Last Updated on 27 January 2026 by Massimo M.
Live 1980/86 is a double album recorded live and released by Joe Jackson in 1988.
The recordings of this live start even in 1980, during the Beat Crazy tour and continue in 1982 and 1983 during the Night and Day tour, in 1984 during the Body & amp; Soul tour and finally in 1986 during the Big World tour. The live therefore contains all the best moments of Joe Jackson career.
Since 1979, when Look Sharp! was released, until Body & amp; Soul of 1984, Joe Jackson was a very eclectic and creative artist. A bit like David Bowie in the ’70s in the sense that you never knew what to expect from him as his musical development was moving very fast.
Like other artists who can be compared to him, such as Graham Parker or Elvis Costello, Jackson also got off to a rather ferocious start but then, just as quickly, began to introduce more sophisticated rhythms and jazz influences into his music. In 1981 he also released a pure jump jive album.
While this Jackson’s Live 1980/86 isn’t an extraordinary breakthrough when it comes to the live record genre, it offers, true to Joe Jackson’s form, a healthy dose of confidence and creativity. With the recordings of four tours made with four different bands at its disposal, the disc manages to return a truly unique variety of sounds and atmospheres.
Jackson realizes that a live record doesn’t have to be a forgettable collection of big hits interspersed with crowd noise. And in fact he uses the record to present, as he writes in the liner notes,
“reworkings of songs, spontaneous moments, everything that made those concerts something different and separate from records”.
So, in effect, we are not in front of a classic live album but of yet another creative experiment by the artist.
For example in ” Sunday Papers? ” The words are drastically altered, even if the vitriolic message remains the same.
Same goes for ‘Is She Really Going Out With Him?’ ‘, Joe Jackson’s first real hit? There are three versions of the song here, including acoustic and a cappella arrangements. Three takes can seem a little too lenient. Kind of like the statement on the album cover that the record contains 22 “classic” songs. This is an artistic flaw, often cited by critics, of our hero who, like many of his stature, has a very important ego.
On closer inspection, however, the transformations of ‘Is She Really Going Out With Him?’ Are, for us, a great way to see the transformation that led Joe Jackson to become a pop artist after being a punk mad at the world.
The best things present on this 1980/86 Live are however those a little softer than his repertoire like “ Be My Number Two ” and “ A Slow Song ”, further proof of Jackson’s growth. There is also a beautiful version of You Can’t Get What You Want recorded during the 1986 Big world tour.
The double album Live 1980/86, originally released in 1988, celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2018 with a 180-gram reissue with the two discs contained in 2 printed inner sleeves.
Track list
The Beat Crazy Tour 1980
One To One 3:41
I’m The Man 4:18
Beat Crazy 3:59
Is She Really Going Out With Him? 3:49
Don’t Wanna Be Like That 4:07
Got The Time 4:28
The Night And Day Tour 1982/83
On Your Radio 4:56
Fools In Love 7:14
Cancer 7:31
Is She Really Going Out With Him? (A Cappella Version) 4:07
Look Sharp! 4:17
The Body and Soul Tour 1984
Sunday Papers 4:56
Real Men 4:51
Is She Really Going Out With Him? (Acoustic Version) 3:49
Memphis 5:13
A Slow Song 7:45
The Big World Tour 1986
Be My Number Two 2:43
Breaking Us In Two 4:05
It’s Different For Girls 3:21
You Can’t Get What You Want (‘Til You Know What You Want) 5:32
Jumpin’ Jive 2:28
Steppin’ Out 5:30
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