On Poland 1986

I read with interest Neil’s post on the Stranglers memorabilia Facebook page concerning the acquisition of a 1986 Polish gig mooted by CBS to have been an album release. No, I was not angling for a copy, although of course I would live to hear it. I just want to reiterate some of my thoughts on material that is languishing in record company vaults. The truth is The Stranglers are not The Beatles, rather than just stating the obvious, this point relates to the longevity of appeal that a band can expect. For sure, the band have enjoyed an extraordinarily long career and very much against the odds but how strong with the legacy be in 5 years or seven years when they have ceased to exist as a band. A large proportion of the band’s fan base are not in their 50’s and 60’s and whilst perhaps their children may have a fondness for the band (through enforced listening), sadly, I would expect their relevance within popular culture will tail off with the band’s demise. If you think this to be over pesimistic then consider this. My wife has recently addressed a lifelong regret and gone to university. She turns 60 later this year. However, she is not the only mature student on the course, there is a girl at the ripe old age of 24, younger than both of her children. One assignment required each student to identify a person who they saw as a role model and/or a significant figure within recent popular culture. Gunta chose Debbie Harry, and here’s the thing, not one of her fellow students had ever heard of Debbie Harry or Blondie. Now that is a person/a band that were dwarfed most contemporaries that came out of new wave and punk. Here’s was the face of the late 70’s and early 80’s that adorned the covers of thousands of magazines. She had a female iconic status that was perhaps only later rivalled by that of Diana. The point is she/Blondie were huge and yet a mention of her name and her photograph drew a great big black from Generation Z. I guess fame if more fleeting in the 21st century than even Warhol predicted. Perhaps it is social media that is to blame, platforms that create instant celebrities that have the longevity of a firework.

Anyway back to the point, and it is a point that has been discussed over and over again for several years now. There are some gems by all accounts gathering dust in the EMI vaults, from memory there are the European gigs that provided the live B-side material, the 1976 Nashville ‘debut LP’ and the PROP gig from Leeds. When it comes to a potential release of any of this stuff it surprises me that record companies have not realised that if ever there was a time to release material it would be now. Surely a release would stand a better chance of success whilst the band are still active and there exists a fanbase infrastructure (social media groups and the like) in place to generate a ‘buzz’ around a significant new release. Each year there is a flurry of excitement around Record Store Day, something that is great for the ongoing wellbeing of independent record shops and something that I fully support (although not to the extent of queuing outside of Rough Trade form 5 o’clock in the morning). But, it seems to be so often the case that, not only concerning The Stranglers, that the RSD offerings are rather lazy. Take for example the re-release of ‘La Folie’. The double album had merit, no doubt, but what was the justification for a rerelease on coloured vinyl. In my opinion, people buy such releases because they are limited and will increase substantially in value. If something is going to be rereleased make it something old but new to the ears of the fan base. Who knows, in the current chart environment, if ‘Dead On Arrival’ were to be released for RSD 2026 it could possibly achieve the success that UEA hoped and become a chart topper just like Dr Feelgood’s ‘Stupidity’.

I have no idea how many pink ‘La Folie’s were pressed up but if ‘Dead On Arrival’ or the PROP gig or Paris ’85 or Poland ’86 were to see the light of day, at £30 a go, there has be a financial upside, no?