Peter And The Test Tube Babies Olympic Auditorium Los Angeles 25th November 1983

 

Here is a full on 'Mating Sounds' era gig from the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles. This was one of many punk gigs in the area organised by long standing promotors Golden Voice, that brought many of the UK 82 bands to an American punk audience back in the early 1980s.

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-xGf5PmbethezCnyh

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-BbEZB4dtcJNQGEiS

I also note that there are a number of excellent photos of the band on line that this gig taken by Alison Braun.

Del

Ogs

Peter

Trapper

(Photos: Alison Braun).

Top 30 Punk Albums #10 Mating Sounds Of South American Frogs - Peter And The Test Tube Babies

 

The first studio album from the Test Tubes was released in December 1983. At that time I was three months shy of my 14th birthday. Musically, I was still very much into electronic bands, the likes of Gary Numan, Ultravox and OMD. At that time though I was also aware of some original punk bands, there were a few Stranglers and Damned records in my expanding record collection. But to most of my mates at the time who were into punk, for them this meant bands of the UK 82 scene. Peter and the Test Tube Babies were critical at this time (and importantly local - the home town of Burgess Hill being about 12 miles north of Brighton) and a bit before that too. Someone in our small circle of friends had a copy of 'Pissed & Proud' and this got a regular airing, its content being instantly appealing to a group of 14 year old boys!

Some friends were seeing the band from 1983 onwards, not me though, I had to wait until early '85 to see then (sometime around the release of the 'Rotting In The Fart Sack' EP - a Sunday lunchtime gig at the Richmond in Brighton for the princely sum of 50p).

From this point on, punk both present and past became increasingly important in my world. So this album, aside from being a great album, holds great importance and many adolescent memories for me. There isn't a duff track to be heard on the original release (the throwaway ode to fast food, 'Wimpeez' only appeared on later issues of the album). Tracks such as 'The Jinx', 'Guest List' and always my favourite 'Let's Burn' still sound great nearly 40 years down the line. The additional studio expense (the album was recorded in Pink Floyd's Britannia Row Studios and Southern Studios (of Crass et al. fame) coupled with proper production, not to mention better playing ability (thanks to a heavy gigging schedule over the previous 18 months) propelled the album into a different league.

If 'Pissed & Proud' captures the raw, disorder of early Test Tubes, 'Mating Sounds' stands out as the band's definitive album. A review of a set list from 2023 shows that 17 out of 22 songs played at that particular gig were from '82 to '85. That said '83 to '86 was a fine time to be into the Peter and the Test Tube Babies as 'Mating Sounds' was followed by the cassette only compilation 'Journey to the Centre of Johnny Clarke's Head' (this was the first thing I heard in proper stereo.... never mind 'Oxygene' or 'Tubular Bells' when your first experience of stereo is 'Tupperware Party'!). That was followed by the aforementioned 'Rotting in the Fart Sack' which unleashed the brilliant 'Spirit of Keith Moon' and then came 'Soberphobia' which followed in the same vain as 'Mating Sounds' but never quite scaled the same heights as its predecessor. Oh and I nearly forgot 1985's 'The Loud, Blaring, Punk Rock LP', an album that caused much mirth and merriment back then!

Here's what the critics had to say... not that any of it changes my opinion of the album.

New Musical Express (29th October 1983)

New Musical Express (15th October 1983)

New Musical Express (5th November 1983)

New Musical Express (24th December 1983)

New Musical Express (17th December 1983)

These were the opinions of the New Musical Express at the time, from the 'unlistenable legacy of punk' to 'zomboid metal thunder'. Still does it for me though!

Remembering Dave Greenfield 3rd May 2026 With 'Fire And Water'

 

Was it really six years ago that Mo charged through our back door to convey the news on that sunny lockdown afternoon that Dave had died?! Well yes it was.

I said it on here at the time that whilst it is said  that the whole is bigger than the part... the part that Dave's extraordinary musical virtuosity brought to the Stranglers' sound was immense. In that sense whilst it is undoubtedly the case, and most certainly in the early years, that that the four members of the band each contributed uniquely to that 'sound', it was Dave's keyboard handiwork that provided the wax seal to the whole and that confirmed that you were indeed listening to The Stranglers.

Working with JJ in 1983 he was responsible for the soundtrack of the French art film 'Ecoutez Vos Murs' entitled 'Fire & Water'. In terms of audio material, I have posted all that I have, but here is a link once again to the brilliant Rat Zone produced collection of outtakes (here) and please note that if you search the site for Dave there are another couple of posts that relate to this most quirky of albums.

What I have not posted before is some of the press reaction to the album and the accompanying single, 'Rain & Dole & Tea'... 'Non!' sums up the collective view of the music press. Then again by 1983 the band were yesterday's news in the eyes of most music journalists.

Smash Hits (8th December 1983)

New Musical Express (17th December 1983)

Dave as the 'missing link between Gary Numan and Vangelis' !!!???

Record Mirror (7th January 1984)

Sadly, the single 'Rain & Dole & Tea' faired no better in the hands of the critics (Marc Almond).

Record Mirror (25th February 1984)