The Damned Rebecca's Birmingham 17th March 1977 (TFTLTYTD#18)

 

Well, this one kind of fell into my lap. Last week it was another of those occassions where upon looking at my Facebook feed, I saw one or two posts with pictures of Brian James. Initially, I thought nothing of it and didn't read the posts because there is nothing unusual for me to see many photos of members of The Damned, The Stranglers or The Jam etc throughout the day, as that is just a reflection of the number of band related sites that I belong to. However, when checking again 30 minutes or so later and noting posts from the likes of Louder Than War and Vive Le Rock, the penny dropped.

I knew from the late 2022 reunion tour that his health was not good, nevertheless such facts does not diminish the sense of shock that someone from a band that you have been following for decades has gone. Brian James was not just the creative force behind the first incarnation of The Damned, he was one of a few idividuals that were the inspiration for the whole punk rock phenomenon. It was his 'New Rose' that opened punk up to a wider audience, for better or worse.

RIP Brian James.

Here's a reasonable sounding Birmingham club gig from early '77.

MP3 (as received): https://we.tl/t-be0K4AbNIC

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-RJUeTYjRv1

Fancy a night out in Barnet?

 

Ad that appeared in the 11th February issue of New Musical Express. That'll fox the G.L.C.! Valetine's night too!

On Poland 1986

I read with interest Neil’s post on the Stranglers memorabilia Facebook page concerning the acquisition of a 1986 Polish gig mooted by CBS to have been an album release. No, I was not angling for a copy, although of course I would live to hear it. I just want to reiterate some of my thoughts on material that is languishing in record company vaults. The truth is The Stranglers are not The Beatles, rather than just stating the obvious, this point relates to the longevity of appeal that a band can expect. For sure, the band have enjoyed an extraordinarily long career and very much against the odds but how strong with the legacy be in 5 years or seven years when they have ceased to exist as a band. A large proportion of the band’s fan base are not in their 50’s and 60’s and whilst perhaps their children may have a fondness for the band (through enforced listening), sadly, I would expect their relevance within popular culture will tail off with the band’s demise. If you think this to be over pesimistic then consider this. My wife has recently addressed a lifelong regret and gone to university. She turns 60 later this year. However, she is not the only mature student on the course, there is a girl at the ripe old age of 24, younger than both of her children. One assignment required each student to identify a person who they saw as a role model and/or a significant figure within recent popular culture. Gunta chose Debbie Harry, and here’s the thing, not one of her fellow students had ever heard of Debbie Harry or Blondie. Now that is a person/a band that were dwarfed most contemporaries that came out of new wave and punk. Here’s was the face of the late 70’s and early 80’s that adorned the covers of thousands of magazines. She had a female iconic status that was perhaps only later rivalled by that of Diana. The point is she/Blondie were huge and yet a mention of her name and her photograph drew a great big black from Generation Z. I guess fame if more fleeting in the 21st century than even Warhol predicted. Perhaps it is social media that is to blame, platforms that create instant celebrities that have the longevity of a firework.

Anyway back to the point, and it is a point that has been discussed over and over again for several years now. There are some gems by all accounts gathering dust in the EMI vaults, from memory there are the European gigs that provided the live B-side material, the 1976 Nashville ‘debut LP’ and the PROP gig from Leeds. When it comes to a potential release of any of this stuff it surprises me that record companies have not realised that if ever there was a time to release material it would be now. Surely a release would stand a better chance of success whilst the band are still active and there exists a fanbase infrastructure (social media groups and the like) in place to generate a ‘buzz’ around a significant new release. Each year there is a flurry of excitement around Record Store Day, something that is great for the ongoing wellbeing of independent record shops and something that I fully support (although not to the extent of queuing outside of Rough Trade form 5 o’clock in the morning). But, it seems to be so often the case that, not only concerning The Stranglers, that the RSD offerings are rather lazy. Take for example the re-release of ‘La Folie’. The double album had merit, no doubt, but what was the justification for a rerelease on coloured vinyl. In my opinion, people buy such releases because they are limited and will increase substantially in value. If something is going to be rereleased make it something old but new to the ears of the fan base. Who knows, in the current chart environment, if ‘Dead On Arrival’ were to be released for RSD 2026 it could possibly achieve the success that UEA hoped and become a chart topper just like Dr Feelgood’s ‘Stupidity’.

I have no idea how many pink ‘La Folie’s were pressed up but if ‘Dead On Arrival’ or the PROP gig or Paris ’85 or Poland ’86 were to see the light of day, at £30 a go, there has be a financial upside, no?

Hugh Cornwell Vintage TV Sessions 20th November 2014

 

Here is something perhaps a little obscure or maybe just unseen by many by virtue of the fact that it was briefly out there amidst so much other stuff in the modern TV channel ocean. I think that the relatively short lived Vintage TV was somehow related to the Sky group of companies/channels. This edition, hosted by sixties icon, Petula Clark, featured an eclectic line up including Hugh, The South and Ralph McTell (best known for his cover of the Anti-Nowhere League's 'Streets of London' :)).

This edited DVD features Hugh's involvement only, whith two live tracks separated by the shorttest of interviews with the host.

DVD image: https://we.tl/t-JxJIFsIbqr

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-7tXk5YirSC

Hugh And JJ Inked

 

A lino print that I did recently, a relatively easy one as the contrast and resolution of the original image was not the best. I don't know the history of the original photograph, but it is clearly of a 1979/1980 vintage and from a time when Hugh and JJ were still close conspirators.

Linoprint in black ink on cream card

20cm x 30cm.

Sam's Minneapolis 20th May 1981

 

I am surprised that it has taken me 14 years to post this one! A soundboard recording and one of the best, if not the best of its era. There seems to be only one flaw, that being the cut off of 'Ice'. Hugh is on great form and Muffin the Mule makes several appearances in 'Nuclear Device'. This is a good example of the MIB set that I has promoting in the last '51' tour related post. Wouldn't it be good?

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-gPhVerAitM

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-g4mevMSgUC

The Stranglers '51' Tour

 

Here we go again then with something of a break in a now established tradition. An Autumn rather than a Spring tour. Some obvious gaps in the dates, most notably Glasgow and the middle of England, as a result of contractual restrictions arising from the Castle and Pistols gigs.

What would I like to see? Obviously the big anniversary was marked last year with suits and chandeliers, so I am not looking for that. It could be an opportunity to do something different. Sadly, the band have been rather reluctant to follow the example of some of their comtemporaries of comparable long standing in touring albums or notable sets. To date, The Stranglers have done this only twice, with the Roundhouse residency '77 ('Rattus Revisited') set in 2007 and the 'Black and White' tour of 2016. All other opportunities to mark a significant anniversary have gone well, unmarked.

Rather than being money for old rope affairs, these 'themed' shows can be an opportunity for a bit of creativity and fun. Look at the Damned's 'Night of a Thousand Vampires', now there was an event! And with such events comes different merchandising opportunities. Gary Numan has been a master of this since 2006. He has toured his three big albums from the '79 to '80 period on two separate occasions and far from being a case of relying on past glories, with the care and attention that he, his band and the entourage needed to take a show on the road inputed, the gigs were stunnning.

What about recreating the set of the 'Who Wants The World?' tour - the October dates would coincide with the 45th anniversary of American leg of that tour. The sets were pretty short back then, just 15 or 16 songs which would allow the other half of the set to include the 'Peaches' and 'Golden Brown' and other crowd pleasers beloved of the casual gig-goer. Just imagine the stark lighting of the MIB era. The band could add in another element of authenticity by using hastily hired equipment and Toby could battle with keyboards that are prone to make unexpected and random noises!

A pipedream I am sure, but I can at least imagine these things.

I do hope though that 'White Stallion' is dropped from the set as the tangerine fucker is now firmly back in the saddle and riding out as one of two horsemen of the apocalyse. I appreciate it that it is their big current anthem, but the lyrics have rather a hollow ring to them now...

'The white stallion's rule is over

The pain is all in the past'