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 30 March 2024

Ulster Hall Belfast 11th March 2024

 

OK then, as another tour comes to an end, in an almost time honoured tradition, here is the first recording that has gone into circulation. Thanks to several people who shared it with me. Much appreciated! I believe this first appeared on 101guitars, so thanks are due to the Historical Field Recording Unit!

I had tickets for this particular gig as I kind of missed out on getting RAH tickets and the only other tickets I have were for Cambridge. With regard to the latter, the band love it, as I recall Baz referred to Cambridge as their 'home gig'. The Dave and JJ connection. For my part I have never liked the venue, but on the other hand it is 30 minutes up the road. Logistical issues meant that I was left with little option other than to offload my Belfast tickets.... at least there is Europe later in the year.

So, I can only speak for Cambridge but I though the band were excellent (not that I was expecting a disappointment). The penny only dropped the other day when The Stranglers (Official) Facebook page posted something thanking 'The Meninblacksuits' for supporting on the tour. Then the structure of the night made sense. Devo once did something similar on their 'Duty Now For The Future' tour when 'Dove', a Christian rock band (whose members has a striking resemblance to the Devo boys) supported Devo. 

I did eventually see the set prior to the gig. I don't mind that so much and I find it stressful to go all out to avoid spoilers during a tour anyway. What did people make of the set? 'Hallow To Our Men' was certainly a nice surprise and always happy to have 'Sewer' in the set, but I dunno, perhaps I am being unreasonable... I would love to have seen something completely unexpected, a B-side perhaps (remember back in 1988 when 'Vietnamerica' cropped up briefly in the set?). And, I still maintain that 'Nuclear Power' would fit perfectly into a Stranglers' set... maybe next year.

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-V87HbwwdzS

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-ny3gC7JuR5



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