Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band music & video archive

Some of these files are available here to download, some are links to videos on YouTube. Hope you enjoy them.

See also our collection of streaming audio interviews with Don Van Vliet.

John Peel "Top Gear" Sessions - complete audio files for two separate Peel sessions, long-since wiped by the BBC.

Lick My Decals Off Baby Banned Advertisement - video 3,791K. A classic, unmissable Beefheart clip.

I'm Gonna Booglarize Ya Baby - on YouTube. Recorded live for German TV's Beat Club in 1972. A superb performance, made unmissable for the Captain's bizarre appearance. Guaranteed to be givin' you the willies.

Big Eyed Beans From Venus - video 4,022K. Appeared on the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1973 - the music is merely dubbed over the top of an impressive live sequence featuring a cloaked Beefheart stalking the stage at The Rainbow. Sound and picture quality are good, though it is a shame that the original audio from the performance hasn't survived.

This Is The Day - video 4,131K. From the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1974, featuring the Tragic Band. Don't download it if you don't want to - like the soppy old goat that I am I happen to love this song.

Eye Witness Documentary - on YouTube. From 1980.

Saturday Night Live - video and audio 22nd November 1980 - a classic performance!

Ice Cream For Crow - on YouTube. The official, award winning video from 1982 directed by Daniel Perle.

David Letterman Interview 1982 - video 9,561K. Unmissable, good quality sound though the picture is quite jerky and stuttery. Don't let that put you off.

David Letterman Interview 1983 - video 10,819K. Unmissable.

Thanks to Michael Scott for sending me the photograph at the top of this page.

Important note: The Radar Station only links to mp3s of unreleased or unavailable Captain Beefheart material. None of the items in this archive are commercially available. If you have plans to release any of the tunes featured here, please contact me so I can remove them. The Radar Station does not condone the unlicensed distribution of commercially available recordings.