Taped live for a 90-mintue Home Box Office cable special, “Dolly Parton in Concert,” which was seen in June 1983, and tied in with RCA Records’ cross-promotion of Dolly’s new album, “Burlap and Satin”, was released in late May. HBO, the US cable channel filmed her three-night stint at London's Dominion Theatre on 27th, 28th & 29th on March 1983, preceded by a media blitz which saw her plastered all over leading British newspapers, women's magazines and television chat shows. Her presence drew all musical tastes judging by the assortment of fans in the audience that included prim housewives, business types, rockers, and Dolly look-alikes.
The show was spectacular and Dolly was simply incredible, backed by a small orchestra of around 25 musicians, including violinists and a timpanist, led by Gregg Perry. When the concert was later screened on BBC television it drew an exceptionally large audience of over eight million viewers – a record for BBC2, and was later shown as a special on the American Home Box Office cable channel.
For the video, which was released in 1984, a series of introductory sequences were shot — a jumbo jet arriving at Heathrow to a musical backdrop of '9 To 5' and 'Rule Britannia', a staged interview with an immigration officer, in which Dolly tells the official she is a performer and when pushed further says, "A singer." Dolly then makes her way to baggage reclaim waving to an assembly of voluble fans. After receiving a kiss from a London bobby she returns the compliment after being assured that it will get him into trouble. Following the obligatory visit to the Changing of the Guard ceremony and a limousine tour of the city (with Dolly waving to passers-by in the manner of Queen Elizabeth), she then visit’s a pub and joins in for a singalong. Next stop: a hectic press conference. Then Dolly arrives at the Dominion Theatre in a London bus, escorted into the auditorium by an honour guard of Beefeaters.
What the video did not reveal was that one of the perform¬ances was disrupted for a short time as a result of a bomb threat before the show. The venue was evacuated for about half an hour while a search of the premises was carried out. The show went on without further incident. Also one song that didn’t make it onto the video was Dolly’s rendition of “Potential New Boyfriend.”