Ten fantastic live albums from the 1980s

Fleetwood Mac - Live

Fleetwood Mac went through many lineups and styles to match. Their peak of course was mid to late 1970s with their second self-titled album, Rumours and Tusk. This album covers that pinnacle period superbly. 

Recorded primarily on their Tusk Tour of 1978-79, Live focuses on the top songs from those three albums.  There are also some extras from Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, and a cover of The Beach Boys' “The Farmers Daughter”, which cleverly highlights the band’s close harmonies. 

Perhaps surprisingly for such a huge group, Live wasn't a huge seller by their standards. Gold status in both the UK and US and charting at 31 (UK) and 14 (US) means it's still a success. If you like Fleetwood Mac, then the Live album covers all the bases for you.

Peter Gabriel - Plays Live

Peter Gabriel left Genesis in 1975. By the time he released this live album in June 1983, he had four great solo albums to draw on. A very visual artist his music was very strong on its own too. This is one of those albums where the live versions can be slightly different from the studio recordings and are often better. The album version of the closing song of his set  “Biko” is a personal favourite. 

Although there has been some criticism over the sound quality at times and a fair amount of overdubbing in production, the album is pretty solid and conveys the live performances well. Plays Live may not have been a huge seller, but it's highly regarded as a great live album, and deservedly so.