Capitol Theatre Aberdeen 23rd October 1986

 

The Stranglers in the Granite City in October 1986 with a typical 'Dreamtime' tour set. As is to be expected when north of the boarder Hugh both baits and berates the Scottish audience, first on a linguistic matter in his dreadful Scottish accent and then pulling up someone for spitting at the band. After all this is 1986 not 1976 and there is a new danger very much in people's minds (maybe with the exception of the gobbing Aberdonian!).... Autoimmune Deficiency Syndrome or A.I.D.S.

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-uhtsf6SvAE

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-ai9immRUXf

The Alarm Palais D'Hiver, Lyon 7th June 1984 (TFTLTYTD#23)

 

Keeping up some manner of connection today, no matter how tenuous, here are The Alarm with a great sounding gig in Lyon from their early days. The late Mike Peters was of course a friend of The Stranglers and shared the stage with them on quite a few occasions. I never met the man (if I am honest, I did not like The Alarm) but he was by all accounts a thoroughly decent man.

To my ears The Alarm sounded like an Americanised version of The Clash (some may say that The Clash themselves sounded very Americanised... once they had conquered their boredom of the USA!). Moreover, back in the day I used to struggle to make a distinction between The Alarm and U2... a band that turn me off more than The Alarm ever could!

Nevertheless, for all my lack of enthusiasm for The Alarm, I did see them, or rather a version of them (with Mike Peters) when they played a warm up gig with The Damned and Henry Cluney (which was perhaps his first solo outing) in 2009. I think that I remember The Alarm playing '45 RPM' a Top 30 hit for the band recording undercover as 'The Poppy Fields'. The hoax was intended to draw attention to the difficulty that older bands had to achieve a hit.

Mike Peters died after a prolonged battle with cancer in 2025.

Thanks to the original Dime uploader (TheCommish).

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-prfGYTMlgl

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-IMEb5F6Lv3

That Petrol Emotion Alexandra Palace London 11th August 1990

 

This recording links to the earlier Undertones post of this morning and introduces a Stranglers connection. 11th August 1990, a calamitous date for many fans of the band as up there on a hill in north London, Hugh Cornwell eeked out his final hours as a Strangler. As most will recall this trio of events occurring over that August weekend was to mark the 5th anniversary of the Town & Country Club (these days the O2 Forum in Kentish Town). I wonder to this day why the organisers saw fit to host the birthday celebrations for a large London venue in another, even larger, London venue!?

It pains me to say that I was not there to see Hugh Strangler bow out. I was several hundred miles away in Whitehaven at my brother-in-law's wedding. Don't worry though, I have long since come to terms with this fact and acceptance was helped by the knowledge that sadly The Stranglers on the day were lacklustre at best.

As far as That Petrol Emotion was concerned I would liked to have seen them too. I did have a second opportunity to see them when they were due to play the Christmas Ball at Brunel University in 1990... however the poor December weather intervened and TPE got stuck enroute from Wales. On the night Captain Sensible and The Family Butcher saved the day and agreed to play a second set for the princely fee of an ounce of dope and a case of beer! Incidentally, the Captain's first set is on here. I asked the tour manager for the tape from the mixing desk.... and he sent it to me. That recording is excellent and has been in circulation since early 1991. 

Back to That Petrol Emotion, by the time that the Ally Pally gig came around the band were promoting their fourth studio album, Chemicrazy. At this time the Undertones connection had been diminished by 50% with the departure of John O'Neill.

Thanks to Sewer Rat for the recording.

MP3: https://we.tl/t-3mls01Fe8Q

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-ZNd8lOotzA

The Undertones Electric Picnic Stradbally Co. Laois 1st September 2007

 

From a festival that still seems to be thriving, unlike many which have hit financial troubles in recent years (Electric Picnic 2026 appears to be sold out), here are The Undertones from back in September 2007. This full show set was broadcast in April 2008 by RTE 2FM and as such the quality is excellent. Thanks to the  uploader on 101Guitars (orangejuilus). 

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-nX5hn4X7Se

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-BYqU2SppnD

Kraftwerk Paradiso, Amsterdam 9th September 1976

Prior to hopping on to a Sealink ferry to cross the English Channel for dates in the UK including a night at London's Roundhouse, Kraftwerk played a gig in Amsterdam's legendary Paradiso. The sound on this is very good, especially when considering that the gig was played 50 years ago and recorded on the audio equipment that was available at the time.

These days Kraftwerk shows are note perfect, highly choreographed events. This is a little different, not in terms of slickness.... Kraftwerk never were a band with a reputation for cocking up! But its is great to hear these songs an a rawer, early form, not surprisingly most notably on the two 'TEE' tracks that were yet to be released.

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-RkB2j7NaE3

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-wj9MHrP4PM

Kraftwerk Roundhouse, London 10th October 1976 Review (New Musical Express 16th October 1976)

 

New Musical Express (9th October 1976)

If the Sex Pistols caused a ripple of confusion through a sea of denim in the mid-70s then I am sure that the same can be said of Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider of Dusseldorf's Kraftwerk. Kraftwerk turned heads for the exact opposite reasons to Sex Pistols and their followers. As reviewer, Miles, had it below 'They are a very neat band, all dressed in suits and ties and short hair like bank managers'. By October 1976, the band in some form (always around Ralf and Florian) had been making experimental noise already for more than six years. As time had gone by that noise had come to rely increasingly on electronics and a good power supply. By October 1976, the line up had settled into what was to be the 'classic' Kraftwerk quartet of Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider, Karl Bartos and Wolfgang Flür. The band in this form had two classic albums under their belts, 'Autobahn' and 'Radioactivity' whilst live they were playing two tracks from what is perhaps their finest album 'Trans Europe Express' with the title track and 'Europe Endless' appearing in the set.

Unlike their contemporaries, Kraftwerk's music defies age, it is and still sounds timeless.

On 10th October they were in the UK appearing in a headline show at Camden's Roundhouse, a gig that the New Musical Express reviewed the following week.

New Musical Express (16th October 1976)

Devo Whistler Medals Plaza Whistler Canada 22nd February 2010

 

As the 2026 Winter Olympics draws to a close in Italy, it seems to be an opportune to  post this appearance at an earlier Olympiad by those flower-potted oddballs Devo. Now I love Devo and really enjoyed their 'last' UK appearance a couple of years ago. It was therefore with a raised eyebrow that I saw the announcement that they are back on these shores in the summer with the B52s, The Rezillos and Lene Lovich.... playing dates with a ticket price that raised the other eyebrow.

Whatever, it's nothing new for rock bands to announce the final tour only to reappear on a stage near you just a couple of years down the line.

DVD image: https://we.tl/t-8v8uNTxAUc

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-5oP67ovl6D