Swan Lake

One Step Beyond, 2023 CD reissue

Bedders: ‘Swan Lake’ is an old reggae take on the Tchaikovsky piece. The Cats did it in the 60s, and I’m pretty sure that I played it the first time I met the band. They taught me it at rehearsal.
Woody: Chalky and Cathal dance to ‘Swan Lake’ in Take It Or Leave It, and nut their heads together along to the song, like they would at our gigs. You could hear the cracking of the skulls – it was really frightening. They must have been seriously anaesthetised off all the alcohol. Sometimes they would split their heads. It was serious stuff – they weren’t mucking about. That’s the kind of commitment we wanted. But it was bloody dangerous, on reflection.
Mike: They were an aggressive couple of young chaps. It looked a bit mad to me. But they got into doing that, and showing off in front of the audience.

The song first appeared on the ‘One Step Beyond…’ LP (Stiff)

‘MISTAKES’ 2LP – The Paradise Ballroom, Boston, Massachusetts, USA 24 Feb 1980

‘DANCE CRAZE’ 1981 – St George’s Hall, Bradford 27 Apr 1980

‘KING BISCUIT FLOWER HOUR’ – Pier 84, New York 22 Aug 1983

‘MIS LIVE – A COLLECTION OF LIVE SONGS RECORDED AROUND THE PLONET 1980 TO 1985’

‘MADSTOCK!’ – Finsbury Park, London 8 Aug 1992

‘MADSTOCK 2’ – Finsbury Park, London 6 Aug 1994

‘UNIVERSAL MADNESS’ – Universal Amphitheatre, Los Angeles, USA 26 Apr 1998

‘AT MADSTOCK’ – Finsbury Park, London 7 Jun 1998

‘LIVE: TO THE EDGE OF THE UNIVERSE AND BEYOND PART 2’ (2006)

‘ON STAGE 1’ – Brixton Academy, London 7 Dec 2006

‘ON STAGE 2’ – SECC Hall 4, Glasgow 12 Dec 2006

‘ON STAGE 3’ – MEN Arena, Manchester 13 Dec 2006

‘ON STAGE 4’ – Telewest Arena, Newcastle 14 Dec 2006

‘ON STAGE 5’ – NEC, Birmingham 16 Dec 2006

‘ON STAGE 6’ – BIC, Bournemouth 17 Dec 2006

‘ON STAGE 7’ – Brighton Centre, Brighton 19 Dec 2006

‘ON STAGE 8’ – Wembley Arena, London 20 Dec 2006

‘LIVE AT THE ASTORIA 3.12.07’ – Astoria, London 3 Dec 2007

‘LIVE AT THE O2 ARENA 14.12.07’ – O2 Arena, London 14 Dec 2007

‘NW5’ – Bestival, Isle Of Wight Sep 2007

‘HACKNEY EMPIRE 24’ – Hackney Empire, London 24 Jun 2008

‘HACKNEY EMPIRE 25’ – Hackney Empire, London 25 Jun 2008

‘HACKNEY EMPIRE 26’ – Hackney Empire, London 26 Jun 2008

‘MADSTOCK V’ – Victoria Park, London 17 Jul 2009

‘UK TOUR 2009’ – The Liberty Of Norton Folgate UK Tour, Dec 2009

‘ITUNES FESTIVAL: LONDON 2012’

‘GLASTONBURY’ – Glastonbury Festival, Somerset 25 Jun 2016

‘HYDE PARK’ – Hyde Park, London 11 Sep 2016

‘THE GET UP!’ – London Palladium