Radio Broadcast drops more BBC vinyl titles from The Sound, Killing Joke, and The Sisters of Mercy
For the collectors, three new Radio Broadcast BBC sessions LPs have popped up: The Sound’s “In Concert (BBC Radio One)”, Killing Joke’s “BBC Radio Sessions 1981”, and a new pressing for The Sisters of Mercy’s “BBC Sessions 1982-1984”.
Note that all three are unofficial releases aka bootlegs.
The Sound release is released as a 140 gram black-vinyl issue built from the band’s BBC Radio One “In Concert” recording from November 11, 1981 at Paris Studios in Lower Regent Street, London. The tracklist supplied for this edition is the following: “Pete Drummond Intro”, “Unwritten Law”, “Skeletons”, “Fatal Flaw”, “Winning”, “Sense of Purpose”, “Heartland”, and “New Dark Age”.
The Killing Joke LP compiles three BBC sessions from 1981 plus a bonus track recorded for John Peel in 1979. The tracklist : “The Fall of Because”, “Tension”, “Butcher”, “The Hum”, “Empire Song”, “We Have Joy”, “Chop Chop”, “Tension”, “Unspeakable”, “Exit”, and “Wardance”.
The Sisters of Mercy title is not a brand-new issue but a repressing. “BBC Sessions 1982-1984” holds 11 tracks: “1969”, “Alice”, “Good Things”, “Floorshow”, “Heartland”, “Jolene”, “Valentine”, “Burn”, “Walk Away”, “Poison Door”, and “No Time to Cry”. Note that an official Warner/Rhino version of “BBC Sessions 1982-1984” was also issued in 2021, so this Radio Broadcast pressing sits beside already-existing authorized BBC-era Sisters material.
We previously covered another unofficial Radio Broadcast title, The Sound’s 1982 Utrecht “No Nukes Festival” set, and in 2015 we also reported on bootleg sales that included Sisters of Mercy material.
Note that these items are distributed by mailorders, major ecommerce platforms, and… several label mailorders. As such it is not surprising that these vinyl editions sell in rather high volumes.
About Radio Broadcast
Radio Broadcast is best described as an unofficial archival vinyl imprint focused on radio-derived material. It’s an unofficial label, and as Side-Line previously reported, it is an Italian label specializing in radio-broadcast releases, with other titles including Joy Division and New Order.
The label repackages live radio sessions, BBC material, and broadcast-derived recordings as standalone vinyl products with minimal rights-context on the packaging. That does not make every release automatically illegal everywhere, but it does mean these records should be treated as unofficial unless an artist, estate, broadcaster, or rights owner has explicitly authorized them, which they haven’t of course.
Here’s an idea of what they have released over the years.
- Chameleons, The – Peel Sessions 81-83 – LP
- Cure, The – BBC Radio One 1984 – LP
- Dead Can Dance – The John Peel Sessions 1983-1984 – LP
- Depeche Mode – Radio Broadcast 1994 (Honolulu, Hi) – LP
- Echo & The Bunnymen – The John Peel Sessions 1979-1980 – LP
- Jam – BBC Sessions 1977-1979 – LP
- Joy Division – 1979 BBC Recordings – LP
- Manson, Marilyn – The Ultimate Broadcast 1999 – LP
- New Order – 81-82 BBC Recordings – LP
- Pink Floyd – BBC Radio One (London, September 30th, 1971) – LP
- Pink Floyd – Live At Pompeii – 2LP
- Pink Floyd – Live At Pompeii – CD
- Pink Floyd – Radio Sessions 1969 – Deluxe Reissue – LPL
- Police – WBCN, Boston – November 1979 – LP
- Siouxsie & The Banshees – The Peel Sessions 1977-1978 – LP
- Smiths, The – BBC Radio One 1986 – LP
- Wire – The Complete 1978 Peel Sessions – LP
Are these bootlegs legal in Europe and in the USA?
In Europe, the answer is not a simple yes. EU-related-rights rules are layered. Belgium’s FPS Economy states that neighboring rights generally last 50 years, except for music performances fixed on phonograms, where the term is 70 years, and it also states that broadcasters’ related rights run from the first broadcast.
The European Commission’s 2025 report on the Term Extension Directive likewise says that the EU extended protection for music performances fixed on phonograms and phonogram producers’ rights from 50 to 70 years. As a practical reading of those rules, BBC music recordings from 1981 to 1984 are not safely treated as public-domain material across Europe today.
A radio broadcast can involve multiple right layers at once: performer rights, phonogram rights where a protected recording exists, composition rights, and broadcaster rights. A shop listing in one EU country does not prove the same item is lawful to sell, import, or distribute in another territory.
In the United States, the position is tighter. Federal law states that anyone who, without the performers’ consent, fixes a live musical performance, reproduces it, or sells or traffics in it is subject to copyright-style remedies. Separately, the U.S. Copyright Office says the Music Modernization Act’s Classics Protection and Access Act brought pre-1972 sound recordings partially into the federal system and extended federal remedies for unauthorized use. These Radio Broadcast LPs are based on 1980s performances, so they should not be assumed lawful for U.S. sale or import unless there is clear authorization from the relevant rights holders.
In short, in both Europe and the U.S., these records are grey-market or unofficial broadcast releases.
Only Germany enforces hard. Selling bootlegs there is unlawful and can trigger injunctions, damages and even criminal liability (§§ 97–98, 106 UrhG). German law firms routinely issue takedowns/abmahnungen against bootleg sellers. That’s why many retailers mark these as “not for Germany.”
Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.
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