Pink Floyd’s ‘Wish You Were Here’ Tour Bootleg Resurfaces With Remastered Sound
via Alive in Memories / Youtube
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In the 1970s, even the biggest names in rock didn’t always manage to document their stadium tours. And without smartphones or digital cameras, fans rarely recorded concerts. Pink Floyd ‘s stages were elaborate and majestic but their shows weren’t exactly well-documented and it wasn’t their top priority but fortunately for us, some fans managed to capture the audio and video of their performances.
Still, recording equipment at the time wasn’t convenient to carry around. Nevertheless, Pink Floyd fans came through and took one for the team. Quality may not always be good but bootlegs are still part of rock history.
According to Rolling Stone magazine, the bootleg below was filmed by Mike “The Mic” Millard who got past security by using a phony wheelchair to sneak his Nakamichi 550 tape recorder into shows at the Los Angeles Forum. When the concert begins and the lights are dimmed, he would wire it to microphones attached to his hat. He used this clever trick to capture performances by Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Yes, and many more. Unlike other bootlegs, Millard’s boasted of great sound quality and minimal audience noise.
The video below was taken on April 26, 1975 at the Los Angeles Forum – months before the release of “Wish You Were Here”.