Art rock gods Wire were inactive between 1981 and 1985 due to solo outings and other projects. When they reformed, the sound of Wire 2.0 moved away from their earlier harder-edged material towards more electronic instrumentation and experimentation.

The band had moved on and announced that they would play none of the older songs live, hilariously opting instead to hire a Wire tribute band called The Ex-Lion Tamers—their name taken from one of Pink Flag‘s song titles—to open their American tour playing tunes from their first few albums.

You have to love that. What other band save for Wire would do such a thing?

Wire live at the Bloomsbury Theatre, London on Sunday July 21, 1985. This is, I’m pretty sure, the first gig of their return.

Set list: “Drill,” “Serious Of Snakes,” “Ambulance Chasers,” “Harry,” “Madman’s Honey,” “Come Back In Two Halves,” “Kidney Bingos,” “Up To The Sun,” “Drill.”