on that night! Wow!

[iAzzaDee]

great vid,they look raw

[booogieG]

awesome video! powerfull band sound.i really love this kinda rock music.

[booogieG]

awesome video! powerfull band sound.i really love this kinda rock music.

[1qaz7532]

nice rock 

[lebarosky]

Children, once upon a time when vid was very very young there was this dynamo group from Georgia, fronted by two powerhouse girl vocalists and this little wisp of a guy with a face like an axe blade. Behind them played one of the great drum/bass/guitar combos that ever sat on a stage. These, my little ones, were the B-frgn-52s!!!!!!

[MrJim12341121]

January 14th 1978 was my 18th birthday. Boy do I feel old now. Black and white back then. Just saw them at the Hi line in NYC. They are great. Great show. they did this song of course.

[llddau]

@MrJim12341121 I love this it makes sme feel young, that's my birthday, in '81 tho.

[Harukaxz]

why is the sound so fast?

[kaliyuta]

wow was this off an old movie reel.you can tell.

[waynealarsen]

HOORAYYYYYYYYYY I want some

[felipegc]

Quite a jewel..-

Thanks for sharing it !!

[opalasattic]

Absolutely amazing!  Thanks so much!

[bluesbrrd]

The sound quality on all of this early B52's stuff is really good - neat to get a glimpse of them before they found their "look." I got to see them somewhere on the Georgetown University campus in '80-'81, but the sound system was so bad you couldn't even tell what song they were playing! I think it was just a big drunken frat party anyway! They played their song in all the clubs anyway, so we could get our dance fix.

[DiverseProduction]

I must be one of their newest fans! these guys are a one off.

[spaztech44]

This is way better than the recording

[eriksv666]

IMATA MUNANKI GUAMBRA.....OK

[Hardrickart]

wow

[ericdlayne]

This is super cool, thanks for uploading it

[arklat]

Is that a waitress get-up Cindy is wearing, complete with a nametag? I wonder what name is on it? Maybe "Flo". They sure liked to roleplay. This early version is pretty similar to the studio release. Awesome. I miss Keith and Ricky. RIP, Ricky. Check out "Funplex. It's pretty good.

[PUTSOUTHINYOURMOUTH]

Hey, there goes Fred with the SMOKE ALARM!!!

[wayiwalk]

I love the special fx on the video - at 2:04 the camera rotates on the view around and back - I guess that was high tech back then

[Aelkamal]

@wayiwalk LOL

[siteshouse]

If only I was there. Cool was never so cool.

[snuffda]

amazing how far tech stuff has come... I love this band.

[Khultan]

Respect.

[fenthedog]

Raw talent! Ricky could play that telcaster

[ripjoint]

I think its a Moserite like the Ventures used to play. Hey, I saw these guys around this time and they were and still are incredible. As far as the footage goes, I think was bounced back by humanoids from the other side of the galaxy like in Contact.

[sponsler]

Wow..where on earth did you get this from? Too cool. They don't even have "big hair" yet

[ob2kanob]

omg the history of moving pictures!!!

[Sgurd]

More like the history of bootlegging.

[luminescentfeeling]

Awesome.

[thpaine]

Ah.....before they could afford the cowbell. :)

[saladshop]

Funky, weird. TOTAL originals to this day. You MUST check out FUNPLEX!

[adragonfly75]

CLASSIC! you gotta love them!

[BenjaFonseca]

this video looks like a carusso contemporary....1978??? in 1978 i had a color TV....

[KimIsMissing]

Thats so cool

[ernestfire]

reallY COOL

[AlfieNoakesOhHo]

I don't believe it for a second. May as well say it's from 1907. Huh!

[Leighbo1]

Go Ricky Go with that killer riff!!

[iammready]

...everybody had matching towels!!!

creepy vintage cool...

[jdelanow]

What amazes me is how true they sang this song in 1978 and they sing it with just as much passion in 2009! seriously amazing.

[maritakeningale]

yes,this is a priceless video,they're the best..i wish i could see more of this very rare the B-52's videos

[bigarv65]

Oh yeah, this is priceless!

[TubErSkillZ]

it would be funny if a HD bottons were to get put on this vid..

[khisham]

...an awesome video of a great song from a fantastic band from a time then that was rather unsophisticated...

...thanks for posting giantsno 1!

☻

[missteel]

I love how "preppy" cleaned cut Fred looks.

[SharkSport]

thank you thank you thank you !!!

[len651]

Love this!

[thedigitalcollective]

that surf guitar is killer this is a sick jam i love it.didnt know it was this old i thought it was a few years newer.good post!

[gunguinha]

This is really rare,man! It must be from the same year they released it! 1978!!!!

FANTASTIC!!!!

THANK YOU VERY MUCH

[vasp99]

Is that Jan Brady playing the part of Cindy?

[shockabilly56]

love this band. so much fun to listen to. I can't sit still or keep from smiling and laughing while I listen to it. neat old clip. I love u tube 2. Seeing so many of my old favs today. they are all here. AWESOME

[catrashoo]

man this is old! lol

[freedok]

Recorded with a B&W camcorder with inferior audio and they still sound great!

[ChronicObserver]

Camcorders, even VHS, hadn't been invented yet. This is a 70's high school audio/vid geek set up with the vid on a reel to reel player that weighed 30+ pounds, not very portable, unless it's on wheels. Hell, beta max was still in it's developmental trials at this point. 8 bit atari was high tech., pong was the rage. Pac man wasn't even conceptualized. They do rock. 4 out of six strings ain't bad in this case.

[chicoggyfx]

ChronicObserver:

Best comment I've ever read.

[tedviens1]

@ChronicObserver True enough... Still, Sony did put a heavy duty shoulder strap on their smaller recorder and a batter pack inside. Thus, Portable Video. 1970's style..

[AlfieNoakesOhHo]

@ChronicObserver JVC Released VHS in 1976. Get your facts right :p

[madcapromanian]

@ChronicObserver However crude the machine was...I'd like to see it!

[TrixieinDixie]

@ChronicObserver Just to clarify, both the beta (Sony) and VHS (JVC) format consumer video tape recording devices existed before 1978. There were also portable recording units that could be connected to video cameras in order to record on the go. Sure, not everyone had them, but they most certainly existed.

[HammerFist1970]

@TrixieinDixie Had one.

[xmortimerx]

This song always makes me think in acid trip cheap films or some 60`s beach zombies dancing a go go. Yes, I´m fucked up in the head ^-^ but just imagine.

[colibri1]

This song always makes me wanna watch early 60s beach movies like "Beach Blanket Bingo", "How to Stuff a Wild Bikini", "Pajama Party", "Muscle Beach Party", etc. Why is that?

[xLovexLaurenx]

something sounds 60s about it..? thats what I think anyway

[djbethell]

True, but there again the whole of RnB has been ripping off EVERYBODY'S songs for at least the last 20 years. No-one is interested in new ideas it seems...

[yadurnidgit]

Pretty cool except it made me feel like I was back in high school and we were waiting for the AV tech to come fix the projector.

[JimmyGiliberti]

Is that Cindy behind the piano??? It doesn't look like her....

[bigempty312]

Thats Kate. Cindy on tambourine

[JimmyGiliberti]

Yup. Realized that I had written Cindy instead of Kate, but my sentiment was the same.. Kate looked -so- different !

[TashaTheWonderCat]

it's hard to tell them apart when they wear different wigs all the time, but i think that Cindy is taller and thinner than Kate.

[Novaheart1998]

I just saw them last week in concert and they sound exactly the same! Amazing.

[bayournnr]

A good song but it really does need more cowbell. I'm glad Fred later took care of this deficiency.

[AliasUndercover]

They look like such nice kids, too...

[JRL10040]

a killer performance imho-RW tone alone a marvel of sonic art... But sure is the *strangest* aspect ratio I ever did see. I think the elementals entered over time and partied hearty

[rubenmena]

que perron

[ripjoint]

Man o man. It's like aliens bounced it back from the far recesses of the universe to say "hi" like in the movie "Contact".

[hellomalcolm]

this has to be one of the first verions of thier song. love it, keep dancing

[jlmarc01]

PRICELESS, JUST FRECKING PRICELESS

[awesomebitch]

oh, b-52's....how i love you <3

[gerardsgirl47]

omg dude peeples im 12 and i love the b-52's no lie

[happyhead64]

back in the days when LATE actually played an instrument. THIS VID IS PRICELESS!!! Who cares about the quality, its still AWESOME!!!

When I was in college they played ONE show, similar to this, at the old "I and I" (we snuck in cause I was only 17-not legal yet). Will never forget it.

[deepwelltheband]

Nevermind the quality...this is gem.

Oddly, I just saw this Atlanta venue (or a recreation of it) in a scene from The 80s film "Sid and Nancy". The Sex Pistols played there when they came to the US(76?).

[steelcitystrings]

Where might this have been filmed G? Peace D>

[TeeBeeBad63]

Totally rad, dude.

[Glidescube]

The birth of new wave!!!

[stevencda]

Georgia late 70's, amazing!

[pancracio14]

lol...it´s only for the documental value. i mean, i love the b52s, but this kind of out of tracking. but thanks, great althought!

[yxb1353]

Wow, this is before they dropped "down, down" on stage like we take (and do) for granted now.

[Flunder]

I love this old stuff.

[2slayer7]

Sweeet!!!

[CorinneMarguerite]

Ok, now i think this posting is horribly funny !!!

[Brokeneckbob]

Great stuff realy gritty, still want to find their club version just before them went on tv.

[omghai2u]

they have such an awesome drummer, hes got the perfect beats for all of their songs.

[Grare007]

tanks giant ! your clip fits the avantgarde and i love you

[CorinneMarguerite]

THis looks like it was made before the invention of FILM or video or whatever!!!

[Kenjanz]

you spoiled kiddy...high quality video tape has only been available for the last few years...in 1978, it was very rare

[BillReef]

yea they used to have to pound it on a rock to make it.

[downatthereservoir]

Holy crap, that was fun! Thanks for posting this!!!

[kjm914a]

Is that Kate standing next to Cindy? It sounds like her, but boy, has she changed her appearance!

[Tubeador]

Con ustedes, la versión más rápida de la langosta. Felicitaciones por el material!

[ClueSign]

I think they had been performing live well before this, many times in Atlanta and Athens in 77 and 78, but this is lovely nonetheless. Thanks.

[muddytoy4x4nj]

Great i bet it was flimed before they were signed and before there was vcrs

[Cenflamark]

WOW!!! Where and HOW did you come upon this GEM of a clip? Please do tell!

[robertogonzalez70]

first time i see a live performance, thanks a lot for uploading!

[skyjellyfetti]

haha what was this recorded onto? 78...the year vhs came out?

[robotronica]

its so fast! thanks for the post.

[OrionDenali]

They never knew they were about BLOW UP with that tune!

[danielsan52]

weird it's different than the recorded versions...I like it!

[LordIeuan]

Ok....that was funny!

[0Natty0]

awesome

[asmusick]

It's like watching performing yearbook pictures.

Gorgeous.

[lovethecoffee]

very well said!