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.
Last one for today. An early Mk II gig here from Edinburgh, Paul Roberts's ninth gig with the band. They were given a reasonably easy time of in on this night, this wasn't always the case as the band continued to play throughout 1991, laterly in larger venues. Thanks to malcolm769 for the original upload!
I don't do Halloween. I wasn't a fan when the kids were little and I had to caperone witches and warlocks to neighbours and then deal with the sugar-rush aftermath. I would prefer marking Samhain, the Pagan inspiration for this Hammer-esque kids event.
The Damned then are as close as it gets. Forget Karloff and Lugosi, Lee and Cushing.... here's Dave!
When Sensible reentered the Damned fold properly in 1996, the band spent a few years playing the old stuff. It wasn't until August 2001 that they finally released an album's worth of new material, but my, was it worth the wait. 'Grave Disorder' remains to be, for me at least, the best album from the band since 'Phantasmagoria'. This recording from the US a month ahead of the album's release is 'Grave Disorder' heavy, featuring no less than eight of the new tracks. 'Thrill Kill' was always a favourite and 'Would You Be So Hot (If You Weren't Dead?)' is a Damned classic... brilliant with the 'Imagine' run out.
01. Intro 02. Democracy? 03. New Rose 04. Song.Com 05. Wait For The Blackout 06. Captain & Dave 07. Would You Be So Hot (If You Weren't Dead?) 08. Amen 09. 13th Floor Vendetta 10. Neverland 11. Absinthe 12. Eloise 13. Thrill Kill 14. Neat Neat Neat 15. Encore Break 16. She 17. Love Song 18. Disco Man 19. Smash It Up (Part 1 & 2)
A happy Samhaim anniversary for this one from Dundee played on this night in 2008. This is a great sounding audience recording for your listening pleasure.
01. Intro 02. (Get A) Grip (On Yourself) 03. Five Minutes 04. Peaches 05. Nice 'N’ Sleazy 06. Spectre Of Love 07. Skin Deep 08. No Mercy 09. Always The Sun 10. Strange Little Girl 11. Golden Brown 12. The Raven 13. Thrown Away 14. Walk On By 15. Hanging Around
01. Straighten Out 02. Big Thing Coming 03. All Day And All Of The Night 04. Duchess 05. Tank 06. Nuclear Device 07. Something Better Change 08. Encore Break 09. No More Heroes
What a way to see in the 1980's with Adam & The Ants at Camden's Electric Ballroom. I have made no secret over the years in posts on this site that a pre-King's Of The Wild Frontier gig is right up there when the Time Machine is launched. I was into the Ants in 1980 but I was only 11 then so gigs were out... not that I would have got into any or would have probably wanted too given how hairy some of them could be. Just look at that set (with the exception of the throwaway 'A.N.T.S.') an unbeatable mix of 'Dirk Wears White Sox' material and material that pre-dated any contract that the band had, songs that in their original form (as opposed to the versions that were rerecorded as B-Sides on the big hit singles) as live versions or demos. Reading Mick Mercer's review this must have been one of Kevin Mooney's first gigs as an Ants bass player.
Can't enlighten you really on the support. I have only heard of the 'Black Arabs' and then only through their involvement with 'The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle. Thanks to the original Dime uploader.
01. Physical (You’re So) 02. Deutscher Girls 03. Cartrouble 04. Cleopatra 05. The Idea 06. Whip In My Valise 07. Lady 08. Puerto Rican 09. Press Darlings 10. Zerox 11. Tabletalk 12. Crowd 13. Beat My Guest 14. Fall In 15. Crowd 16. Red Scab 17. Fat Fun 18. A.N.T.S 19. Crowd 20. Lady 21. Puerto Rican
Here's what Mick Mercer had to say of the gig in the 19th January 1980 issue of Record Mirror.
ADAM AND THE ANTS/ENGLISH SUBTITLES/SECURITY RISK/BLACK ARABS
Electric Ballroom London
AT ELECTRIC BALLROOM gigs you get the doomy impression that it might just be your last, and tonight was even worse than ever. The mass proliferation of boneheads, en route to a flower pressing session round the corner, was larger than usual and at least one person got stabbed. Yeah, it's a war zone baby.
Safe inside, we gazed longingly at the English Subtitles, longing for them to hurry up and get off Security Risk were highly promising and got the gig going properly, led by one of the sharpest looking punkettes around. They had a fine collection of pop/punk (ponk?) tunes on offer, tinged with humour. 'Sign Us Up', 'Action Man' and 'Letter From America' were just three of the wondrous items, and two cover versions, 'Bobby 's Girl' (good) and 'Alright With The Boys' (Loads of toss). Considering it was all done without a soundcheck, it was all good stuff.
The Black Arabs get the Queen's award of industrious swearing as they heaped abuse on the crowd. Unfortunately the music hardly matched up to their bravery, a kind of groovy disco morass the like of which I never wish to encounter again.
The Ants stormed into their set and the difference between their last few London gigs was made clear, the new bassist of the disappearing plectrum style. The music had a far sharper edge to it due basically to the force the new boy ploughed into the sound. Adam himself seemed far more active and towards the set a great deal angrier than ever I've witnessed .
They won over the seasoned regulars with two oldies 'You're So Physical' and ' 'Deutscher Girls' (a rare treat) followed by the awe-inspiring 'Car Trouble' where even a few duff musical moves couldn't disguise the beauty of the devil’s music. With the new-found fury running rampant they hurtled out a lightning fast 'Whip In My Valise', a new revamped (Iyricallv) 'Press Darlings' and a startling 'Table Talk' their most inspirational musical shock, where stunning white lights burst forth and cast an effective silhouette of Adam down one side of the hall. Being nearly blind onstage however has its disadvantages as Adam found out when he fell into the crowd and got some rough treatment meted out to him. It also means you finish the gig unaware that your flies are open.
By the time they’d finished it was obvious that 1980 will be the year of The Ants; the power and the spirits always always been there, it 's only now reaching its full explosive potential, and despite the constant witchunt the press hurl at Adam he's survived and proved himself worthy of the devoted following The Ants enjoy. They've proved themselves. Real aristocrats.
38 years ago tonight the band were in Birmingham with the Dreamtour. Always good to hear a version of 'La Folie' and I wish that they would bring 'Spain' back into the set. With the historical references it was always one of the stronger tracks on 'Aural Sculture'.
PiL's 1986 'Album' gets all of the plaudits, deservedly so, it is a great album. Its 1987 follow up, 'Happy?' as I recall did not get such a warm critical reception. As someone who was seeing PiL at the time I quite liked it. Listening to it now it does suffer from the blight of 1980's production and there is a degree of fret wanking in there too, but I stand by my original opinion of the album. In truth I also think that there was the fact that the 18 year old me was still rather in awe of Mr Lydon at that time.
In 2024 there is no doubt that he has become something of a marmite character, nevetheless, there is no denying that he has a talent having changed the face of music not once but twice. For me the contentious point seems to be his reluctance to recognise the fact that other musicians were also part of that musical transformation, be they a Pistol or a member of Public Image Limited. Any interpretration of of the music in which he has had an involvement, whether that relates to the recent gigs by Cook, Jones and Matlock or the Metal Box In Dub work of Wobble and Levine, seems guaranteed to get Johnny a-skwarking! Shame really.
Many thanks to the original Dime/101Guitars uploader.
01. Save Me 02. Rise 03. Seattle 04. Four Enclosed Walls 05. F.F.F. 06. Low Life 07. Open And Revolving 08. Home 09. Rules And Regulations 10. Bags 11. Hard Times 12. World Destruction 13. Angry 14. The Body 15. Public Image 16. Tie Me To The Length Of That 17. This Is Not A Love Song 18. Religion
Ok so technically, the band are still on tour, in that as I write this, they are onstage in Luxembourg on the last date of the European leg. This being the case, spoilers, if such a thing can exist by the last date, are off the table because the last punters are through the door and enjoying the gig.
I did three dates, in deepest, darkest France, which was an absolute pleasure and no small feat given the situation that I found myself in the summer. I will say more about those dates in the coming days. These European dates were special for others too, especially our friends Paul Cooklin,Steve Chattaway and Graham Knapp, who celebrated their milestone sixtieth anniversaries in the company of the band that they have been following for more than two thirds of that time!
Forget what Chrissie Hynde has said recently about her dismay at seeing the same faces at Pretenders gigs. I think that it is a great thing and one that I am sure that The Stranglers acknowledge and appreciate. Let us also not forget that at this stage of the game, and for many years now, for those that have been going to gigs for upwards of forty years, seeing the band at the end of the day is only part of the occasion. There is the travel, the joy of experiencing new places and lest we forget the company we keep on these musical forays.
So here they are then on the first of two dates in Germany.
Many thanks as always to Peter for sharing the files! I'll let the set speak for itself.
The lastest line up in the long standing 'punk supergroup' project that goes by the name of Dead Men Walking. Here they are playing on Jake's home turf of Belfast. In case you are not familiar with the format, the musicians play acoustic versions of songs from their respective back catalogues (hits or otherwise) amidst lurid tales of life on the road with rock 'n' roll bands! Great to hear an Big Wheel song get an airing. The track 'Man Down' comes from the 2021 Dead Men Walking album 'Freedom - It Ain't On The Rise'.
Thanks to the Historical Field Recording Unit for the share.
Another here from those Teutonic titans of goth, Xmal Deutschland (or caterwauling Germans as Owen Carne would have it!). Here they are in London getting in some headlining rehearsal time some three weeks prior to the start of the Dreamtour when they provided support to The Stranglers.
In the last couple of years, 999 have been very active on the gigging front which is great to see. Last weekend was especially busy for them with three gigs in 24 hours.
Water Rats, Kings Cross, London
19th October 2024.
The fun was due to start on Friday night with a gig at The Water Rats in Kings Cross, in fact it was a close run think thanks to my complacency. I didn't try to book tickets until a couple of nights before the gig and was mortified to see that the gig had sold out! That had not happened to me before, so I was most miffed. Very kindly, a friend had a word with the promotor and we managed to get a couple of tickets put by. We were in (thanks Lou!).
As the Witchdoktors were supporting it was no surprise to see Peej there and it was great to catch up after some months. As for the Anoraks, I believe that they succumbed to Covid, so at the 11th hour Spizz stepped in and did something instead.
After a short delay 999 took to the stage at about 10.15 and played a blistering set in stiffling temperatures. Basically, the venue was overfull and the heat was not good for band nor audience alike. They opened with 'The Biggest Prize In Sport', which made a nice change from the albeit brilliant 'Black Flowers For The Bride' which has been the opener for the majority of times that I have seem them for a number of years. I have to applaud the fact that 48 years on, 999 are still playing new material (new in terms of material from their last album ('Bish Bash Bosh', 2020)), with 'Shoot' and 'My Dad Trashed My Submarine' in the set. Of course, the 999 standards were also present and correct on the night, 'Energency', 'Feeling Alright With The Crew', 'Nasyt Nasty' and 'Homicide'. It's fair to say that these days there are rarely big surprises in a 999 set, but that's just fine 'cos what they do play works perfectly.
The Prince Albert, Brighton
20th October 2024.
Tickets for this one were bought way back when. The idea of a matinee performance appeals increasingly these days. A gig late afternoon and back in time for 'Antiques Roadshow'!! In the event the matinee also sold out prompting a later evening gig.
This was my first gig at The Prince Albert. As I recall, back in my teens when I lived near Brighton, it was a biker pub and one that I avoided. In recent years it has become one of Brighton's principle small venues, playing host to most of the bands that make up my record collection. The upstairs venue space is pretty tiny (all the better to see a band in in my opinion) but dispite its size it was far more comfortable than the Water Rats sauna that the band had played the previous night.
Gunta and I were in time to see the support, a band going by the name of 'Sinful Maggie'. They were interesting by virtue of the fact that they were made up of bass, guitar, drums and accordion with which they made a great noise. Take a look at them on Youtube.
999 were again in great form. On taking the stage, Nick pointed three guys out in the audience who were original members of the 'Southall Crew' who were to 999 what the 'Finchley Boys' were to The Stranglers (whether with similar levels of aggression I don't know!). I recall meeting Billy Bollocks at a 999 gig in Fulham in the early 1990s.
Perhaps unsurprisingly the set was the same. I missed 'Don't You Know I Need You' which appeared on the set list but was skipped. Gunta and I got a name check, which always makes me smile.
We were unable to stay for the evening set but I have no doubt that it will have been great in front of another receptive and highly appreciative Brighton audience.
We're very much looking forward to seeing them again in Cambridge in early December.
I cannot imagine a more incongruous paring than Northampton's champions of the Undead, Bauhaus, and the Southern Californian sun, but here they were in 2022 performing at the Cruel World Festival in the city of Pasadena. Actually, I think that all most if not all of the members of Bauhaus are US exiles. Pete Murphy is there I believe and the other three I think decamped when it was apparent that Love & Rockets were enjoying significantly greater success in the US than in the UK.
I think that this is the band's third reunion, first in 1998 (the only time that I saw them), then 2006 and finally 2021. They played Alexandra Palace in October of 2021. They are still sounding great I think, even in a festival setting.
I love everything that they have done, but I am especially fond of 'Mask'. As for 'Bela Lugosi's Dead', that is just a timeless track (you could say immortal!).
Just take a look at that line up! A great day culminating with Bauhaus.... well I wouldn't stick around for Morrissey!
Here's young Hugh in London on this Day in 2006. Somewhere between 'Beyong Elysian Fields' and 'Hoover Dam', Hugh was again experimenting with set construction. At this time it was a case of Stranglers's material alternating with solo songs. Around this time, I recall Hugh saying that by ordering the set in this way, the contingent of his audiences who were only there to see him as an ex-Strangler would only ever have three minutes to wait until the next Stranglers installment.
Having seen Hugh play on many occasions it's sometimes difficult not to feel for the guy. It is almost as if he has a love/hate relationship with his Stranglers back catalogue. Since stepping out as a solo artist outside of The Stranglers in 1991 I am sure that above all else he wants to be admired for what ever new music he was making, but try as he might (and he did in the early shows) to get away from his musical past, it has been next to impossible. He either gives the audience what they want i.e. a heavy dose of Stranglers' material or accept that if he doesn't he will have to endure constant calls from the audience for 'Hanging Around' or 'Peaches'! I am sure that he would rather be in the position whereby he could have a set of 90% of solo material with just a few songs thrown as treats for the fans. Paul Weller does this very well.... if you wanna hear The Jam, go and see Bruce's band!
On the other hand, to cull the Stranglers material would run the risk of significantly reducing the audience. It is interesting that Hugh tends to your in the autumn whereas The Stranglers tend to tour the UK in March (or at least have done for a number of years now). Maybe this is deliberate... avoid touring clashes and maximise your potential audience that to a large extent is one and the same as that who are seeing The Stranglers.
At the end of the day, as Hugh has stated himself, it is right and proper that he has a sence of pride in the songs that the band put together and long may he continue to play them.
The surprise track on this recording is 'Bear Cage'!
01. Duchess 02. Leave Me Alone 03. Nice ‘N’ Sleazy 04. First Bus To Babylon 05. Goodbye Toulouse 06. Picked Up By The Wind 07. Hanging Around 08. Hot Cat On A Tin Roof 09. Bear Cage 10. Black Hair, Black Eyes, Black Suit 11. Always The Sun 12. Nerves Of Steel 13. Nuclear Device 14. Putting You In The Shade 15. Walk On By 16. No More Heroes 17. Dark Side Of The Room 18. Down In The Sewer
Here's Pauline doing her acoustic thing at Rebellion a couple of years ago. A short set but a nice mix of material with Penetration, The Invisible Girls and under her own steam. Thanks to Chatts for this one.
I have always admired three peice bands. It takes something extra I think to get up on a stage and make a significant noise as a trio. And few bands of three made a finer or more significant noise than The Jam. Effortlessly cool in a late seventies music scene awash with cool bands, Weller, Foxton and Buckler barely put a foot wrong. Whether you preferred the raw punkyness of 'In the City' or the slick soulfulness of 'The Gift', The Jam delivered.
And I never saw them!
I remember the day they announced the split. My best schoolmate's sister and her boyfriend were a couple of years older, 16 or 17 and both were in tears. For them and for thousands of teens like them this was big, a bereavement of sorts as Paul Weller, a poet for his disaffected generation, was pulling the plug on the biggest band in the nation! The final tour was announced and Brighton (the poignant setting for the last performance) erupted in a struggle for tickets.
And I never saw them!
1982, the band's final year was hectic with the 'Trans-Gobal Unity Express' tour (of which this Stateside gig was a part) as well at the farewell 'Beat Surrender' tour. They played at the Brighton Centre no less than four times in 1982. My best man saw them five times in Brighton between 1980 and 1982 (and he was just a year older than me!).
And I never saw them! (Do you sence a feeling of bitterness here?).
What would they have become had Paul Weller not walked away when he did. There aren't so many clues... 'A Solid Bond In Your Heart'? (recorded by both The Jam and The Style Council). It's difficult to tell on the basis of one or two songs or demos but I guess that there would have always been the risk that whatever it was that The Jam had could have become, it may have been diluted and that would have been a real shame. So as it is we have just six studio albums in which to endulge (five if your name is Owen Carne!).
So then this is a recording of the second of two nights they played at The Palladium in New York in May 1982. Stick with it. Whilst there are recording problems across the first couple of tracks, these clear and the continuing sound is good.
The review below of the first night (15th May) appeated in Record Mirror on 5th June 1982. With a few set changes ('Pretty Green' dropped and 'The Butterfly Collector' in for 'Little Boy Soldiers') the running order on 18th was the same as for the 15th. Reading the review it seems that, not before time, The Jam were finally making an impression on the US on what was to be their last visit.
I have been spending a considerable time in these last two weeks sorting through boxes of unlabelled discs. Among them were various versions of the five night stand that The Stranglers turned in at London's Dominion Theatre. One of these (actually on my hard drive) appeared to be a DomP remaster of the gig that they played on 27th February, night three of their residency. The trouble was that I only had this in an mp3 format, but the sound was good. So, I went back to the source and very quickly indeed Dom came back to me with a request to hold off on posting for a bit as the pitch of the recording could be further improved. Just hours later a new lossless version appeared which is now uploaded here for your listening pleasure.
Whilst an excellent quality version of one of these gigs (26th February from memory) exists as a BBC 'In Concert' broadcast, in my opinion, this version must be considered to be the definitive record of the UK leg of the Aural Sculpture tour.
Don't worry so much about the two extra tracks. These are from Birmingham, either 22nd or 23rd February 1985 (its hard to tell due to teh way my recordings of these two gigs have been edited).
Many thanks to DomP for accommodating my request so quickly and for refining what is a highly listenable recording of the mid-career period.
Having spent the best part of last week in Central France for three dates with The Stranglers, I would now consider myself to be back in gig circulation post my summer 'health event'. The series of long days and late nights left its mark, but that wasn't going to stop me from getting to this gig.
I don't oftem embrace new bands, just a few minutes browsing his site will confirm that beyond all reasonable doubt! Ist Ist, are a Manchester band, and whilst not strictly new (having formed in 2014) they are starting to get some attention. So the change to see them in a 480 capacity venue (although the area from which the stage would be visible would be well below that figure) was not to be missed.
Ist Ist tick all of the post-punk boxes that I can think of and I am sure a few others as well that haven't occured to me! The easiest comparison to make is with Joy Division, but whilst the singer has a vocal delivery not disimilar to the late Mr Curtis, it is a bit of a lazy comparison (he also at times sounds a little like Lloyd Cole!). There were in fact a couple of older males in attendance in 'Unknown Pleasures' T-shirts. To continue with the comparisons, for my money there is Bauhaus in there, as well as elements of Magazine, the moody keys will do that I guess. But let's forget who they may or may not sound like, they are great and came across really well. I hope that bigger things are coming their way soon.
Although I only caught the tail end of their set the tour support, Cucamaras, were half decent too.
So I am left to ask myself the question, having 'discovered' Ist Ist but also hammering the new March Violets and Anja Huwe (ex-Xmal Deutschand) am I destined to become a bald 56 year old goth? I'm not sure that Gunta could cope with that!
Here's a great sounding (soundboard?) recording of 999 down in Portsmouth in 1987. The gig took place just a week before the General Election that saw Thatcher returned for a third term. The gig also coincided with the release of the band's lavie album 'Lust, Power & Money'. The two new tracks that appeared on that album, the title track and 'White Trash' are featured in this set, although neither enjoyed longevity in 999's set. Nick is his usual ebullient self on the night as he leads the band through their typcal high energy set.
The band are gigging at the moment with a healthy list of UK gigs seeing them through to the end of the year:
October
Thu 17th Victoria Bikers Pub, Coalville Fri 18th The Bunkhouse, Swansea Sat 19th The Water Rats, Kings Cross, London + the Witchdiktors + guests TBA Sun 20th Prince Albert, Brighton (matinee gig, onstage about 4pm) + Sinful Maggie + The Lengthmen Sun 20th Prince Albert, Brighton (doors at 7.30pm (10.30pm finish) tickets: £17)
November
Thu 21st The Marrs Bar, Worcester Fri 22nd The Golden Lion, Bristol Sat 23rd The Cavern, Exeter Sun 24th The Junction, Plymouth
December
Thu 5th Cambridge Junction, Cambridge Fri 6th Steamboat, Ipswich Sat 7th Mama Liz's, Stamford Thu 12th Trillions, Newcastle Upon Tyne Fri 13th Don Memorial Club, Stockton Sat 14th The Mash House, Edinburgh + Cowboy Hunters + Shock and Awe
This one is seeing the light of day after being misfiled for a number of years. The set is really interesting with the inclusion 'Pin Up', 'Ice Queen' and 'Two Sunspots' but not withstanding that there is no escaping from the fact that the band were at the nadir of what was even then a long career. John Ellis was moving closer to the door and another line up alteration was on the cards within months.
This is a great sounding recording having received the attention of DomP in the past.
01. Intro/Duchess 02. (Get A) Grip (On Yourself) 03. Who Wants The World? 04. Coup De Grace 05. Pin Up 06. Skin Deep 07. Threatened 08. Ice Queen 09. Princess Of The Streets 10. The Raven 11. Genetix
01. Always The Sun 02. Goodbye Toulouse 03. Nuclear Device 04. Two Sunspots 05. Burning Up Time 06. Tank 07. Something Better Change 08. Five Minutes 09. Golden Brown 10. Thrown Away 11. Hanging Around 12. No More Heroes
I am a sucker for radio sessions. For the fan for whom official releases are never enough, sessions provided/provide that bit extra. In the UK, John Peel led the way with this format whereby bands would turn up to a studio and bang out three or four tracks in super quick time. This on the fly aspect only adds to the charm of session tracks. Funny thing is that despite the breakneck rate at which tracks have to be laid down.... one take and your done, for many fans and musicians alike session versions of songs can sometimes become the definative version. It is not unknown for a track that has been recorded in a matter of hours to knock spots of the 'official' version that was slavishly recorded over days in the studio! Maybe it is that urgency, that immediacy that makes all the difference... and perhaps more so from bands coming out of the punk era, a getting back to basics kind of thing.
Of the session itself, there is more in the info file included in the download. As mentioned this was a promotional session for the 'Buzzcocks' album, a fine album it is too. Of the two songs from the album, 'Jerk' and 'Lester Sands', only the former was new for 2003. The latter was more contemporaneous with 'Breakdown'. An early track and a thinly veiled attack on American music critic Lester Bangs...
'Lester Sands is a stupid fucker/Lester Sands will stay that way'.
So, having ackowledged my love of radio sessions, this one is to remember Pete Shelley who left us at the age of just 63. I don't get too overly emotional when a musician I like dies, maybe I am just hard hearted. The Stranglers got me, Bowie did too, not to mention Terry Hall and Pete Shelley was right up there. I was numb when the news came through.
I note that this is available elsewhere online. I think that I got this from Dime, so thanks to the originaluploader, thebasement67.
