Castel St Angelo Rome 2nd July 1980

Hugh in Rome

Here's another one from the lads. First time playing in Rome and the first gig the band played after the kristallnacht in Nice two weeks earlier. A good solid set and some great pictures from the soundcheck on what appeared to be a beautiful afternoon in The Eternal City.

Dave in Rome

Jet in Rome

JJ in Rome

The Stranglers Soundcheck

Castel St Angelo, 2nd July 1980

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-l3fHArICFc

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-1qNhDoLCP1

1. Shah Shah A Go Go
2. Ice
3. Toiler On The Sea
4. Duchess
5. Hanging Around
6. Baroque Bordello
7. Waiting For The Meninblack
8. Down In The Sewer
9. Who Wants The World?
10. Thrown Away
11. I Feel Like A Wog
12. Tank
13. Nuclear Device
14. Genetix
15. Hallow to Our Men
16. The Raven
17. Threatened
18. Peaches

Record Mirror's Barry Cain and The Stranglers

Barry Cain accompanied the band to Rome after breaking the story of the Nice riot and band incarceration to the UK press. His account of the trip is to be told in his forthcoming book 'Tell Me When' (2013 publication), the sequel to the excellent '77 Sulphate Strip', which was one of the rarest books that I have read.... a Stranglers friendly account of the UK punk scene as seen by a music journo!!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/77-Sulphate-Strip-Eyewitness-Everything/dp/0954867491/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354385391&sr=8-1#_

'Save A Thought For the Maninwhite'

JJ in St Peter's Square, Rome, July 1980

And here is Barry Cain's review of the gig that appeared in Record Mirror on 12th July 1980.

As that is quite difficult to read, here's the transcript.

"FRIENDS, ROMANS, Countrymen - Lend us your ears." A creditable Cornwellian preface to The Stranglers' first gig since their not -so -Nice within these walls residency.  

An unlikely setting - a far 'from verdant park in the middle of the babbling metropolis overlooked by a towering Castilla where popes of old sought refuge from irate parishioners by nipping along an underground pass connected to the Vatican nearby.

By 10 pm, -the park is overflowing with 8,000 roaring radis raring to root, toot and generally get down to the band whose pasta exploits have made them a household word In every prison in Europe.

The Stranglers have reached a spaghetti junction in their career. Unaided by airplay their last few singles have plopped in and rippled out again. Their credentials as first division rock maestros have taken a battering from the press and cryptic observers of the "scene".

But under the stars in cornetto land they proved once more - after a shakey start - that live they not only still cut it they disembody it, skewer it and burn It over red hot coals.

The set on the night contained numbers from most of the previous albums - 'Hanging Around' and 'Down In The Sewer" the TV theme personified, '.Tank', 'Duchess', 'Genetix', 'Raven' - you name it. 

Plus the single 'Who Wants The World' which shocked everyone associated with the band when it never made the 10, and two new songs from the next album 'Meninblack' - 'Thrown Away' and 'Hail To Our Men a long, languid lament which at times sounds like a theme from a Fellini movie and an interstellar Lord's Prayer. Get the drift?

Previous alfresco Stranglers' gigs have been dismal affairs. They found it difficult to breeze with the sleaze amongst the birds, bees and smell of burning grass. But in the cold light of day in Rome they slaughtered the Eyties who in the end refused to leave after the stipulated one encore. They bombarded the stage with cans of Peroni beer and empty Chianti bottles until the band returned with a barechested Jean causing a few macaroni madonnas to actually scream. If a spell in the nick does this I hope they get solitary next time ...

BARRY CAIN

Captain Sensible Octopus (Syd Barrett Cover)

The Good Captain

Here's an interesting little song. It's a cover of Syd Barrett's 'Octopus' which appeared on his first solo album, 'The Madcap Laughs', released in November 1969 after departing from Pink Floyd.

This version is by self-proclaimed Syd nut, Captain Sensible, here ably assisted by The Damned Monty on keyboards and some time Damned drummer Dave Berk. It appeared on a Mojo cover compilation entitled 'The Madcap Laughs Again'.

Here.

20 From '79 (3) Crass John Peel Session 28th March 1979

Steve Ignorant & Eve Libertine of Crass

I don't know how best to describe Crass, it's probably impossible if you haven't heard them before. I remember being a Crass fan in the mid '80's (from about '84 when they disbanded... the story of my punk life!). A few years later I recall being hated for playing Crass in the 6th Form common room. Access to the tape recorder was on some sort of rota basis and some pretty diverse tastes were tolerated, Lone Justice, Depeche Mode, The Smiths, even the Alan Parsons Project..... but not Crass! With hindsight, my fellow students may have had a point.

Out of the school environment I was wearing the Crass uniform, with a black bondage jacket having the Crass logo and 'Fight War Not Wars' painted on the back. A banner of the same logo hung behind my bed about 6 foot in diameter (a rather large sheet banner with the Raven covered most of the opposite wall..... I used to get through a lot of black paint in those days!).

Image-wise I thought they were great, although I'm sure I'd get no thanks from former Crass members for saying that (like the Stranglers, the black look was an effort to shun the concept of 'image' and in neither case did this work out).

The early albums were great too, 'Stations Of The Crass' and the 12" 'The Feeding Of The 5,000', the later albums became a little left-field for me. The singles stood out too from 'Bloody Revolutions' and 'Big A Little A' to the more controversial 'Sheep Farming In The Falklands'. I suppose a major appeal of Crass to a budding vinyl junkie was the affordability of it all. Vinyl was expensive then, but anarcho-punk records invariably carried a 'Pay No More Than...' print on the sleeve, which imposed a low price on the retailer.

As a scene the anarcho scene was iconic, with Crass establishing the visual aspects early on from the Exit Stencil artwork to the banner bedecked gigs.

Pistols 'inspired' Crass Artwork

'Oi! Don't go putting pins in my walls!'

Crass get the message across live

With a strong anarchist message Crass on record and in interviews railed against he establishment, government and Margret Thatcher in particular. Their opposition to the Falklands conflict of 1982 got them into some serious hot water, not experienced by a mere band since the Pistols came to the public's attention a few years before. The release of the single 'How Does It Feel (To Be The Mother Of A Thousand Dead?)' saw the band debated in the House Of Commons.

Crass Melody Maker 1982

Crass In The Courts

So this then is Crass recorded for a John Peel session in March 1979 (only Peel could manage to get this lot into the BBC!). Actually that last statement is not strictly true since this recording has an additional BBC Radio 1 interview from 1980 with founder members Steve Ignorant and Penny Rimbaud.

FLAC: http://rapidshare.com/files/1350706545/CRASSJPS280379FLAC.zip

MP3: http://rapidshare.com/files/422441386/CRASSJPS280379MP3.zip

Dear Prudence vs. The Raven - One Of Those Mash Up Things

Whilst searching for something on the Raven, I stumbled across this on a DJ site. Whilst I love both songs, I'm not sure how well this works, but it's worth a listen.

http://soundcloud.com/dj-useo/dear-prudence-the-raven-the

20 From '79 (2) The Stranglers Markthalle Hamburg 27th November 1979

Top dog, high quality bootleg, probably the best from 1979. The Raven flies over Germany! As the wind and rain lashes Britian on 27th November 2012 wouldn't you like to transport yourself back through 33 years to this night in Hamburg!

There is no more to be added to this one, other than ignore at your peril and enjoy!

FLAC: http://rapidshare.com/files/3931283324/Hamburg27thnovember1979FLAC.zip

NEW LINK MP3: http://we.tl/nwdPK2sil8

NEW LINK Artwork: http://we.tl/8QdXZEMVp0

1. Five Minutes
2. Shah Shah A Go Go
3. Ice
4. Down In The Sewer
5. Hanging Around
6. The Raven
7. Dead Loss Angeles
8. Threatened
9. Tank
10. Burning Up Time
11. Bring On The Nubiles
12. Nuclear Device-Genetix
13. Duchess-Toiler On The Sea

Adam Ant On Steve Lamacq BBC Radio 2 Saturday 24th November 2012

A bit of a late tour and album plug, Adam Ant was interviewed by Steve Lamacq on UK BBC Radio 2 when Steve stood in for regular DJ Dermot O'Leary last Saturday afternoon.

Only three dates are left to play on his latest UK tour.

The interview can be downloaded here.

35th Anniversary of the Hope & Anchor's Front Row Festival

Following on from the excellent piece on the Strangler's participation in the Front Row Festival, hosted by the Hope & Anchor pub in Islington, there is really very little that I can add.

Sadly, the audiovisual record of the band's many appearances at the famous venue are limited to that one night of 22nd November 1977.

All that I can offer is a couple of bits that bracket the band's critical association with this venue.

Firstly an add in one of the UK weekly music papers from December 1975 announcing the start of a '25 year residency'. The add is notable as just above the Stranglers, the end of a residency of one Kilburn & The High Roads is announced.... something of a baton change in many respects.

Next is an add for the event (prior to The Stranglers being announced):

..... and a band shot outside with a good few recognisable faces

.... and finally that cheeky shot with the bands and their mums

As I said,  until someone finds an old box of tapes gathering dust in an attic somewhere in London and in amongst the Duck Deluxe, Tyla Gang and Bees Make Honey bootlegs there is one of those residency dates, the 22nd November recording is all we have.

Until such time arrives, please content yourselves with an account of the band's time at the Hope, here.