Cross Bootlegs

There are only a few Cross bootlegs currently available. The Queen Fan Club did provide two cassette "official bootlegs", but neither of these is easily found now. The concerts were Astoria 1990 and Dusseldorf 1991. However, a few other concerts have been "properly" bootlegged (if you know what I mean!) onto CD. These can still be found at record fairs and are described below. Actually, surprisingly little Cross material has been bootlegged, given their number of live performances. There are a few cassettes in private collections ("Birmingham Hummingbird" and the "Town and Country Club" being two examples) but I have few details on track listings, sound quality etc., and these are very rarely available for sale.

Absolutely superb. As good sound quality as you get from bootlegs, and a fantastic concert. Recorded on the 22/12/92, includes a cover of "Merry Xmas (war is over)". The other covers, "Money" and "Rock and Roll", seem a touch rushed, but the whole atmosphere of the concert comes through really well. Their own songs are all excellent, with a particularly nice "Heaven For Everyone". Good versions of "New Dark Ages" and "Top Of The World Ma", and the crowd sing along to "You Ain't Put Nothin' Down". A few Queen songs also get a showing - "Radio Ga-Ga" and "These Are The Days Of Our Lives" - and there is yet another chance to hear "Man On Fire".

Two bonuses are guest appearances by both Brian May and Tim Staffell. Brian performs "Too Much Love Will Kill You" and "Tie Your Mother Down" (both pretty standard fare). Then Tim Staffell takes over the vocals, as Smile "re-form" for ten minutes to provide "Earth" and "If I Were A Carpenter" (see the Smile page). Fantastic stuff.

By the same company as "Live At The Marquee", this is a complete contrast. The sound quality is about the worst I've ever heard, and totally ruins this disc. The bits you can hear show it was a good concert, but that really only adds insult to injury. A few notable performances, worth it if you can handle the poor sound. "In Charge Of My Heart" opens the set, which includes tracks from all three albums. Again some Queen songs are showcased, including a very odd version of "We Will Rock You" in which Roger attempts to get funky (see Miscellaneous). Avoid.

Rip It Up (live in Germany)
On "The Ultimate Collection". Sound is O.K., but not great. A fun cover, possibly taken from the Fan Club tape of Dusseldorf, with a great horn section too.

Merry Xmas (war is over)
On "The Ultimate Collection Volume 2" (among others), but actually taken from "Live At The Marquee". A good song, and a good version of it. Say no more!

There are undoubtedly other bootlegs featuring Cross material, but for now there seems to be very little indeed and much of what there is is usually copied from other bootlegs. I have heard of a bootleg called "Crossfire", but have no details (although it sounds like the Fan Club Astoria tape). Strangely, their TV appearance on "Meltdown" also seems to have been ignored by bootleggers. And beware the "2 on 1" bootleg CD of "Mad, Bad And Dangerous" with "Blue Rock" on the same disc. Each album on its own is 45 mins+, so some tracks have been omitted and others severely edited. Avoid!