Birmingham (Live with Orchestra & Choir)
| Birmingham (Live with Orchestra & Choir) | ||||
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| Live album by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel | ||||
| Released | 14 October 2013 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 95:47 | |||
| Label | Comeuppance Ltd Absolute |
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| Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel chronology | ||||
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Birmingham (Live with Orchestra & Choir) is a live album by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, featuring the Orchestra of the Swan and Chamber Choir. It was recorded live at the Birmingham Symphony Hall on 24 November 2012, and was released on both CD and DVD in 2013. A DVD version of the performance was also released at the same time.
—Steve Harley quoted on the inner sleeve of the CD.
For many years, Steve Harley had considered performing the first two Cockney Rebel albums - 1973's The Human Menagerie and 1974's The Psychomodo - in their entirety, with an orchestra and choir. In 2011, he began planning the one-off concert, and had originally considered the Cadogan Hall or Royal Festival Hall in London for the performance. In a July 2011 online diary entry, Harley commented: "I know now for certain that those albums will be wonderful to play, backed by orchestra and choir, and I'm determined to press on with that idea. It may mean no other UK rock band shows all next year, so the tickets can sell. The costs will be astronomical, so the tickets must shift. Pride, too, will factor in all this. I want to play to a sold-out hall."
By the end of the year, serious planning for the concert began. In January 2012, contracts were signed and tickets went on sale. Initially, the tickets were offered exclusively on Harley's website for a few weeks before their official release to the general public. The concert, now finalised to be played at Birmingham Symphony Hall, received strong ticket sales before their general release. In a February 2012 diary entry, Harley added: "The anticipation is quite thrilling in itself". He also announced that "Judy Teen" would be played at the concert, as well as the possible inclusion of "Black or White". Around this same time, Harley held a meeting with Andrew Powell, the conductor behind the original album's orchestral arrangements. Powell later agreed to conduct the orchestra at the concert. English musician Steve Norman of Spandau Ballet fame was also confirmed to play with the band on the night. By mid-April 2012, only an approximate 150 seats were left to sell.
In June, the first rehearsals were held, while Harley announced that the concert would be recorded using a mobile recording studio, for a future CD release. While a DVD release was also being considered, it was not a certainty. Largely dependent on cost, Harley commented in his diary: "To do it properly needs five cameras. The editing process is costly beyond most people's imagination. The costs of filming the concert to the highest quality, weighed against the potential income, make it an unlikely contender, at least as a Comeuppance production. One alternative is to approach film companies who specialise in such jobs." In the end, Harley chose Goodmedia Limited to film the show.
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