The Damned Universal Amphitheatre, Universal City CA 16th March 2002

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.

Saturday 18 January 2014

The Damned Universal Amphitheatre, Universal City CA 16th March 2002

Here's a great sounding gig from 2002 when The Damned supported Rob Zombie on the 'Demon Speeding Tour'. The set is from the first album they recorded with Mr Sensible back in the fold, the rather magnificent 'Grave Disorder'.

The tour was ill-fated for the Damned who were to leave the tour after just a handful of dates. It was reported thus:

Punk band The Damned have decided to pull out of Rob Zombie's Demon Speeding Tour. Their last performance was on March 17 in San Jose, Calif. According to guitarist Captain Sensible, "Unfortunately, from the very first show it was apparent that The Damned's subtle blend of gothic punk was completely lost on the predominately metal crowds. Sorry to all our fans who bought tickets, but life's too short to spend two months in the back of a van when there's no point. We wish Rob, his band, and the excellent Sinisstar (decent chaps the lot of them!) all the best with the rest of the shows. We will however be coming back for the Warped Tour, which will be a lot more our cup of tea, I reckon." The band's Warped Tour dates run August 8-18 and are on the East Coast, with two shows in Canada.
The set list below contains an error in that 'Wait For The Blackout' is not played.