'Waiting around in London hoping to get permission for just an afternoon!'

Surely 1978 marked the height of the bands notoriety, particularly in London. Here you had the situation that a London band that were outselling all of their contemporaries were consistently having any plans to play in the capital blocked. An ongoing feud with the Greater London Council (GLC) was understood to be behind it all. Here's how the music weeklies reported  on how The Stranglers' camp struggled with the arbiters of good taste in London.

Record Mirror (6th May 1978)

New Musical Express (6th May 1978)

New Musical Express (20th May 1978)

Finally, management threw in the towel, accepted the fact that for the time being a London date for The Stranglers was not in the offing and arrangements were made to bus fans wanting, but struggling to see the band, to the Bingley Hall gig.

Record Mirror (20th May 1978)

At this time Burnel went on record to say that if he had his way the May gigs that were going ahead would be scrapped in favour of club gigs which were 'fairer for the kids'. As issues with the GLC rumbled on over the summer of '78, the bass player ultimately got his way when the band returned to their pub rock roots to play a handful of 'secret' pub gigs in their old London haunts.

In the battle with the GLC, The Stranglers pretty much closed the chapter with the Battersea Park gig. After Battersea, the band's music took off in a markedly different direction that appeared to change local authorities attitudes to the band (although JJ had some issues with bookings on his Euroman tour going into 1979). Moving forward, after 1978 issues with the band playing in the UK were largely resolved. Gigs on the Continent however were a different matter...

Cliffs Pavilion Southend 13th March 2015

 

A good sounding recording here for a Saturday afternoon. One of Chatts that he shared with me some years back. It's in WAV format as I cannot locate the original FLAC files, however Chatts's info file is included in the download.

'Four Horsemen' is in there, that one should have appeared more regularly than it ever did.

WAV: https://we.tl/t-5jBVCUfZMB6bxES7

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-7AQ85d9T7PjpipBt

Dead Kennedys Central London Polytechnic 26th November 1982 ('Spend July 4th With Dead Kennedys)

 

So today is a big anniversary, 4th July 2026. A date that marks 250 years of American Independence. Without doubt it is a great country with some laudable beliefs and principles... only of late it has gone awry. Let the orange man-baby spout his incoherent nonsense today... it will soon be over.

Whilst this great recording of the Dead Kennedys makes reference to 4th July, like most of what Trump utters, it is an untruth. The gig took place at Central London Polytechnic on 26th November 1982 where the band were promoting their soon to be released 'Plastic Surgery Disasters'.

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-2TLqBENtmWdXjMua

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-qVaBYffsts9PQ5Rb

The Jam Park West Chicago 6th March 1980

 

Bruce Foxton has been in the news in the last couple of weeks. Due to ongoing health issues he was forced to cancel a couple of his new band's gigs. In a subsequent post it transpires that on top of the ongoing oncology treatments/follow ups that he has, he has now in addition received a Parkinson's diagnosis. We wish Bruce all the best!

Here is a brilliant radio broadcast from the US leg of the 'Setting Sons' tour. At that time the band were in rude health and on top of the world.

An inferior version of this gig was posted on here many years ago for which the links have been long defunct (rapidshare!).

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

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-7NhP0Ppsd2sNhMW9

Update On 2026 WeTransfer Subscription Donations

 

Yesterday subscription tally reached the halfway mark with £105 of £198 kindly donated. A huge heartfelt thanks to all of you who have taken the time to support the Aural Sculptors site. Don't take this as rattling the tin, I post this only due to the fact the fact that the earlier post requesting donations to cover the annual WeTransfer subscription (which hosts all of the files associated with the site) is now buried beneath several yards worth of subsequent posts.... mostly pictures of Debbie Harry!

Should you still wish to contribute you can do so by scrolling down the right hand site bar until you reach the PayPal button. 

Thanks once again.

Adrian.

Blondie's New York... And The Making Of Parallel Lines DVD

 

Okay, so for now here's the last word on Blondie's third studio album, the unparalleled 'Parallel Lines'. This is a 2013 BBC Four documentary telling the tale of 'Blondie's New York... and the making of Parallel Lines'. The title says all you need to know really. A great watch featuring interviews with all of the major players in this part of Blondie's story.

DVD Disc image: https://we.tl/t-unzBmsPqzdeCPyJm

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-SXNJO9NAJjTO7Wfk

Blondie Chateau Neuf Oslo 28th August 1978

 

In the late Summer/early Autumn of 1978 Blondie brought 'Parallel Lines' to Europe. If their first two albums had been notable New Wave successes, this their third studio album propelled the band to the highest levels of pop stardom. 1978 (and 1979 for that matter) belonged to Blondie. Here is a nice sounding audience recording of one of those European shows that took place in Oslo.

What a set! In terms of the 'Parallel Lines' material, well that is represented by no less than 10 tracks (there were 11 on the original release of the album). What did they drop you may ask... 'Heart of Glass' and that is not exactly shit!

So here in Oslo you have a band really at the peak of their creativity and the success that went with it. The hits continued for another couple of years until the band dissolved in late '82. Chris Stein became seriously ill and Debbie Harry withdrew from the limelight and tended to him for several years.

In 1999 they achieved a marvellous feat when, on coming back after an absence of 17 years, they scored an major international hit with 'Maria'. Testament to the inherent quality of the band.

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-iFnjxcbDTiBr1Zve

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-7uOzgw9im7eP7sQR