Live at Rockpalast, 1983

Personnel: John Lydon (vocals); Joseph Guida (guitar); Arthur Stead (keyboards); Martin Atkins (drums).
Recording information: Zeche, Bochum, Germay (10/31/1983).
Director: Christian Wagner .
Photographer: Manfred Becker.
Live at Rockpalast, 1983 is a simple transfer of PiL performing live on the German television show, but it's of special interest as the concert falls firmly between two albums. The prickly Flowers of Romance was going on two years old and the fast, funky stomp of This Is What You Want...This Is What You Get was yet to come, but pivotal member Keith Levine is already gone with drummer Martin Atkins and, of course, vocalist John Lydon being the only PiL of note in this version. Interesting to hear a particularly bright "(This Is Not A) Love Song" and an almost swinging version of "Bad Life," two points that already make this a better deal than the same era's Live in Tokyo. Add a steely "Anarchy in the U.K." from a project that rarely played it, and the set becomes desirable for PiL fans who don't see Levine's departure as the bitter end.