The legendary Tina Turner in concert from Amsterdam to get this Hump Day rolling. Recorded on April 22, 1979 by the venerable VPRO in The Netherlands and broadcast over 3VOOR12 in Amsterdam.
This concert comes right around the time of her separation and divorce from Ike Turner (1978), the great uncertainties about her future as a solo artist – being without a label (United Artists) along with her taking any gig that came along, as well as a brief stint as regular on Italian TV.
All that changed in 1979 when Roger Davies entered the picture and the gradual building of a solo career started taking shape. In October 1981, Rod Stewart attended Tina Turner’s show at the Ritz in New York City and invited her to perform “Hot Legs” with him on Saturday Night Live. In November, Turner opened three shows for the Rolling Stones during their 1981 American Tour. Turner performed in March 1982 in the Willem Ruis show (Netherlands), which resulted in the hit “Shame, Shame, Shame” (reaching No. 47 in the Netherlands). In 1982 Turner’s recording of the Temptations’ “Ball of Confusion” for the UK production team B.E.F. became a hit in European dance clubs. In 1982, Turner also appeared on the album Music of Quality and Distinction Volume 1 by B.E.F., a side project of Heaven 17, singing “Ball of Confusion”. She filmed a music video for “Ball of Confusion” that aired on the fledgling music video channel MTV, becoming one of the first black American artists to gain airtime on the channel. Also in 1982, Turner appeared as a special guest on Chuck Berry’s television special performed at The Roxy in West Hollywood.
Tina Turner became such a household name that her former husband Ike fell somewhere in the deep-distant background until his death in 2007.
But at the time of this concert, things were still uncertain.
As a reminder and proof that “once a legend-always a legend” was Tina Turner.
Enjoy and welcome to the middle of the week.
