Seventeen months after KC last played the UK, Boz, Mel, Ian, Pete and Bob embarked on a 15 date tour to re-launch King Crimson this very date in 1971.
There had been times when Crimso treading the boards had looked highly unlikely but the four dates in the Zoom Club in Apil had shown the wisdom of carrying on.
The first gig in Plymouth was made available as part of the King Crimson Collectors Club and their out-of-town debut shows the band overcoming initial nerves, sounding far more confident on the Islands material than the historical repertoire. Even so, these versions are still brand new and the paint barely dry on them as a somewhat sticky version of Ladies of the Road demonstrates.
The sell-out concert was a great testing ground for the band and, as Fripp told Disc reporter David Harris, "The people were marvellous. We deliberately chose Plymouth to make our debut because the audience would put up with us if anything goes wrong!" Harris goes on to report that the band had no encore prepared and so it fell to Burrell to perform a warmly received tap dance routine to "Me And My Shadow".
Throughout the gig Fripp sounds curiously subdued whilst the man of the match has to be Mel Collins. When the guitarist describes Mel's talents as “beyond belief” it’s no idle flattery; the ground Collins covers during this gig is astonishing. His blazing solos during Bearings and Schizoid and the sheer stamina on display during the nascent Sailors Tale make this gig an essential snapshot of a keen Crimso stepping up to the plate.
