The Stranglers - A Review by Chas de Whalley (Sounds 8th January 1977)

I chanced upon another early review of the band at The Nashville Rooms in Kensington. Appearing in the 8th January issue of Sounds, Chas de Whalley, a champion of the band right from the beginning, once again waxes lyrically about the appeal of their dark and dirty psychedelia.

Now, the Nashville was almost a second home to The Stranglers throughout 1976. Most notably they played the Kensington venue on 19th December 1976, a gig that was recorded with a view to release as the band's debut LP. In the event, as we all know, the album, 'Dead On Arrival', was effectively 'Dead Prior to Departure', its release being vetoed by the band on the grounds that they did not consider it to be sufficiently representative of the band live at that time. The gig was advertised without reference to the support on the night.

The Burning Up Time Forum indicates that support on the night of the live recording was TRB. 

In de Whalley's review the support is very evidently Chelsea. So when precisely did this gig take place? Appearing on 8th January, one can assume the gig occurred some time between 10th December 1976 and the first week of January 1977.

Another Nashville review published in Music Weekly on 18th December (here), assumed to be related to the gig on 10th (although the article refers to a Saturday, assumed to be an error as the gig occurred on a Friday) makes no reference to the support band.

The close of 1976 into 1977 saw the following Stranglers gigs (according to NME listings):

Saturday 11th December support to Deaf School (Friars Aylesbury)
Monday 13th December with Nobodaddy (Tiffany's Edinburgh)
Thursday 16th December headline Mags Head High Wycombe
Friday 17th December headline Peterborough Technical College
Sunday 2nd January 1977 Pink Faries/The Stranglers/Little Bob Story (Roundhouse)

The Burning Up Time Forum states  that the band appeared once more at the Nashville in a pre-Christmas gig (23rd December) supported by Racing Cars.

The ad as it appears in NME makes reference to Racing Cars only.

So my question is who supported The Stranglers at The Nashville on 10th December 1976? If it was TRB then when did this gig with support from Chelsea happen? 

There was another gig at the Nashville on 21st November 1976 (again with no reference to the support in the gig listing), but it seems unlikely that this would only get written up in a January 1977 issue.

Any ideas?

One thing seems certain... when Chas refers to JJ in eyeliner and ripped shirt... this would be his view of the stage!

The Clash (Civic Hall Guildford 1st May 1977) and Junior Murvin (Sierra Nevada World Music Festival Angels Camp CA 24th June 2001) Got It Covered #5

 

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-KhbTaYAD4p64e2Ea

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-3Ex4mENquM01s4z5

As was the case with ‘Doesn’t Make It Alright’ (Got it Covered #2) this was another instance where cover version followed hot on the heels of an original. Jamaican born Junior Murvin recorded ‘Police and Thieves’ (or ‘Police and Thief’ in its original form) with Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry in the producer's ‘Black Ark’ studios in May 1976. The recording featured a veritable who’s who of Jamaican reggae  with Boris Gardiner, Ernest Ranglin and Sly Dunbar contributing to the recording. In typical Perry fashion, the track was recorded in on afternoon and the record was released in the same month. It was a hit upon release in Jamaica, but this success was eclipsed by the popularity of the song in the UK after Island Records issued the single in July of ’76. Murvin’s version was to become the musical back drop to the Notting Hill Carnival riots that occurred in August in which long standing tensions between the police and the black community culminated in running battles through the streets of Notting Hill, multiple arrests and the hospitalisation of a hundred police officers. The 1976 riots were subsequently woven into the fabric of The Clash story… providing as they did the inspiration for the debut single ‘White Riot’, the artwork on the reverse of ‘The Clash’ album and front cover of a later EP entitled ‘Black Market Clash’ which featured Clash collaborator Don Letts walking towards police lines on the day of the trouble.

‘Police and Thieves’ in the hands of The Clash was originally a rehearsal room workout that was never intended for release but ultimately the band recorded the track for inclusion on the first album where it provides a radical departure from the fire and fury of its companion tracks. Its inclusion also was the starting point of the band’s recorded association with reggae. Interestingly, according to the song’s entry in Wikipedia, neither Murvin or Perry were initially fans of The Clash’s interpretation of the song, with the singer stating "They have destroyed Jah work!" whilst Perry believed that The Clash had ‘ruined’ the song. Both men were to come around to Police and Thieves à la Clash in time.

The Clash’s interpretation is a significant revision of the original. At over six minutes long it is also an epic in comparison with the two minute punk roars that the band were known for at the time of its recording. The vocals are worlds apart too, with Murvin’s falsetto delivery being replaced by Strummer’s gravelly bark bourn of cigarettes and poor dentition! As such ‘Police and Thieves’ meets my stated criteria of a worthwhile cover version. It alters the song sufficiently and in such a way that the band made it their own. That is not to say that it is better but there are good grounds for an argument as to who did it best and in this there are arguments on both sides to be had. With ‘Police and Thieves’ and ‘(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais’ The Clash laid claim to a uniquely British fusion of punk and reggae which remains a huge part of their legacy.

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-twyMd7zqo6oZoMQs

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-Q3vtBtvqdQ6QtRnn

In Bed With Joey Ramone

 For a strange looking chap, Joey had a tremendous hit rate!

Shopping With The Stranglers (Sounds 19th February 1977)

Another early piece on the band by Chas de Whalley. This one with a difference, as rather than talking about the band on stage, this is a discussion all about gear... of the musical variety! So this is a bit of a nerdy post to be honest as Chas goes into forensic detail with regard to the bands requirements and preferences in terms of their musical equipment of choice. So go ahead an accompany Chas and the lads as their survey the wares of the music shops of London's Denmark Street and Shaftsbury Avenue whilst on a United Artists funded shopping spree thanks to the just done deal and the release of '(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)'.

Sounds 19th February 1977

Sex Pistols Censored (Sounds 28th May 1977)

 

The Sounds issue of 4th June 1977 carried the above apology for the clear censorship of the advert that appeared on the back page of the previous week's issue for the Pistol's new single 'God Save The Queen'. It would appear that the printer's used by Sounds refused to print the advert in its original form which prompted the decision to alter the design by removing the image of Queen Elizabeth from Jamie Reid's now iconic design. And this was the version of the advert that spared the monarch the safety pin through the nose!

Sounds (28th May 1977)

In contrast the printers used by Sounds' rival music weekly, the New Musical Express, had no such qualms... or if they did, the concerns were not enough to stop  the presses.

New Musical Express (28th May 1977)

Looking back from a vantage point that is almost 50 years distant from these events, it is hard to believe the intensity of the furore that surrounded that song. At the same time it is wonderful to think that for a time, a very, very short time, the Sex Pistols and punk really did rattle the Establishment. But as I said it was only for a very short time and pretty soon the corporate music and entertainment business reeled in all things punk and brought it to heel. The music of course remained and much of it was brilliant, but unlike those early months of 1977 the music industry largely called the shots and it was back to business as usual... only with better music!

P**k Rock Versus Local Councils (Sounds 4th June 1977)

Sounds 4th June 1977

June 1977 was noticeably cooler than June 1976. Nevertheless, there was no shortage of local council officials up and down the country who were getting decidedly hot under the collar about this punk rock thing that was seeping out of the big cities into the provincial towns over which they held sway.

Two tours that have now entered the annals (careful with the typing there!) of British punk history, namely the 'Rats On The Road' tour and The Damned's 'The Damned Can Now Play Three Chords, The Adverts Can Play One. Hear All Four Of Them At...' tour were badly mauled by cancellations imposed by over zealous councillor's and entertainment organisations executives.

It is funny to think that now that punk turns 50 that all three of those scandalous bands mentioned in the cutting at the top of this post (The Stranglers, The Damned and Sex Pistols) have all subsequently gone on to play the Royal Albert Hall in London, a monument of The Establishment and its traditions and values if ever there was one! How times change.

Iggy Pop Manchester Apollo 25th September 1977

 

The return of Iggy Pop to these shores in September 1977 was an eagerly awaited event. On his earlier visit in the year (March) promoting 'The Idiot' he had his mate David Bowie backing him up from the wings on keyboards which was something of a spectacle. At that time the punk was known to the few in the 'in-crowds in the UK's largest towns and cities, people were only just in the process of ripping up their school blazers, but by September the new music was firmly established and Iggy was welcomed back as the 'Godfather of Punk'.

This time around he was promoting the 'Lust For Life' album supported by The Adverts. 

Sounds (13th August 1977)

Sounds (20th August 1977)

Bowie was replaced on this tour by sometime Stooge, Scott Thurston.

Footage from this appearance at Manchester's Apollo was really my first introduction to Iggy Pop, not back in '77, but when material from Granada's 'So It Goes' was repeated to mark the 10th anniversary of punk. 'Oh look, there's a man with a horses tail on stage'... business as usual for Iggy Pop!

'Lust For Life'/Interview/'The Passenger'

So It Goes, Granada TV September 1977

Here is the full audio of that landmark gig. From 101Guitars. Cheers!

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-tzyXA9jm83Kxa7FG

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-zrf8cLErmZTRMOkt

The gig itself was reviewed in the 1st October issue of Record Mirror.

Record Mirror (1st October 1977)

This review was written by Steve Morris. I was initially wondering whether the writer was Stephen Morris from Joy Division/New Order, who did some freelance work for Record Mirror back in the '70's. However, digging a bit deeper online, I stumbled across a 'Morrissey in the Press' web site and it would appear that this review was penned by him.

Sham 69 Vortex London 3rd January 1978

 

The Vortex was the snotty cousin of the Roxy opening under the stewardship of Andy Czezowski when his Roxy closed. Located in Wardour Street in the heart of London's Soho, the Vortex played host many bands who went on to greater success, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Ants and Sham 69 to name three. 

Jimmy Pursey and Sham 69 got 1978 underway with a gig at the Vortex on 3rd January. It sounds like a pretty edgy gig with fights breaking out sporadically as Pursey once again tried to control the situation, with little success. He is very vocal in his frustration that no matter what he does every gig his band plays is marred by violence.

This is a great sounding recording that gives the listener a good idea of what a Sham 69 gig was like as 1977 rolled into 1978. It's a great set for sure, but I'm not sure that I would have wanted to be at the front... or even the back for that matter!

MP3: https://we.tl/t-Jo5dKjrxMAMAC55M

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-i7MqVHvnTAG0Ynhf

Sham 69 are forever strongly associated with the Vortex. On 23rd September 1977 Sham played at the opening of the Vortex Cafe in nearby Hanway Street. The other bands on the bill, The Models, Mean Street, Neo and The Outsiders, played in the Cafe itself whilst Sham 69 opted to play on the roof of the venue. The volume quickly caught the attention of the Metropolitan Police, who promptly pulled the plug on the gig and arrested Pursey, or Jimmy Sham as he went by at the time.

Sham 69 performing on the roof of the Vortex Cafe on 23rd September 1977.

The story was picked up by the New Musical Express and run in their 1st October issue. A bit of a debarcle it would appear from the report.

The gig and the subsequent arrest may not have matched a similar stunt by The Beatles, when they played on the roof of the Apple Corps building in Savile Row in 1969, but as they say there is no such thing as bad publicity!

'You're nicked son!'

Hugh Cornwell - Holiday '77

 New Musical Express (20th August 1977)

Jean Jacques Burnel - Holiday '77

New Musical Express (23rd July 1977) 

Generation X Top of the Pops Appearances 1977 - 1979 DVD

 

This is one that I put together over the weekend. Comprising the seven appearances that Generation X made on the UK's iconic music weekly, here we have Mr Idol and Co. curling lips and making guitar shapes with gay abandon. I have never pinpointed just what it is that I don't like about the band. There are not many of the first cohort of British punk bands that I do not appreciate wholeheartedly. It can't be that Billy disappeared across the pond to become a glam metal rockstar... the Clash embraced all things American and I have all of their albums. I just dunno.... answers on a postcard please.

Anyway, enough of my musical preferences or otherwise, this is a nice short collection. Unfortunately, the footage features Jimmy Saville briefly, but I think that it is not for me to censor the material, visitors to this page are old enough to know the despicable nature of the man and his deeds. In this respect, I always feel for the bands who had limited exposure on Top of the Pops but have now been cancelled (in the sense of repeats (and the BBC have pretty much been consistently repeating episodes of the show for the last 30 years or more) because they had the misfortune of being introduced by Saville. It does seem unjust that those bands should be denied repeat appearance fees etc just because they shared a few seconds of screentime with a sexual deviant.

Just close your eyes whenever you hear... 'Now then, now then boys and gals'...

DVD Image: https://we.tl/t-6L2tep0TIY

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-jHnj2th0W9

Gaye Advert Inked

 

'Life's short, don't make a mess of it

To the ends of the earth, you'll look for a sense in it

No chances, no plans

I'll smash the windows of my box, I'll be a madman

It's no time to be twenty-one

To be anyone.'

Gaye Advert (The Adverts)

21cm x 30 cm linoprint

Black ink on cream card.

Buzzcocks/Johnny Moped/Wire/X-Ray Spex/Smak Roxy London 2nd April 1977 (Sounds 16th April 1977)

So, following on from the Johnny Moped Roxy sets, here's Jon Savage's assessment of the gig. Remember, this was the gig from which much of the 'Live At The Roxy' album content was culled. All things considered it is quite a favourable review.

Sounds (16th April 1977)

Buzzcocks/Johnny Moped/Wire/X-Ray Spex/Smak

ROXY

ROXY RATPACK, Saturday nite.

Find a friend and stick close: sink or swim. Tony and Julie were right: a club full of ‘Wild Boys’ outtakes and budding SS officers – (Sunday Times headline, Sunday April 3rd: ‘National Front Woos the Young’) – plenty of new faces as the music, fashion and attitude is spread by word of mouth and publicity. The soundtrack for this B-movie tonight is five bands, all of which use as a base Punk Rhythm I – the Ramones drill variant.

First on are Smak. They are so goddam awful that they’re hardly worth writing about, except that the main motive for their formation seems to have been to cash in. No style, no music, no presence, and lyrics half-digested platitudes. And they try to ‘shock’ – Yecch.

X-Ray Spex, of all the bands on tonite, seem to have the most potential for mass appeal. The sound is basic, but full and driving and, best of all, well mixed. (The Sax sound gives them an edge of difference). I suppose they’re fashion ‘n’ fun more than anything – Poly buzzes round the stage taking hecklers in her stride (Roxy Test I is how the bands deal with exploratory barracking) and forestalling most criticism with her songs: ‘I am A Cliché’, ‘I Can’t Do Anything’, ‘Bondage Up Yours’. She needs an audience and projects… most are converted, even Ari from The Slits, who came to pull mike wires.

Next are Wire: they short-circuit the audience totally, playing about 20 numbers, most about a minute long. The audience doesn’t know when one has finished and other is beginning. I like the band for that… good theatre. Image wise they look convincingly bug-eyed, flash speed automatons caught in a ’64 mod time-warp. As to songs: I’m really not sure – there seems to be some scheme of things, but this is buried in the poor sound and the limitations of the format. I caught the words to two songs, which I knew already: ‘Three Girl Rhumba’, and ‘One, Two X U’, which was the best of the set. There were glimpses of genuine originality: I’ll hold. The audience only really got interested when the bass player blew his stack at a heckler.

By the time Johnny Moped came on, one riff was beginning to merge into another… Wire’s poor sound and pretension had me blanked out so Moped didn’t grab my attention too much – watching. I could really take it or leave it. In fact, he’s fun, one of nature’s loons, he prowls round like a shabby tiger, sawn-off leather jacket and forehead full of hair. He’s one of the audience up on stage – the distance between them is minimal – and they love it. The band drives nicely – a solid rock sound. Best are a falsetto ‘Little Queenie’ and a version of ‘Hard Loving Man’. I still think he’ll remain a minor cult figure.

Four bands on into the punkathon: numb-out. All the better that the Buzzcocks are so good. Since the release of their EP, they’ve lost lead singer Howard Devoto, apparently pissed at the media monster that ‘punk’ has become – they’ve recruited a new bassist, Garth, switched the vocals to the Starway guitarist, Pete Shelley, and rehearsed.

The last is manifest; they excel at tight band work – no posing, no gobbing, no half-baked ideas of punkismo, just energy, presence and commitment. They sing and play because they have something to say. It isn’t particulary high-flown, brief jottings of everyday small incidents of boredom, frustration and despair., as the supermarkets and motorways spread. The titles tell: ‘Orgasm Addict’ – ‘Fast Cards’ – ‘Oh Shit’ – ‘Friends of Mine’ – ‘What Do I Get’.Their image/music mesh is good too – the flat Mancunian accent and laconic dryness fitting the lyrics and the cheap as a siren guitar sound.

As befits a band with Product, they get an encore (deserved): interestingly, they don’t do their most obviously anthemic song, ‘Boredom’, but a new one – ‘Love Battery’. Showing that they’ve transcended Devoto’s loss.

So – simply – hard driving speeded up rock, felt and meant and real, a reminder (after so much wretched excess) of how good ‘new wave’ music can be, Let’s hope the audience comes to them,

Jon Savage.

Johnny Moped The Roxy London 2nd April 1977

 

I have posted this gem previously with some erroneous information. Several years ago I posted these two sets from the inimitable Johnny Moped. On that occasion I stated that the recording was from 3rd February 1977. I was informed that the sets were recorded on 17th April 1977. Now, with the help of the two histories of The Roxy that I have, I have tried to figure out what was going on

The Roxy WC2 A Punk History - Paul Marko
The Roxy 14th December 1976 - 23rd April 1977 - Andrew Czezowski & Susan Carrington

As is often the case, a search of the internet serves only to muddy the waters further. There is a set on there said to be from 31st March 1977. Whilst this set has the same running order as the two sets presented here the gig atrributed to 31st March is different to both. However, a date of 31st cannot be correct as a gig by The Damned and Johnny Moped was cancelled. According to Andrew Czezowski's account, the reason given for The Damned pulling the gig was that Dave Vanian's vocals were shot, but the feeling within the Roxy camp was that this was ruse from Stiff who didn't want The Damned to appear on the album. Czezowski further complained that the cancellation cost them money as 31st March was intended to be the first of three further days recording for what would become the famed 'Live At The Roxy' compilation album (some bands including The Adverts had been captured in the third week of March). With The Damned pulling out the Manor Mobile was sitting idle with nothing to record. Moreover, the cancellation required Andrew and Susan to make last minute rearrangements to the recording plans which meant that the last day of recording (2nd April 1977) was a crowded affair in punk's premier club.

The second set is certainly the band playing on 2nd April, the night that the majority of the album was recorded. This version of 'Hard Lovin' Man' is the one that appears on the album. The other bands appearing on the bill on the 2nd were Smak (later The Unwanted), Wire, X-Ray Spex, Johnny Moped and Buzzcocks.

The venues gigography does indicate that the Johnny Moped did play the venue later in April, not on 17th but on the 16th when they played with Skrewdriver. However, it makes far more sense to state that the first set was recorded on the first night of the April recordings (1st April) when Johnny Moped played with Eater. In the Czezowski/Carrington account, Eater's Andy Blade remembers Mike Thorne (producer of the 'Live At The Roxy' album) asking Eater what kind of sound they were trying to achieve 'we just stared at him as though he wre talking Bulgarian or something' Blade recalled.

So there you have it Tom cats, I think that's sorted it. And this is just the kind of rabbit hole that the internet can drag you down and lose you a couple of hours on a  Saturday afternoon... establishing the origin of a 48 year old Johnny Moped set!

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-hfRB4TLqRs

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-hgwjNGcTms

Top 30 Punk Albums #6 Pink Flag - Wire

So this one then is for the madcap daughter, Mo, who got to Wire before I did. As I mentioned in the earlier demos post, Wire may be overlooked in your run of the mill punk narrative, but their debut album is a classic slice of 1977 punk rock. Fast, aggressive and sharp as a razor. I think that it's great and so did the critics who were effusive in their praise for the album.

Here's what two of them said.

New Musical Express (12th November 1977)

Sounds (12th November 1977)

Wire Demos 1977

 

Here's another band that slipped my attention for the longest time. Wire. I kind of consider them to be Mo's band... as I recall she was interviewed by the folk that were making a Wire documentary film. Whether it came out and whether she made the final cut, I have no idea. I only ever knew a couple of their, if not hits, perhaps better known songs. My biggest exposure to Wire came through Elastica who, after the release of their first album, were were being pursued by The Stranglers' and Wire's publishers who were raising the cry of 'Plagarism!'... from Wire's (or perhaps it was Colin Newman, I don't recall) corner the issue concerned the strong passing resemblance of not only Elastica's 'Line Up' to Wire's 'I Am The Fly' but also 'Connection' to 'Three Girl Rhumba'. To be fair, there was a case to be answered!

That Wire were a great band is evident, coming across loud and clear even from these rough and ready demos, most of which in a refined form appeared on the excellent 'Pink Flag' album.

The relevance of Wire to this site goes back to their support slot when The Stranglers played the sports hall at Brunel University on the 1977 Autumn Tour' (No More Heroes).

Gig Advert from 'LeNurb'

(Brunel University Student University Newspaper 1977)

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-XqAZkLHfdm

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-BcsCeX5jtx