The time tunnel takes a wobbly trip back to 1985. The days when IQ wanted to be, and were, magnificent.

DOWN THE TIME TUNNEL

“I wanted to be magnificent!” That line from the title track of The Wake album. One that with the hindsight of forty years sees both the song and the album which shares the title remains a fan (and band) favourite. And – one whose magnificence remains in place in 2026. It was The Wake that provided the bulk of the set for this London show in May 1985 when IQ performed a concert at the Camden Palace in London for the television series Live from London. At the time of the recording the band had just completed their new album. the famous difficult second album

Remarkable, four of those guys on the cover are still in the band and about to head to the famous Bury Weekender at The Met. Hairstyles less bouffant and no skinny ties or studded dog collars; Pete, Mike, Tim and Paul (in the days when he was Mr Bear) as young hopefuls in the new revival of Progressive Rock. A place they occupied with the likes of Marillion, Pallas, Pendragon and Solstice who are, like IQ, still active and healthy some forty years on.

Fans will possibly have this set as Living Proof, in their collections, but this new CD / Blu-ray release features a new mix of the performance from the original 24-track master tapes, along with a restored video master of this fine performance on a region free Blu-Ray video disc.

GARDEN OVER ME

Musically, the keyboard fanfare of Awake And Nervous is a ready made set opener if ever there were one. Tracks from the first album, Tales From The Lush Attic get things warmed up, mixed with Outer Limits, before the vast majority of The Wake gets aired. Outer Limits is one of those tracks that bears the hallmark of classic IQ. Brooding and moody opening and into a sprightly guitar figure and busy tempo. Very much in the same boat as the more realised Widow’s Peak which despite, its ‘newness’, gets the ‘centrepiece of the set’ placing.

In the absence of their debut album epic, The Last Human Gateway, Widow’s Peak, that over time serve admirably as set opener, takes up that mantle. A favourite misheard lyric that kicked in back in the day, remains in place – “Garden over me, the secret I love most” becomes and forever will be “Garden over me, the secret Isle of Woe….” And then the ever so creepy (in a The musical Box way) takes over.

Sadly, there’s no Headlong but there is the opportunity to re-assess Corners. Perhaps a period piece what with the drum machine providing the evidence for dating the track. Some nice slidey-ish guitar touches add a little more to the sound pallette.

Liner notes are by Steve Pilkington with a brief context building resume of the period (although a little more careful proofing might have seen The Seventh House album correctly named) and some memories from Pete Nicholls – the most ‘revealing’ being how he split his trousers during one song and became totally focused on not turning his back (side) on the cameras. There’s one to bring up the next time I catch him at the local Tesco self checkout…

THE WAKE – THE BEST?

Ulitimately, we have a very nice re-capture of something official from the early days when The Wake was new. An album that in 2026, is so well respected and loved by the fanbase. Possibly their best? There’s a full article in itself that will get the prog fans talking…

Watch the footage of The Wake:

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