Here's all the information about the show from "Passions Like Mine"
18 March 1985
Apollo Theatre, Oxford
William It Was Really Nothing
Nowhere Fast
I Want The One I Can't Have
What She Said
Hand In Glove
How Soon Is Now?
Stretch Out And Wait
That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore
Shakespeare's Sister
Rusholme Ruffians
The Headmaster Ritual
Still Ill
Meat Is Murder
/Miserable Lie
//Barbarism Begins At Home
///You've Got Everything Now
////Handsome Devil
Oxford was given the rarer "You've Got Everything Now", but regular "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" and occasional "Reel Around The Fountain" were not played.
As he entered stage, Morrissey greeted the audience "Hello, we're the other funny Manchester group" and the band launched into set opener "William It Was Really Nothing". In that number Morrissey made a slight mistake when he sang "...and if you like you can buy the ring, *I* doesn't care about anything". Before "What She Said", knowing that the concert was being recorded for posterity, Morrissey announced "I hope you take notes ... this will all be relevant one day". The most recent release "Shakespeare's Sister" was introduced with the words "This is our new single... which is about the greatest woman that ever lived..."
Coming back for the encore Morrissey announced "This is being taped by the jolly BBC, so if anybody has anything clever to say, say it now and go down in history". The performance of "Miserable Lie" which followed was a very lively one. Morrissey rolled his 'R's, changed some of his words and echoed the endings of certain lines as he had been doing at the time. After the song he asked "Any questions?". In "You've Got Everything Now" Morrissey took even more liberties with his lyrics than he usually did. Besides changes heard before, he sang "I've seen you smile, but can you throw back your head and really laugh?".
This concert was recorded by the BBC. It was first broadcast two months later on Janice Long's programme and is still broadcast now and then around the world. Live versions of "Nowhere Fast", "Stretch Out And Wait", "Shakespeare's Sister" and "Meat Is Murder" from this BBC recording are available on the "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" single and the Holland-only "The Headmaster Ritual" single. These same songs minus "Shakespeare's Sister" are available on the "The Headmaster Ritual" cd-single. "Miserable Lie" is also available on the Canadian and Dutch Rough Trade Records compilation LPs simply titled "Compilation". "What She Said" was given away on a covermount 7" titled "Poll Winners" included with a 1985 issue of the NME. Finally, "Meat Is Murder" was included on the UK edition of the "Animal Liberation" LP. This version includes about 20 extra seconds of audience noise than the b-side version mentioned above.
This concert is the most widely available one on bootlegs. It was broadcast many times on various programmes in various countries but only a few different recordings are being circulated. First of all, "I Want The One I Can't Have", "Rusholme Ruffians" and "Handsome Devil" which were performed on that night were never broadcast and are therefore not found on any bootleg produced from a radio broadcast. Collectors interested in the full set will want to get their hands on a rarer audience recording (read further).
The best bootleg produced from a radio broadcast has to be "Same Day Again". It is available on cd, the 14 broadcast tracks are present and in the proper order and the sound quality is the best. The only thing it lacks is some of the in between song banter by Morrissey which can be found on some of the other titles, as well as one minute from "How Soon Is Now?". In 2006, a fan put up for circulation on the internet a 'readjusted' version of this bootleg. Using a digital rebroadcast he reintroduced some of the missing banter, the missing minute from "How Soon Is Now?", applied a minor correction to the pitch and increased the volume. The sound quality slightly suffered in the process but is still very good and the result is still an interesting alternative.
"Same Day Again" was reissued with different artwork under the same title, or the alternate titles "Live In Europe" and "Radio One In Concert 9.5.85".
The "Before Love" cd bootleg (beware, not the LP with the same title) is just as good as the above but the track order was mixed. The show is coupled with "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" from Dublin 13 November 1984 and soundchecks of "Asleep" and "Unloveable" from Inverness 1 October 1985 and "Purple Haze" from Glasgow 16 July 1986.
"Stealers" is also very interesting. However it lacks "Barbarism Begins At Home" despite that title being listed on the sleeve. It sounds like it was produced from vinyl, probably from the "A Kind Of Loving" bootleg which has the same messed track order. (Note the latter LP was also reissued on fanmade cd with the slight alternate artwork.
"Better Live Than Dead" lacks three additional tracks to the three that were never broadcast: "The Headmaster Ritual", "Still Ill" and "You've Got Everything Now". It is a CD reissue of the re vinyl LP bootleg "Oxford Apollo 9.5.85 / PS Remember Jesus Loves You". The "James Dean Is Dead" cd bootleg has the same track listing, it is probably related to the above, but for some reason, the sound quality is inferior.
"Flowers" lacks the four following songs from the broadcast selection: "Nowhere Fast", "What She Said", "Hand In Glove" and "How Soon Is Now?". However what there is of the show is coupled with two tracks from the Kilburn concert that are missing on the official live album "Rank" as well as Peel sessions of "London" and "Half A Person".
Finally the live version of "What She Said" mentioned above as having been released on the NME freebie 7" "Poll Winners" found its way tagged at the end of the "So This Is America" bootleg LP which offers an American concert from 5 August 1986.
Most, but not all of the bootlegs mentioned above are also available on file sharing networks on one format or another. The best ones, "Same Day Again" and "Live In Europe", are very commonly found there, so the non-availability of some of the others is secondary.
For the few collectors interested in the full set, an audience recording can be traded from bootleg cd collectors. The quality is obviously not as good as that of the broadcast bootlegs listed above, but it is still quite good. This audience recording has made it onto file sharing networks, but is not very widely circulated at this point in time.
Thanks for posting the concert!!!
