The BBC camera work on this clip is admirable (particularly given the incredibly bulky and unwieldy size of the cameras being used at the time) and really showcases Rory’s playing. The whole thing still looks good now that it has been transferred into widescreen format and, most importantly Rory’s performance is first class throughout, aided by his two sidemen at that time – Ted McKenna on drums and Gerry McAvoy on bass.
Sadly, the original ‘Rock Goes To College’ shows were only 45 minutes long so, However, Rory packs a lot into that show. No time to ‘calm things down’ with an acoustic set in the middle, just one slower blues number (Fuel To The Fire) and a lot of punchy rock.
One last point, just for the sake of accuracy, ‘Recorded Live at Middlesex Polytechnic, UK, January 27th, 1979,’ the Roman numerals within the BBC credits near the end reveal that the year it was first broadcast was 1978. As further confirmation of this fact, Pete Drummond’s introduction states that this show was recorded at the end of Rory’s tour to promote his (then) latest album Photo Finish. Wikepedia gives that album an original release date of 1st October 1978 and our old vinyl copy of it confirms that it dates from 1978.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbswM3lPC8A&feature=share
Rock Goes To College
Recorded live at Middlesex Polytechnic, UK,
January 27th 1979
The Fat Angel Sings 