The First Tape Album
releases:
| format | date | label | country | time | note | | I | MC | 1980-01 | n/a | UK | 38:18 | original release | | II | MC | 199? | n/a | UK | 60:10 | as The First Tape Album Plus, with two extra tracks |
tracks:
| I | | 1 | Freddie Hepburn | 8:54 | | | 2 | Encore Une Fois | 6:28 | live | | 3 | Sequences | 17:40 | | | 4 | Für Helene Part I | 5:14 | live, rhythm section, short version |
| | II | | 1 | Freddie Hepburn | 8:54 | | | 2 | Encore Une Fois | 6:28 | live | | 4 | Für Helene Part I | 13:55 | from Skan, original long version with "scales" and "depressing chords" | | 5 | Sequences | 17:40 | | | 6 | Four And Three | 5:30 | from Skan | | 7 | Für Helene Part I | 5:14 | live, rhythm section, short version |
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musicians:
| Rick Battersby | keyboards, except on II-4 and II-6 | | Brian Devoil | drums | | Clive Mitten | bass | | Andy Revell | guitar |
Info
The studio tracks of the original tape (Freddie Hepburn and Sequences) were recorded at Multium Studios (previously misstated as Multivision Studios), Wokingham, England, UK, in December 1979. The live tracks of the original release (Encore Une Fois and ) were recorded live in concert at G-012: Main Hall, Reading University, Reading, UK, 1979-11-13 (Für Helene Part I (Rhythm Section)) and G-026: The Bridge House, Bracknell, England, UK, 1980-04-12 (Encore Une Fois). During the year 1979, the band played a number of gigs. Classically trained keyboard Rick Battersby was an old friend of the band (he had helped them with dry ice for their first band contest appearence). Twelfth Night was the first band he joined. His inclusion made the music more full, and more adventurous. "Freddie Hepburn
A guy called Freddie Hepburn was kind enough to lend the band a set of bass pedals. The title used to be (Hats Off To) Freddie Hepburn. Recorded in December 1979 at Multium Studios, Wokingham, England, UK. This version was included as a bonus track on the Cyclops re-issue of Live At The Target. "Encore Une Fois"
This version was recorded on 1980-04-12, at The Bridhe House in Bracknell, England, UK (G-026). It was included as a bonus track on the Cyclops re-issue of Live At The Target.
This track had previously been recorded for the Skan demo, under the title Encore. "Sequences"
In less than a year, this piece grew from eight to seventeen minutes. By now, it had incorporated parts of the original Für Helene Part I track, which was never to be played at its original length again.
This version was recorded, together with Freddie Hepburn, at Multium Studios in Wokingham, England, UK, in December 1979. This version has not been released on CD yet. "Für Helene Part I (Rhythm Section)"
Recorded 1979-11-13, at Reading University, Reading, England, UK.
Since the original was becoming too long for the band, they decided to play the rhythm section only. This was done before: the third ever gig (G-003, Clive's first gig) consisted of the two full-length Für Helene parts (even longer than on the Skan demo; Part I is about twenty minutes), and the encore was a five-minute excerpt of Part I, which is largely the same as the Rhythm Section here. This is the same part that was also recorded for the Live At The Target LP in January 1981. Re-issues
Brian took two tracks from the Skan demo (the full-length Für Helene Part I and Four And Three) to make a sixty-minute tape, and made it available on the merchandise list as The First Tape Album Plus. Another version of this hand-duplicated tape included Für Helene Part II (recorded 1980-04-12), the intro to Encore Une Fois (recorded November 1980 at The Target, so according to the Gig Record this can only be 1980-11-01), and an instrumental version of The Cunning Man (Reading University, 1980-06-27). The Cyclops re-issue of Live At The Target contains Encore Une Fois and Freddie Hepburn from this tape. The complete recordings of 1980-04-12 have been available as an official fanclub live tape for some time, and is likely to be released on the Twelfth Night Archive Recording series of fanclub CDRs. The 1980-06-27 and 1979-11-13 recordings are also candidates for those series. I don't know about the 1980-11-01 recording, though.
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