Just up from Camden tube station. There they were.
Market stalls of every sort. Where the right hand side of Camden High Street suddenly widens and gives way to an open square.
And there, in the middle, a small square of second hand record stalls huddled together – as if defending each other from the strengthening tide of CD sales.
Just the place to find albums from 1970!
‘Genesis 1970? – Yeh, a few there’, the stall holder pointing to a section marked GENESIS.
‘A live one – February 1970. Only got it a few days ago’
Wow!
Just a few weeks before Atomic. Surely it must have those tracks!?
Later, back in Adrian’s flat, he slips a tape into the video machine.
PLAY > FASTFORWARD >> PAUSE ||
There!
REWIND < PLAY >
Peter Gabriel looks left, looks right. Then motions to play the tambourine.
Now for the audio. He lowers the stylus.
With the Live album on the turntable he samples the start of each track.
Side 1
First track. Second track. Third track.
and side 2.
Nothing.
Nothing with a tambourine.
Disappointed and more than a little surprised he turns to Trespass. Their 1970 studio album.
First track. Second track. Third track. Again nothing.
‘Maybe they were experimenting with new stuff at Atomic’, he wonders.
‘Stuff never recorded!’
With only 3 tracks to go Adrian turns the album over to side 2.
Last track. The final roll of the dice.
Tambourine!
Can this be it?
Lining up the start of the video track on screen
PAUSE ||
he lowers the stylus onto the album as he presses PLAY > for the video.
Standing back – this has to be it.
He views it again – in amazement – and relief.
There it is!
The first few phrases are in sync.
The silent goldfish comes to life – as the, until now, empty mouthings are filled by the sound of ‘The Knife’.
Of course it soon drifts out of sync but that’s for another day.
It can be done.
The film will live!
To be continued