John Cale
"Being a living legend is such a precarious livelihood. It's like being a bar of soap in a shower which doesn't have any water in it."

John Cale

Fear Is A Man's Best Friend (Est. 1999) is the ultimate unofficial John Cale website
Fear Is A Man's Best Friend - John Cale

John Cale in Concert

Broken Hearts

Life Underwater

O yes, John Cale has been taped without his permission. Some very naughty people put this on shingu circular discs and larges pieces of vinyl and put them up for sale for ridiculous prices. However, there are a couple of bootlegs from radio broadcasts which sound really good. And there is a plethora of fan recordings out there. Some of these sound great, some sound awful (the "completists only" tag is an often used euphemism).

Drift Study

Does John Cale approve of unofficial live recordings? No. On the other hand, people collecting and trading recordings own most of his released stuff.

How to get started with collecting

Just ask, and be polite. Very polite. And be patient. Any fan collection will grow, slowly at first. Learn about B&P, FLAC, SHN. Use terms like: WO, WC, ISO and become a hardcore Caleist. And never, and I mean never, beg or whine on the John Cale mailing list.

Performing on Later ...

Known setlists

Most of the recordings in this section capture a live performance, others contain unreleased and/or hard to find rare tracks. There are 448 recordings in this section, and my guess is that this is just the tip of the iceberg (well, I actually know it is, this section is updated nearly every week, so ... I can't seem to get rid of the backlog of recently surfaced recordings demanding my attention).

Recommended further reading:

John Cale Gigography
Maintained by Cyrus. A list of all known live recordings.

Note:
If you have live and rare John Cale recordings and are willing to trade, drop me a line. I don't buy, I don't sell. Don't bother asking me.

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  1. "Bootleg" CD
    also know as original silvers. Expensive! Do not buy!
  2. "Bootleg" LP
    Good old fashioned vinyl. Expensive! Do not buy!
  3. "Bootleg" 45 rpm 7" singles
    Expensive! Do not buy!
  4. Known setlists
    Audience recordings with stealth equipment. In later years also a lot of radio and tv stuff that has evaded the bootleggers who will retaliate in trying to sell it on eBay if they get their hands on it.
  5. DVD's
    Cale in concert on screen. Mostly tv appearances.
  6. Etc.
    Cale on other artists live and rare stuff.

» Fresh Cale

Paris 1919 Order the remastered and expanded Paris 1919 album (2LP, CD) via Domino Records
The Academy in Peril Order the remastered and expanded The Academy in Peril album (LP, CD) via Domino Records
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© 1999-2025 Hans Werksman