The Come Back, All is Forgiven Tour: Live is a live concert video by the British rock band Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, which was filmed during their 1989 tour. The concert video has also been released in a variety of guises as a live album.
Background
Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel's 1989 "The Come Back, All is Forgiven" tour was the band's first since their 1981 Christmas tour, and their first concert since a one-off show in London in 1984.[1] Harley made the decision to go back out on the road with a new line-up of Cockney Rebel in 1988 and a UK tour took place in February and March 1989. In addition, Harley made future plans to release new material by returning to the studio during the previous month. With guitarist Jim Cregan, keyboardist Duncan Mackay and drummer Stuart Elliott, six tracks were recorded, including "When I'm with You", which Harley hoped would help the band gain a record deal.[2] Speaking of the tour's name, Harley told the Newcastle Journal in 1989, "That's me being ironic. It stops anyone in your profession calling it a comeback tour or anything derogatory like that."[3]
Following the UK tour, the band returned with a larger 64-date tour under the same name, which covered both the UK and Europe.[4] Two of the concerts on the tour, at the Dome Theatre in Brighton (17 June) and the Derngate Theatre in Northampton (28 June), were professionally filmed to produce a concert video.[5]The Come Back, All is Forgiven Tour: Live was released by Odyssey on VHS in October 1989.[6] Featuring fourteen songs of Harley's own personal choice from the two concerts, it was directed by Steve Hills, produced by Vance Goodwin, and produced by G & H Production Partnership in association with Steve Mather for JSE and Adrian Munsey for Odyssey Video.[5] The tour was deemed a success, and the band, under different line-up changes, have continued to tour since.[1]
On the back cover of the VHS, Harley was quoted: "So, how long has it been? Six, perhaps seven years since the last British tour? It's been far too long, of that I am certain. And there's no good reason for it, really. You know how much I love it up there. Quite honestly, there is nowhere I'd rather be. When you sing with me the choruses (often the entire lyrics!) of "Make Me Smile", the smile is genuine. The thanks are from deep inside; the joy is unequalled. To you, without whom... thanks."[5]
Release
The Come Back, All is Forgiven Tour: Live was originally released on VHS on 13 October 1989 by Odyssey.[6] On 20 February 2012, Odyssey gave the video its first DVD release, released under the title Steve Harley + Cockney Rebel - Live.[7]
CD version
The audio of the video has been released as a CD album under many guises across Europe and beyond. These albums have been released by a number of different 'super-cheapo' labels.[8] The majority of versions of the album omitted the opening track "Dancing on the Telephone", while others placed "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" as the first track.
Upon its release, Robin Duke of the West Lancashire Evening Gazette considered Cockney Rebel's return to be "one of the least likeliest comebacks of this year", with Harley now "look[ing] and sound[ing] like one of rock's older statesmen even though his band look and sound eminently contemporary". He picked "Sebastian" as one of the highlights and concluded, "Never one to show much enthusiasm about the traditions of the rock world, does Harley actually mean what he is doing this time around or is this simply a money spinner? It would be a shame if it was the latter."[28] In an AllMusic review of the 1994 Make Me Smile - Live on Tour CD release of the concert, Dave Thompson picked "The Lighthouse" and "Star for a Week" as two highlights from the show and noted they "work far more effectively live than they did in the studio" [on 1992's Yes You Can]. He felt the older material "offer[s] only isolated sparks of interest and innovation - ten minutes of 'Sebastian' impress with their portentousness, and the medley of 'The Best Years of Our Lives'/'Sweet Dreams' is perverse enough to demand a second listen. The problem is, this is meant to be a Steve Harley album. The audience often sings louder than he does."[27]
^Sloan, Billy (21 January 1989). "Rebels on road!". Daily Record. p. 18.
^Jones, Tony (8 June 1989). "Popping up again as time goes by". Newcastle Journal.
^Sloan, Billy (27 May 1989). "Rebel Rouser". Daily Record. p. 22.
^ abcThe Come Back, All is Forgiven Tour: Live (Media notes). Steve Harley + Cockney Rebel. Odyssey. 1989.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) Accessed on 22 February 2016.
