Carpenters, Touch Me When We're Dancing, 1981 Live, Dutch TV

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newvillefan

I Know My First Name Is Stephen
Karen&Richard would return to exactly the same theater (called 't Spant) in Bussum almost exactly 10 years later, 2nd half of October 1981. They then performed "Touch me when we're dancing" on a show called Mies, hosted by Dutch TV-icon Mies Bouwman. Unfortunately I still haven't seen any pictures or video of this 1981 appearance...

I just searched YouTube on the off chance and found this...published just yesterday. And get this...it's a live lead vocal from Karen. It wasn't until the middle of the first verse that I realised...it's note perfect. Richard's mic is also live (listen to the instrumental sax section, you can hear him singing). All in all...WOW!



You can also "like" the Facebook page that hosted it..."Craptastic 80s" :laugh:

https://www.facebook.com/craptastic80s
 
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I just searched YouTube on the off chance and found this...published just yesterday. And get this...it's a live lead vocal from Karen. Richard's mic is also live (listen to instrumental sax section, you can hear him singing). All in all...WOW!



You can also "like" the Facebook page that hosted it..."Craptastic 80s" :laugh:

https://www.facebook.com/craptastic80s


Ferris newvillefan Bueller you're my hero!!! :hugs: I never thought I would ever get to see this, I've been watching this with a big ear-to-ear smile here :D. And to think that I assumed this would be another lip-sync performance. All live and thanking in Dutch too, WOW indeed! Thanks so much for finding and sharing this!
 
Much Thanks for the (above posted) Live Carpenters
Touch Me When We're Dancing.
I am totally surprised and touched by the performance !
Never thought I would see such in my lifetime !
 
Not to put a damper on the festivities here, but I find Karen's live vocal to be just a tad flat. (Since I always get razzed about liking the original "Ticket To Ride" wherein some swear she's flat, I felt the need to point that out!) But really, it's nice to see some fresh footage.
 
Not to put a damper on the festivities here, but I find Karen's live vocal to be just a tad flat. (Since I always get razzed about liking the original "Ticket To Ride" wherein some swear she's flat, I felt the need to point that out!) But really, it's nice to see some fresh footage.

I posted out of sheer excitement while still watching the clip but I did notice that a bit later in the song Harry...a bit tired sounding too. That tiny thing aside, I was ecstatic to find this, it's so great nowadays to find a rare gem like this and many of us have longed to see it. I wonder if Richard has all these rare later clips in his archive or is he too reliant on fans posting their old videos?
 
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Unless I am mistaken, this video was taken from an old (already deteriorating-2000) VHS tape
thence transferred as good as possible to digital. Given everything (i.e., her poor physical health)
I find Karen's vocals intoxicating here. And, actually rather good--all things considered.
As I have noted before, once in the studio, one can do anything; perhaps this is an instance
(again?) where the studio recording was purposefully "slowed" a bit.
Besides, I thought Karen ---as has been reported elsewhere--purposefully wanted to sing in "higher"notes at this date (1981).
In any event, I thought Richard's vocals were too high !
Exciting to watch, regardless.
I really enjoyed this gem.
 
Not to put a damper on the festivities here, but I find Karen's live vocal to be just a tad flat. (Since I always get razzed about liking the original "Ticket To Ride" wherein some swear she's flat, I felt the need to point that out!) But really, it's nice to see some fresh footage.

I noticed that too Harry, and I think the explanation for this is at the end of the song where you can actually hear Richard playing the piano (02:55). The piano sounds a bit flat against the recording or the tape they used was a bit fast thus not in tune with the piano. I don't know about any monitor speakers on stage or in the room there, but my guess is that Karen, standing so close to the piano, adjusted her voice more to Richard's piano than to the pre-recorded accompaniment. Perhaps the microphones they used were not very sensitive so that they only picked up their voices (although it doesn't explain why the piano is audible at the very end)...
 
I wonder if Richard has all these rare later clips in his archive or is he too reliant on fans posting their old videos?

I'd say he's probably reliant on fans when it comes to appearances outside the US. But I don't think there are many more musical performances left to discover from 1981, only their appearance on the French "Palmarès" show and perhaps "Sing" on Julio Iglesias' Numéro Un show (as listed in an older post of yours: http://forum.amcorner.com/threads/singles-box-set-in-november.6985/#post-63115, and I think it was in one of the 1981 fanclub newsletters too), although only "Top of the world" is mentioned on this page: http://tele70france.blogspot.nl/2014/01/numero-un-julio-iglesias-22121981.html
 
Not to put a damper on the festivities here, but I find Karen's live vocal to be just a tad flat. (Since I always get razzed about liking the original "Ticket To Ride" wherein some swear she's flat, I felt the need to point that out!) But really, it's nice to see some fresh footage.

Gosh I too hate to say it, but for as wonderful as it is to have what is perhaps Karen's last - or close to last live documented performance, she sounds very unhealthy to me here. She doesn't seem to have the same overall vocal control with regard to pitch and phrasing. DON'T SHOOT ME!! But that's what I'm hearing rather consistently throughout. She'd lost much of her spunk by this point. :sad:
 
Thanks Stephen for posting this rare find. It's wonderful to see Karen and Richard perform this live version. I first watched and listened and then I just listened without watching the video to get a feel for the live recording with my headphones on. I'm actually quite surprised they did this live, when the soundtrack started it reminded me of the same backing soundtrack that was used on the A&M lot telethon that got messed up, it sounds like the same backing track, however here the vocals are live for both Richard and Karen.

As much as I love seeing new stuff and I really do. It breaks me heart to see Karen and it's easy to see why she would pass away only 2 yrs later. Karen's condition was so much more severe then I could have realized and it's all evident here. She's in great spirits but this illness has taken the life out of her and you can see it in her eyes.

I have to agree with Harry and Chris...just listening to the audio alone without the video you can hear Karen struggling to take her breaths something she never had a problem with before, there were a couple spots that I heard her literally taking breaths like she couldn't get enough air in. It's not their finest moment live and I would bet that Richard would like to forget this ever happened and would never want to hear it again. The odd part for me was when she started speaking at the end, her voice sounded strong and clear so something went really wrong with this live performance.

For us fans....we treasure what we can get and even in this dire performance it's nice to see and hear. I'm still grateful for whoever found this and shared it with the fans.
 
I found the opening few lines very difficult to listen to, but then things did pick up a bit. I'm in the cam that I am thrilled to have this, but it's hard to watch and listen to. But after so long with not much new, it's still nice!
 
I just watched it again. It's amazing to think she could hit the lower notes in "Now" just a few months later.
 
There is this video of Touch Me When We're Dancing, where Karen is wearing a greenish suit and singing to Touch Me When We're Dancing...it almost appears LIVE. From 1981. From CLOSE TO THE CARPENTERS on FB....

 
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There is this video of Touch Me When We're Dancing, where Karen is wearing a greenish suit and singing to Touch Me When We're Dancing...it almost appears LIVE. From 1981. From CLOSE TO THE CARPENTERS on FB....



Another video that's been ripped off. The orginal owner has posted it on his own Facebook page and youtube, see the "New Carpenters Photo" thread from page 27 onwards on this forum.
 
Thank you for posting this. I came here to post this myself. Isn't this just amazing? I thought we had already discovered all the hidden gems.
 
This is amazing! I too find her vocals a little worn out here but as everyone else says, still a treat to FINALLY hear this song live! I think the only other time (besides the Japan mishap) that Karen was live was the TOTW France (?) performance?
 
There leaves little doubt about how much Karen's illness had robbed her of her
earlier stamina and vocal prowess. Especially at this juncture, as the performance indicates.
I am stunned that she did as well as she did under the circumstances.
And, the aforementioned Top Of The World Live performance was much worse than this one. (Compare the two.)
But, then, Made In America , as many have pointed out over the years, was already a harbinger
of the softer, weaker vocals. (At least one person denies that her illness ever affected her vocals.)
Be that as it may, I applaud Karen Carpenter for doing the best possible under the circumstances.
 
Moderators note: all of the posts in the two threads regarding the video have been merged into its own dedicated thread.
 
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A jem, even if a little under-par. Could be the sound system. Is it me or does the slogan say 'Craptastic 80s'?!!
 
A jem, even if a little under-par. Could be the sound system. Is it me or does the slogan say 'Craptastic 80s'?!!
It does... It's the Facebook page that posted it, as I understand... Also, I thought the sound sounded way off, too (not their singing, but the equipment) and possibly the room had bad acoustics? I hate that Karen wasn't well here, but I love that this isn't a perfect performance. They really were human, weren't they? Even as sick as she is here, she still sounds 100X better than Katy Perry ever could live!
 
Wow! I never thought that even existed. I thought "Top of the world" in '81 was the only live vocal she did.
Compared to that I think she actually sounded a lot better here.
I don't want to nit pick or comment on the obvious...
I just want to say for me to be able to see this after all this time is wonderful.
I hate to tell you I almost teared up... because it's one of KC's last documented vocal performances, and I love the song. I enjoyed this.
The recording has always sounded like a dream to me, and what a treat to hear a variation done on it. I've always wanted to hear something like this (besides the little piece from the Japan telethon thing). She still draws you in with her fascinating voice.
She's a sweetheart. :love:
Just like the gift of "Merry Christmas Darling" in nice quality (that made my holidays) and now this rare treasure is a great start to the new year.
What a surreal moment just now. Thank you!!!
 
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Wow, so this was Karen's last live vocal performance from Carpenters?

Yes it looks like it was her very last live vocal performance for TV. Here is the timeline for late 1981:

United States

22nd August - Japanese Telethon, live from Los Angeles
1st September - filming Merv Griffin Show, Los Angeles
9th October - Good Morning America Interview, New York

Mid October - Europe
17th October - Palmares Show, Paris France (Touch Me When We're Dancing)
18th October - Sightseeing only
19th October - Numero Un, Paris, France (Sing, Top Of The World)
20th October - Top Pop and Mies Shows, Amsterdam, Holland

Late October - UK (London)

22nd October - Nationwide Interview with Sue Lawley
24th October - Multi-coloured Swap Shop interview (without Richard), album signing at Harrods Store
25th October - Dinner with Peter & Babs Knight
(Dates Unknown):
- BBC Radio 2 Interview with John Dunn
- BBC Radio London Interview with Tony Blackburn
- Capital Radio Interview with Michael Aspel

Germany
27th-29th Oct - filming Show Express, Germany (Top Of The World, Beechwood 4-5789), sightseeing then return to Paris for connecting flight to Brazil.

Brazil

November 1st - Arrive Brazil
November 2nd - Press interviews
November 3rd - Radio interviews, Generation 80s Show (Close To You, Begun, Back In My Life Again medley), Golden Globe (Touch Me When We're Dancing)
November 4th - Radio interviews, Sao Paulo
November 5th - filming Fantastico Show @ Sugarloaf Mountain, Brazil (Touch Me When We're Dancing), Sendas Shopping Mall Concert (Close To You, Back In My Life Again)
November 6th - Press interviews
November 7th - Radio interview/appearance, leave Brazil
 
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