The first I bought ,from someone who offered cd's in a Dutch fanclub magazine, was "Urban Jungle" aka Wembley '90 a rare Japanese bootleg cd, which was released at the beginning of 1991. When I got it from my local postoffice I couldn't believe I realy had it in my hands. In the middle of the night I even got out of my bed, just to check I didn't dream it.

I also thought that all bootlegs were in this great SB quality, ofcourse they weren't. The next one I bought was Basel '90, which ofcourse was an average audience recording, so that was a big disappoinment. The third one I bought was the 3cd Terrifying from Atlantic City '89, which was a lot better.

Than in 1992 I discovered record fairs and with a lot of money I visited the first one and went home with a huge pile of cd's and LP's.
It was just bootleg heaven in those days, sellers just could freely sell rows of bootleg records. This would not be the last one I would visit.

Nowadays I mostly buy bootlegs online.



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 2015-08-09 00:25 by GJV.

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vudicus

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shattered
Sorry to ask a stupid question but how did all those music stores press all these boots or was the pressing equipment easy to get?

Record stores didn't press them, they purchased them from the bootleggers.

Check out this blog by one of the "Liver than you'll ever be" bootleggers.
There are several links to different stories he has to tell, including how they got them pressed. Fascinating stuff...

[www.kendouglas.org]

Great story about Live'r. It's ironic, given the secrecy and paranoia of the bootleggers, and the clandestine nature of selling the vinyls, I obtained a copy from an FM radio station in L.A. shortly after that bootleg became available. I wish I could remember which station, it may have been KPPC in Pasadena. They were doing a fundraiser on the air, and for a $5.00 donation, they would send out Live'R Than You'll Ever Be. I had seen the L.A. Forum show and desperately wanted a copy of one of the live shows. So, I called the station and made the pledge and got the vinyl. There had to be some sort of FCC rules violations in giving out a bootleg album! But, those were the days, when "underground" stations really were underground!

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GJV
The first I bought ,from someone who offered cd's in a Dutch fanclub magazine, was "Urban Jungle" aka Wembley '90 a rare Japanese bootleg cd, which was released at the beginning of 1991. When I got it from my local postoffice I couldn't believe I realy had it in my hands. In the middle of the night I even got out of my bed, just to check I didn't dream it.

Nice story! For me it was the Atlantic City 3-cd black box. Sony lawyers were breathing down Dieter S.(the TSP boss)'s neck so he couldn't use any band image for the artwork. I didn't know this at the time, I thought the "all black" look was a decision from TSP's art department.
"How cool it looks like the 2001 monolith" ><

Reverse Blues - I'll abridge the story;

I'd been to see Zeppelin at Knebworth and came back with the white swansong t-shirt which was greatly admired by my current circle of friends. I wore it out and about and one day a friend said a guy he knows really wants the shirt and has a good Stones bootleg he would swap for it. Anyway, we arranged to meet up as I was a huge Stones fan but hadn't got one single bootleg of theirs and was interested to see how good it would be.

Once at his house he passed me the record (vinyl) I was impressed with the front cover shot of Keith in reverse so to speak and then once hearing the intro to Gimme Shelter and the sound quality, I happily handed over my Zep T shirt.

Even today with hundreds more bootlegs in my collection I still love Reverse Blues and still have my double vinyl copy!

My first was a 45 with an accoustic version of "All down the Line" and "Andrew' blues. This was bought from Japan with Ronnie Wood's first LP "I got my own album to do"
The Stones 45 was in a white cover with nothing written on it. The 2 songs were great although I suspect that the Andrew's blues song was not at the right speed; a little too fast. That was in 1984 and I was happy with my first boot.
Rock and roll,
Mops

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dcba

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GJV
The first I bought ,from someone who offered cd's in a Dutch fanclub magazine, was "Urban Jungle" aka Wembley '90 a rare Japanese bootleg cd, which was released at the beginning of 1991. When I got it from my local postoffice I couldn't believe I realy had it in my hands. In the middle of the night I even got out of my bed, just to check I didn't dream it.

Nice story! For me it was the Atlantic City 3-cd black box. Sony lawyers were breathing down Dieter S.(the TSP boss)'s neck so he couldn't use any band image for the artwork. I didn't know this at the time, I thought the "all black" look was a decision from TSP's art department.
"How cool it looks like the 2001 monolith" ><

I bought that TSP box version a couple of years later, when I found out that it was of better quality. I never knew about the artwork, I always thought it looked great and with class: a beautiful shiny black box with silver lettering.

My first bootleg experience was in London, July 1981. I knew about bootlegs existence, but I did not know where to buy them in France. La Fnac was not selling them.

So on a Saturday morning in Portobello Road July 1981, below the railway bridge at the very end of the flea market, I found a street seller who was selling some "unusual records" and I immediately understood what it was.

As I had not a huge budget, I had to choose (the guy had something like 10 or 15 Stones live recordings). I bought "The Stars In The Sky They Never Lie" (with a luxurious laminated cover) and "Leeds Stones The Flamin' Groupies".

Both records had excellent sound, and me too, I thought that all bootlegs were like that. So I was quite disappointed when I bought the next one few months later in Les Puces north of Paris with a bloody sound...

For the little story, I had the chance to meet the Stones in Boulogne in April 1985 when they were recording Dirty Work. At that time, you could approach them very easily and they accepted to sign records, even bootlegs... So when I asked Ronnie to sign on "Leeds Stones" he told me "but I didn't play on that one". I answered "it doesn't matter Ronnie, it really doesn't matter". And he signed... Of course I still have that bootleg with Ronnie print on it... Those were the days...

Great read! Cool story about Ron! Wow!

I first heard the Brussels/London 73 broadcast and taped that. It blew my mind. Next heard a compilation tape my brother had. It had stuff from The Black Box vinyl lps and Jean Clarke memorial Sonic Barbecue and Who Went To Church. my first vinyl boots were bought at Layman House in Lonson Ontario. Got Around In A Roundhouse and Bring It Back Alive (Charlotte 72). Later got tapes of Garden State 78 and Blind Date off a friend. Gradually collected loads of vinyl boots. Eventually realized tape trading was way cheaper.

Paris au Printemps...not remotely good.

I remember paying $25 or $30 bucks for it, one album, getting it home and putting on the turntable.

Sound was horrible and then while listening to it, at one point thinking, isn't this the Love You Live recording?, which I believe it is.

Horrible sound. Had the Billy Preston "Outta Space" on it, which I wasn't remotely interested in at the time.

My first boot L.P. I ever got came from an ad I saw in a U.K. paper for a mail order of the... "The Hyde Park Concert" in Sept 1969. It was just a white album with a stamp on the label "HYDE PARK" It was pressed with the heavy U.K. vinyl lacquer
My next was the "Hot Rocks" E.P. in late October 1969 someone I was good friends with had gotten a hold of the Chess session tapes, from a guy we knew at Sterling Sound studios in NYC. My friend had only 50 copies pressed, the first pressing did not have the skip on "Looking Tired" (As it was made from the master tape). The extra copies were either sold or giving to a local record store or giving out to friends.
From that someone who must have played the E.P. so much, scratch "Looking Tired" so it skipped. It was from that record that the huge explosion of the "Hot Rocks" E.P. years later got world wide distribution from the big bootleggers in the early 70's. Where they kept the skip on "Looking Tired" when they pressed their copies of the record. So all new copies had a skip on "Looking Tired". Many, many years later "Hot Rocks" E.P. was pressed without the skipping "Looking Tired"

There was also bootleg 45's in 1969 & 1970 from juke Boxes, (I got a H.T.W. single) the labels were done poorly or were different totally and put in Juke Boxes at local bars instead of the legit record.. This is a whole different type of bootlegging that had been going on for many years. This was more an organized crime type thing.

I was livin 'in the remote hills of Hounville Tasmania
with James and David two eccentric brothers from The Jersey Island ..
James had some bootlegs and he was dead broke so I bought The Stones
Liver Than You'll Ever Be and Hendrix's Live Experience from him .... Still have those albums



ROCKMAN

Rockman, to me this is one of your best ever posts!

It makes me want to rush out to the nearest cocktail party and casually
remark, "Ya know, when I was in the Tasmanian hills recently..."

OH !!! Thank you Sharon ... It was just a simple lil' story ....

See if I can find a photo of us up in the hills ...



ROCKMAN

Can't wait! Remember when I threw a fit because the Hill people didn't have

any Champagne? Feel kinda bad about that now.

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VideoJames
My first boot L.P. I ever got came from an ad I saw in a U.K. paper for a mail order of the... "The Hyde Park Concert" in Sept 1969. It was just a white album with a stamp on the label "HYDE PARK" It was pressed with the heavy U.K. vinyl lacquer

Hi James,

Is it possible to have a picture of the sleeve and the lables ?

My bootleg collecting odyssey started way back when I was about 15. I had just finished reading The Beatles an Illustrated Record, which basically reviewed all their albums. At the back of the book was a section that said Bootlegs/Unreleased recordings. I was fascinated and needed to get my hands on all that unreleased recordings! I was confused though, and didn't really understand how so much of their music could be unreleased. Especially with cool titles like "Cum Back". So I pulled out a phone book (yes, this was way before the internet!) and looked for record stores. I called about ten asking about bootlegs and they all answered, "NO". And didn't really seem too interested in talking to a 15 year old about bootlegs. So finally I get to the record store listing for Schoolkids Records in Ann Arbor. I had never been, and called. A guy answered and I asked about Beatles bootlegs, and he said, "No sorry I don't have any at the moment, but I have several Rolling Stones boots. Come on by I will show them to you...ask for Jim." I was flabbergasted! Finally, someone who not only knew what a boot was, but had one! So I gathered up all my saved allowance and pleaded with my Mom to take me there. She agreed. So we made the drive to Ann Arbor and found Schoolkids Records. The best record store I had seen up to that point (and was known nationally). I went in and asked for Jim and a long haired hippy smiled and said,"Hey I am jim! Come on to the back room and I'll show you what I have." At that point I had only one Rolling Stones album, Some Girls. And didn't know much by the boys, and Jim proceeded to show me several boots from the 78 tour. Lacerated, In Again, Out Again, and another I can't quite recall. I bought them all! I got home and was captivated by these albums. The sound quality was pretty damn good, the covers ranged from a nice black and white pic on Lacerated to a flimsy piece of photocopied paper with a faded picture of Mick on it, In Again, Out Again. But man, I was hooked! Thanks Schoolkids for the adventure.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-08-09 14:33 by whitem8.

Burning at the Hollywood Palladium, bought in 1973 in Paris.



I loved to shop in Brussels, Place de la Monnaie.

I bought there the bootleg bible, Hot Wax


[hotwaxrecordings.blogspot.fr]

Hello Joker,

Where in Paris?

Open Market (Marc Zermati "special treat", they poke fun at me when buying Live in Honolulu) rue des Lombards

Mur du Son boulevard de Strasbourg...

The very first one bought, I think, in a record shop in Saint Germain des Prés...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-08-10 01:24 by The Joker.

This is one of those threads that make you glad there's an internet. Bless you all and your memories, I know they mean as much to you as mine do to me. I'll post mine as soon as I do a little research into my collection.

My first was the recording that I made on cassette at the Wembley Empire Pool 8 1973 early show which is now in common circulation.

The first vinyl boot that I bought was the LA Nicaragua concert 1973.

'If You Can't Rock Me' Milan, 1977

Bootlegs were so easy to buy, in town.
Except for megastores, all other shops had bootlegs.
My copy still has the price sticker on Lire 3.200 (circa €1,70).
The first flood of new bootlegs I experienced were the live from the 1978 tour.
First Passaic on Smiling Dork and then all the rest. You could buy ten bootlegs per week at the time. Those were the days...
Bye, Luca

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Rockman
I was livin 'in the remote hills of Hounville Tasmania
with James and David two eccentric brothers from The Jersey Island ..
James had some bootlegs and he was dead broke so I bought The Stones
Liver Than You'll Ever Be and Hendrix's Live Experience from him .... Still have those albums

Paint It Black, you Tasman Devil!

After seeing my first Stones gig in Orlando 1981 I found the 3 LP box of Hampton. I was very excited. But there was one problem, the third disc was somebody else, what a way to be introduced to Stones bootlegs.

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frankotero
After seeing my first Stones gig in Orlando 1981 I found the 3 LP box of Hampton. I was very excited. But there was one problem, the third disc was somebody else, what a way to be introduced to Stones bootlegs.

Cool, did you go back to the record store to complain about it?

My experience is probably a bit different than most of yours it seems. I grew up in the cassette tape and early CD era. My dad's favorite band is the Stones, and soon it was to be mine too.

I still have his original cassette of the Nicky Hopkins birthday concert from Perth, and it remains one of my favorite bootlegs. The version of Gimme Shelter is far from perfect, but it is ominous and I love Taylor's use of the wah pedal, something unique to that performance. He also comes in later than usual.

Although he had other bootlegs I distinctly remember Nasty Music, a CD with strange lips and lipstick on the artwork. I recall one of the disks was broken and I believe it was Disk 1 because I was unfamiliar with Taylor playing slide on Brown Sugar until I bought Brussels Affair Definitive Edition for his birthday one year. That concert shook me to my core. The confidence of the band and the heaviness I never experienced listening to the Stones. Live, they were a hard rock, kick ass band. I like Oasis for a similar reason, live they are just an awesome garage rock band with great songs.

I was a regular getting my boots at the Waterlooplein in Amsterdam in the Seventies, there was'nt much info around at the time and you never knew what it sounded like, some boots were blank cardboard and no labels, it was the excitement till the moment the recordplayer started to roll, the: "ex'clusiveness" to listen to your band. I will name a few:
Stoned again by the Rockers
Rolling Again
Bright Light Big City 1962/63
Stoneaged San Diego 69 live William G.Stout albumcover design
Miscellaneous
The Beatles and the Rolling Stones Sing This All Together
Welcome To New-York City 1972 - W.G Stout album cover
Gather No Moss 1976.
Summer Reruns.
Hyde Park 69 2x

My first Stones album was Let It Bleed. My second was Liver Than You'll Ever Be...the boot from Oakland 1969. I wish I still had it.

Two tapes given to me by a friend of my brother in 1980 I guess.One with Brussels/London '73 and the other a mixtape from the '78 tour including stuff from a radio broadcast.
Listened first to the '73 tape and was blown away.