Aural Sculptors - The Stranglers Live 1976 to the Present


Welcome to Aural Sculptors, a blog aimed at bringing the music of The Stranglers to as wide an audience as possible. Whilst all of the various members of the band that have passed through the ranks since 1974 are accomplished studio musicians, it is on stage where the band have for me had their biggest impact.

As a collector of their live recordings for many years I want to share some of the better quality material with other fans. By selecting the higher quality recordings I hope to present The Stranglers in the best possible light for the benefit of those less familiar with their material than the hardcore fan.

Needless to say, this site will steer well clear of any officially released material. As well as live gigs, I will post demos, radio interviews and anything else that I feel may be of interest.

In addition, occasionally I will post material by other bands, related or otherwise, that mean a lot to me.

Your comments and/or contributions are most welcome. Please email me at adrianandrews@myyahoo.com.


Saturday 27 January 2018

The Coliseum St Austell 27th January 1982


36 years ago tonight and the band took their own brand of madness to Cornwall.

FLAC: https://we.tl/wMMuHMD8XV

Artwork: https://we.tl/R2nV4Hkf4P

01. Down In The Sewer
02. Just Like Nothing On Earth
03. Second Coming
04. Non Stop
05. The Man They Love To Hate
06. Who Wants The World
07. Baroque Bordello
08. Golden Brown
09. How To Find True Love And Happiness In The Present Day
10. Thrown Away
11. Tank
12. Let Me Introduce You To The Family
13. Tramp
14. The Raven
15. Nuclear Device
16. Genetix

'Hit The North'



I cannot honestly say that I was a big fan of The Fall (saw them once in '87) but I can't but acknowledge the contribution that Mark E Smith, and the thousand or so musicians that crossed his stage, made to British music.

Many of my friends are big Fall fans and to them I defer on the matter.


Mark E Smith (The Fall)
Linoprint 15cm x 20cm
Black ink on cream.

Monday 22 January 2018

Spare A Shekel For An Ex-Leper?


Sorry folks, it's time for the biannual plea for some funds since the €120 subscription for the second of the two WeTransfer accounts that enable these files to be hosted on a permanent basis has just been paid.

As has been the case since the site was first created in 2011 I have no intention of applying the thumbscrews. Hosting is my decision and mine alone. I would though like to draw your attention to some statistics taken from two of the most popular posts in recent months. The Paris Wonky gig from November has been downloaded from the site 158 times (the file is also on Dimeadozen but access to that site is limited). Another punk highlight of 2017 represented here is the BBC 6 Music Punk Christmas and the two sets that night from Ruts DC and The Damned have been downloaded 504 times. The maths is fairly simple.... were everyone who downloaded those file to donate £1 that would support the maintenance fees for 2 years plus. Of course the total downloads from the site are many more than that.

I acknowledge the fact that in recent months the frequency of posts has dipped a bit. This is because I was focused in my free time on the revision and republication of my book and its promotion. As the new edition is now in print I can spend some more time with Aural Sculptors.

Thanks as ever to those who regularly contribute to the site (and I here I do not mean only in financial terms). Were it not for those that offer comment and those that share recordings of interest in addition to what is in my own collection I would have jacked this in long ago! Thank you to you all.... you now who you are.

And so I say many thanks for your attention..... so ends this Public Service Announcement.

Best Wishes,

Adrian.

For those wishing to make a donation, a PayPal button can be found on the right hand panel of the site.

Sunday 14 January 2018

The Vapors New York 1980


Here's a short US radio broadcast that captures the band live from New York when the band were riding high.

FLAC: https://we.tl/A9elIGhna6

01. Somehow
02. Prisoners
03. Bunkers
04. News At Ten
05. Intermission
06. Waiting for the Weekend
07. Spring Collection
08. Turning Japanese

Tuesday 9 January 2018

Hugh Cornwell Vanguard Newtown Sydney 6th January 2006


Finding anniversary gigs for the month of January is often a tall order as post-Christmas fund deficits, crap weather, not to mention planned engineering works all serve to thin out paying audiences. In this climate it seems that musicians take the month off too. That is unless you can haul your arse off to Australia as Hugh did in 2006.

Here he is doing his solo thing around the time of 'Beyond Elysian Fields'.

FLAC: https://we.tl/DfbOQDuB5H

01. Intro
02. Duchess
03. Beauty On The Beach
04. Nice & Sleazy
05. Picked Up By The Wind
06. Hanging Around
07. Tuning
08. Cadiz
09. Always The Sun
10. Black Hair, Black Eyes, Black Suit
11. All Quiet On The Eastern Front
12. Break Of Dawn
13. Hot Cat On A Tin Roof
14. No More Heroes


01. Henry Moore
02. Strange Little Girl
03. Nerves Of Steel
04. Midnight Summer Night Dream
05. Decadence
06. Shakin' Like A Leaf
07. The Story Harry Power
08. Tramp
09. The Story Of He & She
10. Straighten Out
11. 24/7
12. Golden Brown
13. Encore Break
14. Peaches
15. Do Right Bayou
16. Goodbye Toulouse