This live performance of John Prine's "Hello in There" is a must-see if you're a fan of Prine, Michael Stipe, Natalie Merchant, or Billy Bragg. I happen to be a huge fan of all of them, so seeing Stipe, Merchant, and Bragg performing one of my favorite Prine songs is a great pleasure—I hope you enjoy it too!
According to Natalie Merchant's YouTube site, which uploaded the video, it was recorded in 1990, in Glasgow, Scotland – "a first concert stop before heading to the former Soviet Bloc just after the collapse of the Berlin Wall."
To read about the history of the song, check out this piece in American Songwriter:
John Prine painted songs with splintered brushstrokes. His songwriting poignancy, draped around a reedy, unmistakable timbre, was a natural, God-given gift. His style was often humor-laced, other times more plainspoken and directed at the everyman. His talents are best explored with such songs as "Hello in There," off his 1971 self-titled debut, a stark examination of age, enduring love, and time's merciless hand.
