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seen the lights - a visual history: information
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- Seen The Lights was the first Simple Minds commercial DVD released.
- The two region 0 discs featured over four hours and twenty minutes of archive footage.
- PAL versions were first to be released appearing in mainland Europe during the last days of October 2003.
It was then released in Russia on the 1st November, appeared in the UK on the 3rd November, whilst NTSC copies
were released in Canada on the 18th November 2003 and South America on the 2nd December.
- There was initially no promotion of the package and only single copies appeared in most record shops
(if copies appeared at all). However TV advertisements appeared on the national station RTL4 in
The Netherlands and Jim was interviewed on BBC Radio 2 on the 17th November 2003.
- The DVDs were packaged in a cardboard box which either resembled a book or a box of chocolates depending
on your point of view. A four page booklet was also included, but simply featured a list of contents and
nothing else.
- The artwork was based on Malcolm Garrett's design for
Live In The City Of Light.
- Disc one included the majority of the band’s promotional videos. However, the DVD was not definitive
and several videos were omitted: Chelsea Girl (the band’s first, which featured animation and early split
screen effects),
Promised You A Miracle Live,
Sign O’ The Times,
Love Song 1992 and
Dancing Barefoot (which featured
Gordon Goudie on bass and
Mark Kerr on drums).
- An early version of the She’s A River video was used and not the final approved edit.
- Extras on disc one included early footage from the Old Grey Whistle Test. This was
an early night music show concentrating on established and new acts (whilst
Top Of The Pops was mainly based around the Top 40). Bruce Findlay knew the producer and negotiated
for the band to appear on the 27th March 1979 - which was
the eve of their first UK tour. They played
Life In A Day and
Chelsea Girl live in the studio and both are included on the DVD.
- After the release of Real To Real Cacophony,
Bruce was desperate to get the band back on the show. However
The Old Grey Whistle Test were shooting in New York - but if the band came over, they’d be featured.
So Bruce contacted Ruth Polsky, a promoter he knew in the city. She booked the band for
The Hurrah Club where they were filmed on the 24th October 1979 for
The Old Grey Whistle Test.
- The show was broadcast on the 27th November 1979 and featured Factory,
Changeling and Premonition.
All three tracks are included on the DVD. (This live version of Premonition
was also used as the B-side for Changeling).
- The Oxford Road Show was a vehicle for DJ/producer Peter Powell
(and in retrospect is now seen as a prototype version of The Tube.) It was filmed in Manchester, mostly featuring live bands. Simple Minds appeared on the 21st January
1983 playing I Travel and
New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) - but only the
first track has been added to the DVD.
- The second disc was devoted to Verona, the band’s first video which was originally
released in 1990. It was upmixed to 5.1 surround sound for the DVD - but otherwise remains the same as the original VHS copy.
- The extras on disc two included the Late Night In Concert broadcast of the band performing at Newcastle during the
New Gold Tour. They were filmed by an Italian team lead by
director G. Orazi. The footage was originally shot for RAI, an Italian TV station, and
later broadcast in the UK by Late Night In Concert, a graveyard shift show which featured a live gig by
a selected band. The DVD featured all the footage as originally shown in Italy and Spain which included
Hunter And The Hunted
(the original UK broadcast on the 8th September 1983 started from Glittering Prize).
- This live version of Hunter And The Hunted was issued as the B-side of
Waterfront.
- The ROM section only worked in DVD drives (and not CD-ROM drives). It included a screen saver (a
pulsating version of the Claddagh artwork as seen on the DVD menus), an extremely limited album discography, links
and three wallpapers (the DVD claddagh design, Real Life band sleeve and
cropped Life In A Day sleeve).
- Promotional goodies for collectors were surprising sparce. The promotional issue was simply
the two DVDs with handwritten titles. However some ultra-rare, extremely collectable Abbey Road in-house CDs escaped which featured
recordings of the extra tracks on disc one.
- Some of the promos included press releases.
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