QUARTER TO THREE

Live 18 Nov 1975 version



A one, a two, a one, two, three, hop

Come on! Get on!

Don't you know that I danced
I danced till a quarter to three
With the help, last night, of Daddy G.?
He was swinging on the sax with the girls of blue
And I was dancing all over the room

People were dancing like they were mad
Swinging best band they ever had
Swinging best song that could ever be
A night with Daddy G.

Let me tell you, now
I never had it so good
Yeah, and I know you never could
Until you get hip with that jive
And take a band like the Church Street Five

Don't you know that I danced
I danced till a quarter to three
With the help, last night, of Daddy G.
Everybody was as happy as they could be
Swinging with Daddy G.

Blow, daddy! Yeah!...

Let me tell you, now
I never had it so good
I know you never could
Until you get hip with that jive
And take a band like the Church Street Five

Oh, don't you know that I danced
I danced till a quarter to three
With the help, last night, of Daddy G.
Oh, everybody was as happy as they could be
Swinging with Daddy G.

Blow, daddy!...


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Info

QUARTER TO THREE is a 1961 song by Gary U.S. Bonds.

Live 18 Nov 1975 version

The above lyrics are for the live 18 Nov 1975 performance of QUARTER TO THREE at Hammersmith Odeon in London, England, during the Born To Run Tour. The complete 18 Nov 1975 show was released on Hammersmith Odeon, London '75 album and home video in 2005.


Hammersmith Odeon, London '75

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band toured Europe for the first in 1975, during the Born To Run Tour. They performed a series of four concerts in England (18 and 24 Nov 1975), Sweden (21 Nov 1975), and The Netherlands (23 Nov 1975). It would be another six years before they return to Europe.

Springsteen and the band were under a lot of pressure when they first stepped foot in Europe. The 18 Nov 1975 show at Hammersmith Odeon in London, England, was overwhelmingly hyped. "For me, the set went by like a freight train," Springsteen wrote. "Later, all I remembered is an awkward record company party, that 'what just happened?' feeling, and thinking we hadn't played that well. I was wrong."

Promotional poster for the 18 and 24 Nov 1975 shows at Hammersmith Odeon, London, England
Promotional poster for the 18 and 24 Nov 1975 shows at Hammersmith Odeon, London, England
(Taken from Rock Explosion)
Ticket stub for the 18 Nov 1975 show at Hammersmith Odeon, London, England
Ticket stub for the 18 Nov 1975 show at Hammersmith Odeon, London, England

The complete concert was captured on 16mm film and recorded on 24-track. It is also known that this show was initially going to be broadcast on radio (either live or delayed) but Mike Appel, Springsteen's manager at the time, backed out at the last minute as he felt that Springsteen's mood at the time would not lead to a particularly good show.

The film remained largely untouched for nearly 30 years. "Lost in my private Idaho, I'd paid no attention to it. I never looked at it... for thirty years," Springsteen wrote. "At the end of the Rising tour, I became interested in checking out film of the early part of my work." Read complete liner notes below.

Emmy Award Winner Thom Zimny received the 16 mm negatives along with the 24-track recording. His production team painstakingly cleaned the original negatives and digitally restored the footage, ultimately presenting this indispensable concert in vibrant color and detail. Producer Bob Clearmountain remastered and remixed the DVD in both stereo and 5.1 surround sound. Zimny has worked with Springsteen on several projects, including editing the Live In New York City, Live In Barcelona, and VH1 Storytellers films. Clearmountain is the legendary mixer who has often collaborated with Springsteen over the last 25 years, most famously on the Born In The U.S.A. album.

The complete 18 Nov 1975 show was released in November 2005 on the Hammersmith Odeon, London '75 home video, which was issued on DVD as part of the Born To Run - 30th Anniversary Edition box set. Audio for the concert was released on a 2-CD set under the same title in February 2006. It was reissued on vinyl (a 4-disc set) for the first time for Record Store Day on 22 Apr 2017.

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band -- Hammersmith Odeon, London '75
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band -- Hammersmith Odeon, London '75

Liner notes from the Hammersmith Odeon, London '75 DVD and CD:

In 1975, we stepped of the plane into the land of our mythic heroes. A London, that was yet to see it's first McDonalds's, that was still wrasslin' with making good cheeseburger and that seemed very foreign and exotic to a bunch of provincial Jersey Shore beach bums and musicians.

From the "very" anxious heavens of our first trans-Atlantic flight we descended into... well... hell, as I would soon come to know it.

There was a lot of publicity.

Without going into excessive and ancient detail, yeah, there were promo posters, yeah; there was the "London is finally ready for..." marquee; the raves, the pans, the fans, the existential angst... the... the... HYPE!

The whole city, or at least the part that was interested in pop music, seemed primed for... a party? a funeral? a coronation? All of the above? With the shadow of the crown and the noose upon my neck, I stood in the middle of it, this week's Next... Big... Thing. All I remember thinking was, Whoa! This is a little more than I bargained for. Not quite savvy enough to realize that this was exactly what I had bargained for, I arrived at the theater and created pre-show chaos, stomping through the aisles, pulling promo flyers of the seats in a "The Man can't steal my music" frenzy. The record company, of course, was just doing its job, and I was just learning mine... real fast.

Later that evening an E Street Band, with a good deal of the carnival still left in it and armed with a set list I still dare any young band to match, strode onto the stage of the Hammersmith Odeon. The tempos were fast. A Jersey stew of almost punk soul, fueled by the visionary songwriters, 60's records, garage bands, and Rhythm and Blues we loved. For me, the set went by like a freight train. Later, all I remembered is an awkward record company party, that "what just happened?" feeling, and thinking we hadn't played that well. I was wrong. With the keys to the kingdom dangling in front of us and the knife at our neck, we'd gone for broke. Whatever happened, it became one of our "legendary" performances, marked only in memory, bits of bootleg tape, and "I was there when" stories. It was the show that put us on the map in England and began a long and beautiful relationship with our fans overseas.

The evening had been recorded and filmed. Lost in my private Idaho, I'd paid no attention to it. I never looked at it... for thirty years. At the time I was anxious to move away from the commotion and on down the road, as the band and I were "busy bein' born."

At the end of the Rising tour, I became interested in checking out film of the early part of my work. It had remained a blank spot with virtually nothing released. I started with bits and pieces of this show figuring we could cut together a song or two. To our surprise the entire concert emerged from the vault along with the 24-track recording. Restore by Thom Zimny and mixed by Bob Clearmountain, removed from the bluster and noise of the moment, all that's left if the music. So Ladies and Gentelmen... "London is finally ready for Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band." Live! At the Hammersmith Odeon.

- BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, 9/22/05

Official Releases

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Other Official Releases

Other versions of QUARTER TO THREE were also officially released.

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band -- London 11/24/1975
The live 24 Nov 1975 version of QUARTER TO THREE was released on the London 11/24/1975 official live download in 2020.
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band -- Tower Theater, Philadelphia 1975
The live 31 Dec 1975 version of QUARTER TO THREE was released on the Tower Theater, Philadelphia 1975 official live download in 2015.
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band -- Berkeley, July 1, 1978
The live 01 Jul 1978 version of QUARTER TO THREE was released on the Berkeley, July 1, 1978 official live download in 2021.
Bruce Springsteen -- The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story
The live 08 Dec 1978 version of QUARTER TO THREE was released on The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story box set in 2010.
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band -- Winterland 12/15/78
The live 15 Dec 1978 version of QUARTER TO THREE was released on the Winterland 12/15/78 official live download in 2019.
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band -- Winterland 12/16/78
The live 16 Dec 1978 version of QUARTER TO THREE was released on the Winterland 12/16/78 official live download in 2019.
Various artists -- The Muse Concert - No Nukes
The live 22 Sep 1979 version of QUARTER TO THREE was first released on The Muse Concert - No Nukes home video in 1980.
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band -- Stockholm Stadion, Sweden 1988
The live 03 Jul 1988 version of QUARTER TO THREE was released on the Stockholm Stadion, Sweden 1988 official live download in 2017.

Live History: on-tour

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Live History: off-tour

SECTION NOT YET COMPLETED

QUARTER TO THREE was performed off-tour on 22 Sep 1979 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, NY, during the MUSE Concerts For A Non-Nuclear Future. The live 22 Sep 1979 version of QUARTER TO THREE was first released on The Muse Concert - No Nukes home video in 1980.

Credits

Thanks Manuel Lázaro for the lyrics.

Available Versions

List of available versions of QUARTER TO THREE on this website:

QUARTER TO THREE [Live 18 Nov 1975 version]
QUARTER TO THREE [Live 22 Sep 1979 version]
QUARTER TO THREE [Live 02 Nov 2002 version]

Page last updated: 09 Sep 2012