Cherry Red’s Esoteric Recordings imprint continues to revive, remix and reissue classic and forgotten prog releases. Amongst them, at the start of 2026, we have IQ’s Live From London release which has circulated in various official and bootleg versions since it was filmed for broadcast in 1985 for the ITV networks. Fans may have happened upon this release as Living Proof or Live From London on LP, VHS, CD or DVD over the years.
The TV series served as a platform for artists to get wider attention in a one-hour slot filmed at Camden Palace and for IQ it proved to be an opportunity to showcase their very-soon-to-be-released second album, the Eighties prog classic The Wake. Sadly, the show itself ended up relegated to late night/early morning schedules and featured a performance which some of the band (notably Orford) felt somewhat unhappy with. Nevertheless, there was an undoubted energy to this live show and some exquisite playing from the band that is worthy of attention.
The big problem for recordings of this concert has always been the sound quality. With occasional dropouts, a tinny, treble-y feel and sections of muddy mid-range washes of sound, this has hardly been an essential release. Added to that, when one considers just how good later live recordings are, this album has been easily overlooked. Forever Live, for instance, contains a number of live versions of songs which surpass their studio originals. There is also little doubt, on hearing this early release, that Nicholls became a better live singer over time.
The good news is that this latest release addresses some of the audio issues very well. Going back to the original master tapes and approaching this afresh has yielded a far more engaging concert than previous recorded versions have. From the off, ‘Awake and Nervous’ is clearer and sharper than the old release and doesn’t start part of the way through Orford’s introduction. ‘Outer Limits’ doesn’t drop out at just the wrong moment when the keyboards kick in from the intro. ‘It All Stops Here’ isn’t muddied across the rhythm section during its first half. Still, no amount of remixing can ever correct the fact that they’re playing a little too fast.
The concert features nine tracks, six of which are from The Wake, from which they have only omitted Headlong. Quite why the band chose to leave off the best track from the album is beyond me. I can only assume the track wasn’t ready for a live performance, given that it has since become a stalwart of live IQ sets. The other tracks to feature are Awake and Nervous from Tales From The Lush Attic, It All Stops Here from the pre-debut album cassette release Seven Stories Into Eight and Just Changing Hands which would end up as a B-side and then a bonus track on the Lush Attic CD.
Particular highlights for me include two of the aforementioned tracks: Outer Limits and It All Stops Here, both of which showcase the undeniable talents of Orford and Holmes, and the haunting and anthemic The Wake. Some of the other tracks, like Widow’s Peak and The Magic Roundabout, though improved, haven’t quite been saved in the new mix whilst Just Changing Hands and Corners seem to me to be curious choices for the set. I understand the need to avoid epics for a viewing audience who may feel a little prog averse, but Tales From The Lush Attic would have been far better represented by The Enemy Smacks or a chunk of The Last Human Gateway.
The inclusion of the broadcast on a Blu-ray disc ensures that this release is fully complete and doesn’t need the audio supplemented with any of the old VHS or DVD efforts. It’s interesting to watch, particularly given the lack of live video from the band’s early, pre-Menel days. I don’t think it is as important as the refreshed audio disc, but it’s nice nonetheless and gives a sense of the band’s energy, willingness and desire to get their music out to a wider audience.
IQ, like a number of the Eighties prog bands, deserved better recognition than they received at the time. Perhaps the imminent departure of Nicholls not long after this show for a couple of albums came at the wrong moment or perhaps the pressure to meld New Wave and contemporary with their evident roots in Seventies’ Genesis was too problematic. Either way, one can hear in this live show what master craftsmen of progressive rock they are, and it is this that explains why, forty years later, they are still recording acclaimed music and playing to large crowds year after year.
Is Live From London now an essential release? Not really. But this is going to please a lot of IQ fans, and not just completists. There is enough going on here to merit picking up a copy and it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg like some prog reissues being released at the moment. Also, whilst there are plenty of really excellent, more recent, live releases from the band that I would recommend over this, these are all either out of print or limited releases by the band themselves as part of their ‘archive’ collection. Second-hand copies of these will cost plenty of arms and legs, so this is a good way to have a live testament of the band on audio and video.
TRACK LISTING
01. Awake And Nervous (7:06)
02. Outer Limits (7:12)
03. It All Stops Here (6:35)
04. Just Changing Hands (5:56)
05. The Wake (3:41)
06. The Magic Roundabout (6:01)
07. Widow’s Peak (8:37)
08. The Thousand Days (3:35)
09. Corners (4:55)
Total Time – 58:00
Blu-ray video disc has the same track listing
MUSICIANS
Peter Nicholls – Vocals
Mike Holmes – Guitar
Martin Orford – Keyboards
Tim Esau – Bass
Paul Cook – Drums
ADDITIONAL INFO
Record Label: Cherry Red Records | Esoteric Recordings
Catalogue#: ECLEC22927
Country of Origin: UK
Date of Release: 30th January 2026
Original Recording: 13th May 1985 at Camden Palace
LINKS
IQ – Website | Facebook | YouTube | X | Instagram | Info at Cherry Red Records
