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 6 June 2020

The Specials Speaks Long Island New York 2nd March 1980


I mentioned that I was putting this one together last night as I went off on one about Trump. The Specials should be invited to play in the Whitehouse Rose Garden and Donald Trump should be tied to a chair right at the front, centre stage.... just so that he doesn't miss anything. In my vision he would be wearing eye specula, in the same manner as A Clockwork Orange's Alex had to do during his aversion therapy, just to ensure that the band have his undivided attention. And then The Specials should hit him full force with the same message that they have been delivering for the past 42 years! Hitting him with anything else as well is permissible at this gig.... if Terry wants to throw tambourines like he was wont to do back in the day, give him a pile of the bloody things!

..... anyway back to reality, here are The Specials on the last night of their first US tour and on this night local girl Debbie Harry is on hand to introduce the band to the stage. Being little over a decade since the Civil Rights struggles of the late '60's, even in cosmopolitan New York, the sight and sound of this multi-racial band with a message of peace, love and unity delivered at the breakneck pace of punk must still have been something of an eye-opener. If the band are knackered after a grueling slog around the US hey certainly hide it well on the night!

Many thanks to Dom P for playing with the sound. Listen to The Specials and fuck Donald Trump!

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-kmrf1wuMXP

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-C7RRwV8nxT

01. Intro Debbie Harry
02. (Dawning Of A) New Era
03. Do The Dog
04. It's Up To You
05. Monkey Man
06. Rat Race
07. Blank Expression
08. Rude Boys Outta Jail
09. Concrete Jungle
10. Too Hot
11. Doesn't Make It Alright
12. Stupid Marriage
13. Too Much Too Young
14. Guns Of Navarone
15. Little Bitch
16. A Message To You Rudy
17. Night Klub
18. Gangsters
19. Longshot Kick The Bucket
20. Skinhead Moonstomp
21. Madness
22. You're Wondering Now
23. Man From Warrica
24. Monkey Man

1 comment:

  1. I was there! One of the most memorable shows I’ve ever seen. The band was swinging from the rafters, condensation was dripping from the ceiling. Lynval jumped in the audience and I napped his pork pie hat. Still have it

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