Manchester Apollo 28th September 1978

'You want some?'

Hi, thanks to Dom P, here's a remastered, cleaned up version of a gig that I posted early on in the life of this blog. Then it was posted as a pre-Convention appetiser when the band were to run through the 'Black & White' album.

This resurrection of the link marks the 36th anniversary of the gig. Half way through the set, the band brush aside their earlier material in favour of the new album and they play a full eight new tracks.

Back in November, an anonymous contributor posted the following comment about the gig and I think it is worth repeating here:

'This was the only gig, other than the Battersea Park one a couple of weeks earlier, where the band were joined by strippers on stage during 'Nice & Sleazy'. The local constabulary were present inside the venue (as referenced by Cornwell during the performance), & this (along with heavy handed treatment from the bouncers) antagonised the crowd who started ripping up seats & throwing them into the orchestra pit before clambering over them to get on to the stage, at which point the band were forced to end the gig prematurely. A classic gig, that was!'

FLAC: http://we.tl/lwBWQGr8L2

1. Ugly
2. I Feel Like A Wog
3. Burning Up Time
4. Bring On The Nubiles
5. Hanging Around
6. Princess Of The Streets
7. London Lady
8. No More Heroes
9. Curfew
10. Do You Wanna
11. Death And Night And Blood
12. Nice 'N' Sleazy
13. Threatened
14. Sweden
15. Tank
16. Five Minutes
17. Toiler On The Sea

Canterbury Odeon 25th September 1977

37 years ago this week The Stranglers rolled into this quiet corner of Kent on the 'No More Heroes' tour. Sadly, this is only a partial set (the intro to London Lady is the last thing to be heard before the tape cuts) but what was captured is the band in fine punk form. The playing is brutal, characterised by an aggression that probably peaked for the band a little later in 1978.

FLAC: http://we.tl/MredXyVZOO

Artwork: http://we.tl/OLYE3v1uHn

01. Ugly
02. Straighten Out
03. Bring On The Nubiles
04. Sometimes
05. Dagenham Dave
06. Dead Ringer
07. Hanging Around
08. Something Better Change
09. Bitching
10. I Feel Like A Wog
11. Five Minutes
12. Burning Up Time

P.S. Here's details of the full set played on the night (thanks to SmallPaul on the B.U.T Forum)

Ugly
Straighten Out
Bring On The Nubiles
Sometimes
Dagenham Dave
Dead Ringer
Hanging Around
Something Better Change
Bitching
I Feel Like A Wog
5 Minutes
Burning Up Time
London Lady
No More Heroes
Encore:
Grip
Down In The Sewer

Hugh Cornwell The Citadel St Helens 6th July 2013

Here's a Hugh set from last year's Totem and Taboo tour.... featuring a couple of track from 'The Raven' if we want to stay on topic!

Thanks to wegga66 for permission to share this recording!

MP3 (as received): http://we.tl/aqkA7QnRyI

Artwork: http://we.tl/H1gROBFu1G

01. Totem And Taboo
02. Nice 'N' Sleazy
03. The Face
04. Nuclear Device
05. I Want One Of Those
06. Duchess
07. Stuck In Daily Mail Land
08. Hanging Around
09. Bad Vibrations
10. Skin Deep
11. God Is A Woman
12. Golden Brown
13. Love Me Slender
14. Grip
15. God, Guns And Gays
16. Always The Sun
17. A Street Called Carroll
18. In The Dead Of Night
19. Walk On By
20. No More Heroes

Aural Sculptors Is Up and Running For Another Year!

'Urrggh Bootlegs!'

I am happy to say that the Wetransfer subscription upon which the running of the Aural Sculptors website currently relies has been paid, meaning that the site is in business for another year.

My thanks as always goes out to those who responded to my request for assistance to cover the costs (just over 70% of the fee was covered which is great).

I hope that you continue to enjoy the site.

Cheers,

Adrian.

Theatre de L'Empire Paris 12th November 1979

Another great gig from the Raven tour in Europe, Brilliant quality for its age and a fitting post for a significant anniversary!

Same set as played four days later in Bordeaux.... no changes required! Thanks are due again to Eric2Vini for permission.

WAV: http://we.tl/1h0XeeKjig

The Raven - The Rough Mixes

'The Raven' did not fall from the sky as the near perfect finished creation that we all know and love. Here are the rough mixes of most tracks from the album. Admittedly, these versions are pretty close to the final output, albeit lacking some of the polish applied to the final cuts.

Most notable here if the inclusion of 'Social Secs', Hugh's musical response to the 'Rock Goes To College' debacle in the band's hometown of Guildford.

My thanks go to Eric2Vini for his permission to upload this on Aural Sculptors.

WAV: http://we.tl/pMOsUPN2Tg

Artwork pdfs are included in the download file.

The Raven Flies Straight To Bordeaux 12th November 1979

This recording has appeared on the site previously, but the rapidshare link is dead, so there's no time like the present to resurrect this one. The band's visit to the French city of Bordeaux on 16th November 1979 give us what is widely considered to be one of the best, if not the best, live recordings of the period.

Take a look at the set for a moment. The band's belief and confidence in the strength of their new material is there for all to see. In a seventeen songs set, no less than eight are included from 'The Raven', make that ten if you include 'The Menhinblack' and 'Don't Bring Harry' that saw the band onto and off the stage (only 'Longships' from the album does not receive an airing here). Again, I think that this is indicative of the risks that The Stranglers were prepared to take with this album. Contrast with the band's 2012 set which showcased the then new album 'Giants' with typically four new songs.

FLAC: http://we.tl/3Yj5E5fl3Y

Artwork: http://we.tl/vP0BeahUlJ

01. Five Minutes
02. Shah Shah A Go Go
03. Ice
04. Down In The Sewer
05. Hanging Around
06. The Raven
07. Dead Loss Angeles
08. Threatened
09. Baroque Bordello
10. Curfew
11. Tank
12. Burning Up Time/Bring On The Nubiles
13. Nuclear Device
14. Genetix
15. Duchess
16. Toiler On The Sea