History
With the exception of "Iron Horse / Born To Lose" which was from a 1980 show, it was recorded at the Leeds and Newcastle shows during the Short, Sharp Pain In The Neck five-date tour in 1981. The name of the tour was a reference to the injury sustained by Phil Taylor when he was dropped on his head during some after-show horseplay. Despite the title of the album, the London venue the Hammersmith Odeon was not played on the tour, the shows being:
- 27 March 1981: West Runton Pavilion, Norfolk, England
- 28 March 1981: Queens Hall, Leeds, England
- 29 March 1981: City Hall, Newcastle, England
- 30 March 1981: City Hall, Newcastle, England
- 3 April 1981: Maysfield Leisure Centre, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Backstage at the Leeds and Newcastle shows the band were presented with silver record and gold record for sales of Ace of Spades, a silver record for Overkill and a silver record for "Please Don't Touch".
Lemmy has stated that originally they intended it to be a double album but they only had enough material for three sides. At time of the album's release, the band were in the middle of their first North America tour, supporting Ozzy Osbourne.
The US 1996 CD version added detail to the effect that the bonus tracks were recorded "live in the studio at about the same time as the Hammersmith shows". Presumably this means at about the same time as the shows for the live album, since the Hammersmith Odeon was not played on the tour. One of the Newcastle dates was most certainly used on the record for the song "(We Are) The Roadcrew," as evidenced by a roadie saying "Come on then Newcastle! Let's hear it for the road crew!"
Read more about this topic: No Sleep 'til Hammersmith
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