The Alex Harvey Live Box Set We’ve Been Waiting For?

Good Evening Boys & Girls – Why This Alex Harvey Box Set Matters

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Hi, Phil Aston here from Now Spinning Magazine, and this is one of those moments where I’m talking about a box set I don’t own yet… but already know is going to be something very special.

Madfish have just announced Good Evening Boys & Girls, a monumental 21-CD live box set from the legendary Sensational Alex Harvey Band, due for release in April 2026. And rather than this being a traditional “review”, this is really about starting a conversation — because this release hits on something much deeper than just another archival set.

This is about why Alex Harvey still matters. And why this particular box set feels so important.

What’s In The Box?
First, let’s talk about the scale of this thing, because it’s huge:
21 CDs featuring 16 previously unreleased live performances
Concert recordings spanning 1973–1977
A 144-page hardback book
Rare memorabilia including posters, passes and ephemera
A replica Glasgow Apollo programme
A signed band photograph from Zal Cleminson and Chris Glen
Soundboard and radio recordings, newly remastered

This set traces the band from the Marquee Club in 1973 through ballrooms, theatres and festivals across the UK, Europe and the US — including New York, Berlin, Reading Festival, and of course the legendary Glasgow Apollo Christmas show of 1975, a gig that has achieved near-mythical status among fans.

The audio has been remastered by Pete Reynolds, whose CV includes work with Mott The Hoople, Fleetwood Mac and Wishbone Ash — and the brief here has clearly been authenticity. This is SAHB as they were heard on the night: gritty, elastic, unpredictable and completely uncompromised.

Why I’m So Excited About This
Now here’s the personal bit — because Alex Harvey wasn’t just another band for me.
I was 14 years old in 1973, and like a lot of kids of my generation, music discoveries didn’t come from playlists or algorithms. They came from shared moments. The kind of moments where you go into school the next day and everyone’s saying the same thing:
“Did you see that last night?”
For me, that moment came via The Old Grey Whistle Test.
Among a sea of long-haired bands in grey coats, something different happened. On came Alex Harvey and his band — with that audacious name, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band. You don’t call yourself that unless you’re ready to back it up.
They played Faith Healer.
And suddenly everything changed.
Zal Cleminson dressed as a clown — but not a funny one. A menacing one. Alex Harvey prowling the stage like a street preacher, part vaudeville performer, part storyteller, part provocateur. That throbbing keyboard pulse. That chugging SG guitar tone. Lyrics that felt dangerous when you were sitting in the living room with your parents.
The next day at school? That was all anyone talked about.

Alex Harvey wrote lyrics we simply don’t get now. Surreal. Darkly funny. Provocative. Sometimes unsettling. Sometimes philosophical. Sometimes oddly prophetic — even touching on themes like environmental damage long before it was fashionable.
They could cover Crazy Horses, deliver brutal hard rock riffs, and still feel like a band rooted in theatre, storytelling and real human experience.
And crucially — they were a live band.
Which is why this box set makes so much sense.

Why This Box Set Feels Right
If any band deserved a deep-dive live anthology like this, it’s SAHB.
This isn’t about polishing history. It’s about preserving energy. Most of these recordings are soundboard or radio broadcasts — and yes, there’s one included that’s apparently a bit rough sonically, but it’s there because it documents the final performance of the original line-up.
That honesty matters.
And because this is being done by Madfish Music, you already know the mindset:
“What would the fans want?”
Madfish don’t do things by halves. These sets take years to assemble, and nothing gets left out if there’s even a chance it could be included.

Let’s Talk About It
This box set isn’t cheap.
It isn’t casual.
And it isn’t for everyone.
But for Alex Harvey fans, this feels like a once-in-a-generation release.
So I really want to know what you think.

Did you see SAHB live?
Was Faith Healer a defining moment for you too?
Does this box set excite you… or feel overwhelming?
Drop your thoughts in the comments, in the WhatsApp group, or over in the Now Spinning Arms — because this is exactly the kind of release that deserves a proper conversation.
As soon as I get my hands on a copy, you know I’ll be unboxing and reviewing it in minute detail.
Until then — keep spinning those discs.
Music is the healer and the doctor.

PRE ORDER HERE

Phil Aston | Now Spinning Magazine