Aural Sculptors - The Stranglers Live 1976 to the Present


Welcome to Aural Sculptors, a blog aimed at bringing the music of The Stranglers to as wide an audience as possible. Whilst all of the various members of the band that have passed through the ranks since 1974 are accomplished studio musicians, it is on stage where the band have for me had their biggest impact.

As a collector of their live recordings for many years I want to share some of the better quality material with other fans. By selecting the higher quality recordings I hope to present The Stranglers in the best possible light for the benefit of those less familiar with their material than the hardcore fan.

Needless to say, this site will steer well clear of any officially released material. As well as live gigs, I will post demos, radio interviews and anything else that I feel may be of interest.

In addition, occasionally I will post material by other bands, related or otherwise, that mean a lot to me.

Your comments and/or contributions are most welcome. Please email me at adrianandrews@myyahoo.com.


Friday 28 December 2012

2012 In Music


.... and the world did not end! So, as we are about to enter the last week of the year, a brief pause for thought. On the one hand, in 2012 there were the triumphs of the olympics and paralympics as well as, for good or bad, all the pomp and ceremony that Britain had to offer to mark the Queen's 60th year on the throne. On the other hand, personal tragedy touched the lives of friends that made 2012 a year to be forgotten. As always then, a mixed bag of fortunes.

On a lighter (and a more bloke orientated list) note, there was plenty of activity on the musical front. So now that my gig commitments for the year have been fulfilled and any other CD orders to Amazon will have to wait for the new year, here's my summary of 2012, musically speaking, in the age old form of a couple of nerdy lists!

Best gig of the year

1) Ruts DC at the 100 Club (here)
2) Squeeze at Cambridge Corn Exchange (here)
3) Public Image Limited at Heaven (here)
4) Buzzcocks 'Back To Front' at Brixton Academy (here)
5) The Stranglers at Het Depot Leuven (here)

New release of the year

1) Rhythm Collision Vol.2 (Sampler) - Ruts DC
2) Giants - The Stranglers
3) This Is P.I.L. - Public Image Limited
4) MMXII - Killing Joke
5) Into The Future - Bad Brains

Re-release of the year

1) I Just Can't Stop It - The Beat*
2) The Gift - The Jam
3) Animal Now - Ruts DC
4) Wha'ppen - The Beat
5) Special Beat Service - The Beat

A mention in despatches must also go here to 'Specialized - A Modern Take On Specials Classics' - a brilliant fresh album for a great cause (here).

* Will someone within The Stranglers' management team please note that this is the way to do a reissue. Somehow this was possible for a band such as The Beat, a band who arguably have a more niche appeal than The Stranglers. It can be done and done exceptionally well!

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