La Edad de Oro

***La Edad de Oro** (The Golden Age)* was a television show produced by Televisión Española, the Spanish national television broadcaster, aired on TVE-2 between 1983 and 1985. The show presented concerts from various musicians. Including The Residents, who performed *The Mole Show* live on its June 21, 1983 episode.

This presentation was the first time The Residents ever held a concert for television broadcasting. And because footage of their previous live shows were not released until several years later, it is the first video footage of a musical performance by them to be made public.

## Background

The program was a variety show focused on the Madrilenian counterculture scene of the early '80s, giving a platform to avant-garde artists from Spain and all over the world. It was most known for dedicating entire episodes to different live performers, who would then be interviewed by the show's presenter, Patricia Chamorro.

The Residents, who were in the middle of the european leg of The Mole Show tour, were booked for a live concert on the show. After almost a month of touring, and wIth this being their third concert in Madrid in a row, their whole crew was suffering of fatigue, with the narrator of the show, Penn Jilette, showing signs of illness the last few days before the broadcast.

## Concert

The day of the concert, after a successful rehearsal, Jillette had to be sent to the hospital for what appeared to be a ruptured appendix. Thankfully, when The Residents visited him after the show, it ended up being just a scare. But this left them without a narrator, which would have meant that the complete dynamic of The Mole Show would not work.

With less than an hour to go, the group chose the stage manager of the tour as Jillette's replacement for the night as he was present at every single show so far, and also had some experience acting. Wearing the modified Groucho Marx glasses, he followed the narrator schtick up until the narration before "Song of the Wild", where he talks about Penn's delicate health state to the confused crowd. He does not appear on stage after that.

At the start of the broadcast, Chamorro interviews The Residents, in their eyeball masks desguise, before the concert starts. Because they do not like to speak to the press, Nessie Lessons (who Chamorro calls by the name "Mara" during the entire show) acts as the group's spokesperson. A announcer translates Lessons' answers to spanish through a PA System.

During the intermission, people in the crowd are asked what do they think of The Residents, which praise for group, but also some criticism. Lessons gets asked a few more questions, after which she puts the red eyeball mask on Chamorro's head. As there is no narrator to do the confrontation before "Satisfaction" with, Lessons buys time for the group to prepare for the last bit of the show. The broadcast closes with a spanish flag being waved on stage.

## Aftermath

Parts from the broadcast were used for the *Mole Show / Whatever Happened To Vileness Fats?* VHS, mixing them with footage from the first show of the tour and the special Uncle Sam Mole Show, and adding computer effects. An excerpt from the VHS was used for *Video Voodoo* and *Twenty Twisted Questions*. The unedited performances of "The Secret Seed", "The Observer" and "Satisfaction" were included in *Live!...On the Outskirts*.

*La Edad de Oro* would do a segment dedicated to Ralph Records music videos in its September 27, 1983 episode. *The Third Reich n' Roll*, *Hello Skinny* and *One Minute Movies* were shown, as well as MX-80's *Why Are We Here?*, Snakefinger's Man in the Dark Sedan, and Tuxedomoon's *Jinx*. (With the latter band also having previously performed live at the show.)

The show was cancelled in 1985. In 2005, a compilation series with the best of the show was briefly shown on TVE-2, and the performance of "Smack Your Lips (Clap Your Teeth)" was shown. The entire series, including The Residents' concert, is available to watch for free on Radiotelevisión Española's official website.

## See also

* *Mole Show / Whatever Happened To Vileness Fats?*
* The Mole Show
* *Live!...On the Outskirts*

## Watch online

* The Residents in *La Edad de Oro*
* Ralph Records video retrospective in *La Edad de Oro*

## External links and references

* *The Mole Show* in The Residents historical
* *La Edad de Oro* in Radiotelevisión Española's official website

**Set list**
"Voices of the Air" · "The Secret Seed" · "The Ultimate Disaster" · "God of Darkness" · "Migration""Smack Your Lips (Clap Your Teeth)" · "Another Land" · "The New Machine" · "Song of the Wild" · "Final Confrontation" · "Satisfaction" · "Happy Home"
**Dates**
***America (October - April 1982)***
Santa Monica, April 10th 1982 · San Francisco, October 26th 1982 · San Francisco, October 27th 1982 · Los Angeles, October 29th 1982 · Los Angeles, October 30th 1982 · Pasadena, October 31st 1982
***Europe (May - July 1983)***
Hannover, May 23rd 1983 · Vienna, May 25th 1983 · Vienna, May 26th 1983 · Munich, May 27th 1983 · Frankfurt, May 28th 1983 · Dusseldorf, May 29th 1983 · Berlin, May 30th 1983 · Copenhagen, June 1st 1983 · Hamburg, June 2nd 1983 · Bochum, June 3rd 1983 · Utrecht, June 4th 1983 · Brussels, June 5th 1983 · Utrecht, June 6th 1983 · Paris, June 7th 1983 · Lyon, June 8th 1983 · Bologna, June 12th 1983 · Milan, June 13th 1983 · Firenze, June 14th 1983 · Barcelona, June 17th 1983 · Valencia, June 18th 1983 · Madrid, June 19th 1983 · Madrid, June 20th 1983 · **Madrid, June 21st 1983** · Bordeaux, June 23rd 1983 · Poitiers, June 24th 1983 · Birmingham, June 27th 1983 · London, June 28th 1983 · Liverpool, June 29th 1983 · Edinburgh, June 30th 1983 · Leicester, May 28th 1983
***The Uncle Sam Mole Show***
Washington, D.C., October 7th 1983
**Personnel**
The Residents · Penn Jillette · Kathleen French · Carol LeMaitre · Sarah McLennan · Chris Van Ralte · Nessie Lessons · Scott Fraser · Philip Perkins · Dan Gillham · Laurence Campling · Raoul N.D Seimbote · Eric Knorr · Leigh Barbier · Sheenah Spece · Paul Young · Mara Mikialian · Bill Gerber · Evan Medow · Tom Timony · Diane Flynn · Sally Lewis
**Related releases**
*Mark of the Mole* · *The Tunes of Two Cities* · *Intermission* EP · *Mole Show (Live at the Roxy)* · *Mole Show* VHS · *Assorted Secrets* · *PAL TV LP* · *Set Designs from The Mole Show* portfolio · *Mole Show: Live In Holland* · *Mole Show* DVD bag set · *Mole Box: The Complete Mole Trilogy pREServed* · *Mole Dance 82*

**Cast of Characters**
Mohelmot · Chubs (Innisfree · The Scientist) · The ObserverDarkness · The Evil DisposerCross (Zinkenites · Kula Bocca · The Big Bubble · Frankie DuVall)
**Part One: *Mark of the Mole* (1981)**
(video game · novel)
**Side A: Hole-Workers at the Mercy of Nature**
"Voices of the Air" · "The Ultimate Disaster" · "Migration"
**Side B: Hole-Workers vs. Man and Machine**
"Another Land" · "The New Machine" · "Final Confrontation"
**Part Two: *The Tunes of Two Cities* (1982)**
(*The Comix of Two Cities*)
**Side A:** "Serenade For Missy" · "A Maze Of Jigsaws" · "Mousetrap" · "God Of Darkness" · "Smack Your Lips (Clap Your Teeth)" · "Praise For The Curse"
**Side B:** "The Secret Seed" · "Smokebeams" · "Mourning The Undead" · "Song Of The Wild" · "The Evil Disposer" · "Happy Home (Excerpt From Act II of "Innisfree")"
***Intermission: Extraneous Music From The Residents' Mole Show* (1982)**
**Side A:** "Lights Out (Prelude)" · "Shorty's Lament (Intermission)"
**Side B:** "The Moles Are Coming (Intermission)" · "Would We Be Alive? (Intermission)" · "The New Hymn (Recessional)"
**The Mole Show (1982-1983)**(*Mole Dance 82* · *Live At The Roxy* · ***La Edad de Oro*** · Uncle Sam Mole Show · VHS · *Live In Holland* · DVD bag set)
**Part Three: ???**
"Now It Is Too Late" · "Going Nowhere" · "Tired Old Man" · "Marching To The We" · *Mole Suite*
**Part Four: *The Big Bubble* (1985)**(fictional band · Black Shroud Records)
**Side A:** "Sorry" · "Hop A Little" · "Go Where Ya Wanna Go" · "Gotta Gotta Get" · "Cry For The Fire"
**Side B:** "Die-Stay-Go" · "Vinegar" · "Firefly" · "The Big Bubble" · "Fear for the Future" · "Kula Bocca Says So"
**Part Five: ???**
**Part Six: ???**
**Related works**
"Open Up" · "Anvil Forest" · The 10th Anniversary Show (*Assorted Secrets*) · *PAL TV LP* · The 13th Anniversary Show · *Mole Box: The Complete Mole Trilogy pREServed* ("From MOM1" · "Untitled" · "Jingle Bell" · "Another Another Land")
**Related articles**
Ralph Records · The Cryptic Corporation · Grove St. studio · Minna St. studio · Porno Graphics · Penn Jillette · Nessie Lessons · Snakefinger · Matt Howarth · Greg Easter · T.D. Wade