Bull & Gate 27 April 1983
This good quality cassette recording is a very interesting document for several reasons. One, it’s the second earliest instance of In Cahoots being captured on tape in live performance, during their residency at the Bull & Gate pub. Two, and most importantly, Elton Dean was absent on that occasion, so what we have hear is a quartet of Phil Miller, Richard Sinclair, Pip Pyle and relative newcomer Peter Lemer, who nonetheless already sounds very assured. The lack of saxophone makes the lineage to earlier bands like late-period National Health and Gowen-Miller-Sinclair-Tomkins more evident. As it’s early days for the band and an unusual configuration, there are moments of, let’s say, uncertainty, but on the whole it’s a solid performance with Richard’s agile bass particularly to the fore. A special treat is the otherwise unrecorded Fall by Wayne Shorter, a fixture of those early gigs alongside Phil’s originals.
Phil Miller – guitar
Peter Lemer – keyboards
Richard Sinclair – bass
Pip Pyle – drums
A great find! Astonishing version of Calyx, full of emotion.
Wow great gig great playing.
Thank you for the date as having consulted my diary I now know this was the first time I met the Miller brothers as Steve Miller with Mark Hewins were supporting In Cahoots. I mentioned ‘rubbing guitars’ referring to Marks alternate techniques of wringing notes out of a guitar in my diary. Little did I know that I would eventually make a great friendship & perform with these folks.