Live In Concert 1980

Barbara Thompson’s Paraphernalia

Live In Concert 1980

(80th Birthday Edition)

Repertoire Records marks the occasion of Barbara Thompson’s 80th Birthday with the release of a classic album as a deluxe package with bonus CD compiled by Barbara herself

Limited edition 2CD deluxe package
Reissue of Paraphernalia’s classic album Live In Concert 1980 mastered by Jon Hiseman
Fully illustrated 36 page booklet with liner notes by the daughter of Barbara Thompson and Jon Hiseman, singer Ana Gracey, including recollections and insights from Barbara’s fellow musicians
10 track bonus CD The Flute Collection compiled by Barbara herself before her death, with material spanning 20 years performed by several seminal Paraphernalia line-ups

Barbara Thompson MBE would have celebrated her 80th Birthday in July 2024. In response to fan requests, Repertoire Records will be marking the occasion with the release of classic Paraphernalia album Live In Concert as a deluxe package with bonus CD compilation The Flute Collection. Barbara Thompson, the virtuoso saxophonist, composer and bandleader, lost her battle with Parkinson’s in 2022, aged 77. It seems fitting that we celebrate Barbara Thompson’s 80th birthday by releasing an album which was recorded, in part, on her 36th birthday, 27th July 1980. Barbara’s husband, Colosseum drummer Jon Hiseman, had joined Paraphernalia the year before and produced the album.

“It was said that Live In Concert was our most inspired recorded performance to date, perhaps partly due to the fact that we had an extremely responsive audience and greater room for improvisation. The album featured what was probably Jon’s finest recorded drum solo to date.”

From Journey To A Destination Unknown, Barbara’s autobiography

Despite being a fan favourite and receiving many accolades, the album has never been released on CD or digital platforms…until now.

BONUS CD: The Flute Collection

Barbara Thompson studied flute, clarinet and piano at the Royal College of Music. Her skill on the flute earned her a place in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s platinum selling Variations alongside husband and legendary drummer, Jon Hiseman. Variations went on to be hugely successful and the opening section became the long-running theme of The South Bank Show. Barbara was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 1997 and reluctantly gave up the flute when it became clear that her fingers simply no longer had the dexterity required to play to the level she expected of herself. Barbara herself curated this bonus CD compilation of flute tracks before her death, in the hope that fans would enjoy hearing an eclectic collection made up of 10 tracks taken from 7 of her albums with the earliest recorded in 1978 and the most recent from August 1998. Barbara’s daughter, singer Ana Gracey, came up with the idea for the deluxe 2CD package in celebration of her mother. She concludes the booklet with the poignant words, “Happy 80th Birthday Mum, I hope you like your gift.”

“It is rare to be able to write anything complimentary about jazz-rock…But Paraphernalia, the latest outfit of British saxophonist and flautist Barbara Thompson is currently proving on the club and festival circuit there is still room in what appeared to be an overcrowded field for a band with strong musical ideas and the virtuosity to back them up.”

Rod Chapman review of Paraphernalia at 100 Club - Sunday Times 1980

“Thompson’s formidable instrumental skills encompassed a tenor-saxophone voice that could range from the sensuous lyricism of Coleman Hawkins or Stan Getz to the power of John Coltrane’s turbulent soliloquies; nimble bebop fluency on the alto sax; and a dulcet-to-abstract tonal range on the flute.”

Barbara Thompson Obituary, The Guardian, John Fordham, 28 July 2022

Tracklist

DISC ONE
Live In Concert
Queen’s Theatre, July 1980

01 Summer Madness [6:48]
02 Frilly Bolero [10:33]
03 From Nowhere [9:07]
04 Scrummage [8:28]
05 Little Annie-Ooh [6:29]
06 Blues For Adolphe Sax [8:55]
07 Sunset [5:54]
08 Aliyah [18:17]

Bass Guitar – Dill Katz
Drums – Jon Hiseman
Keyboards – Colin Dudman
Tenor/Alto/Soprano saxes, flute and tambourine – Barbara Thompson

Duration: 74:31

BONUS DISC
The Flute Collection
Compilation CD

01 Fields Of Flowers [4:48]
Album: Pure Fantasy

Drums – Jon Hiseman
Keyboards – Bill Worrall
Bass Guitar – Dave Ball
Violin – Rod Dorothy
Flute – Barbara Thompson

02 Castles In The Air [6:50]
Album: Mother Earth

Bass Guitar – Dill Katz
Drums – Jon Hiseman
Keyboards – Colin Dudman
Violin – Anthony Oldridge
Flute – Barbara Thompson

03 Bad Blues [3:32]
Album: Breathless

Bass – Phil Mulford
Drums – Jon Hiseman
Guitar – Malcom MacFarlane
Keyboards – Peter Lemer
Flute – Barbara Thompson

04 Head In The Sand [7:17]
Album: Shifting Sands

Bass Guitar – Paul Westwood
Drums – Jon Hiseman
Keyboards – Peter Lemer
Violin – Billy Thompson
Flute – Barbara Thompson

05 Goodtyme Mr. Sam [3:49]
Album: Barbara Thompson’s Paraphernalia

Bass – Roy Babbington
Drums, Percussion – Harold Fisher
Keyboards – Colin Dudman
Flute – Barbara Thompson
06 Tibetan Sunrise [4:52]
Album: Heavenly Bodies
Bass – Andy Pask
Percussion – Jon Hiseman
Keyboards – Colin Dudman
Guitar – Paul Dunne
Bass Trombone – Bill Geldard
Trumpet – Guy Barker, John Thirkell, Stuart Brooks
Violin – Patrick Halling, Robin Williams, Rod Dorothy
Viola – Tony Harris
Cello – Quentin Williams
Flute – Barbara Thompson

07 Eastern Western Promise Part I [10:01]
08 Eastern Western Promise Part II [9:20]
Album: A Cry From The Heart – Live In London

Bass – Phil Mulford
Drums – Jon Hiseman
Electric Guitar – Paul Dunne
Keyboards – Peter Lemer
Alto Flute, Piccolo Flute – Barbara Thompson

09 La Tranquillité D’Ame [6:01]

Bass – Roy Babbington
Drums, Percussion – Harold Fisher
Keyboards – Colin Dudman
Flute – Barbara Thompson

10 Elysian Fields [3:08]
Album: Heavenly Bodies

Bass – Andy Pask
Percussion – Jon Hiseman
Keyboards – Colin Dudman
Electric Guitar – Paul Dunne
Cello – Quentin Williams
Violin – Rod Dorothy
Flute – Barbara Thompson

Duration: 59:39