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.


Tuesday, 3 June 2025

Buzzcocks 1980 Home Demos for 4th Album

 


I believe that this collection of demos has been in circulation for sometime. The artwork that I have put together is accurate in one sense in that the material in this collection was demoed with the intention that the final songs would become the basis of the fourth Buzzcocks album. On the other hand, it should be noted that these songs are performed in these rudimentary states by Diggle and Shelley separately i.e. without the involvement of each other or John Maher and Steve Garvey. 

It does seem apparent that the two principal song writers in the band were pulling in different directions in a musical sense at this point. Pete Shelley especially has already embraced electronica with which he would continue to work with Martin Rushent during 1981, a collaboration that was to bring him significant critical acclaim with 'Homosapien'. The two named songs from Shelley in this collection, 'I Get A Feeling' and 'Guess I Must have Been In Love With Myself' went on to appear on that first solo album. Steve Diggle's contributions are more aligned with the pop/rock sound that Buzzcocks were known for.

The tensions within the band arising from relentless touring schedules over a number of years, not helped by an excessive intake of drink and drugs, pulled them apart in March 1981 as described in this piece that appeared in the 28th March issue of New Musical Express.


I would have to wait another 8 1/2 years before I got to see them.

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-Fj8TnjHRil

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-A92UYyogIH



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