O2 City Hall Newcastle 18th February 2022 (10 For Rebellion #1)

 

Here's one from The Stranglers's most poignant tour, the first dates without Dave Greenfield on the keys since sometime back in 1975. Thanks to Yesican for sharing this file.

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-rqghtrYx9UKkA4KF

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-XyXZCynFrFxf5J1Q

O2 Academy Sheffield 25th March 2011

 

Now this is a good one. Sourced from Tarquinlive. DomP has mastered this recording and made a big positive difference from the original. Sounds great to me, with the quality doing justice to the set that gave us such gems as 'Tramp', 'Two Sunspots', 'Dead Loss Angeles' and 'Sweden'. Dom reminds me that this was the last tour that Jet undertook in it's entirety.

Thanks Dom! Appreciate it.

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-bDBZBBeuaPWTOy4J

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-mdAaLqUxhokFpDP4

Eat Our Dust Weller! Golden Brown At Number One (6th February 1982)

Being a bit of a nerd I have been part of a pub quiz team (the same one no less) for 32 years! The pubs whose quizzes we have participated in invariably have a music round. One round theme that has reoccurred over the years runs along the lines of big songs that missed the No. 1 chart position, unjustly or not. The classic example is the dreadful 'Shaddap You Face', a novelty hit by the Australian/American Joe Dolce that kept the Ultravox anthem 'Vienna' off the coveted number one slot. Such was the overblown pomposity of the song that half of the UK's record buying public sniggered at such a turn of events and continue to do so more than forty years later!

The example relevant to these humble pages is that a race to No.1 between The Stranglers and The Jam (two of the biggest survivors of the first wave of punk) played out in early 1982 and this too has been a quiz question on several occasions. The problem for The Stranglers was that despite having achieved significant radio play for the first time in years with the quirky, out of character waltz of 'Golden Brown' the competition in February 1982 was stiff, specifically in the form of Weller's mob who released 'A Town Called Malice/Precious as a double A-side. Arguably The Jam were the biggest band in the UK at this time and 'Malice' saw The Jam at the top of their game, both in terms of Weller's lyricism as well as the musical punch they were then delivering. And so it was that the Official UK chart saw 'A Town Called Malice' streak up the chart (the single is seen here in the Melody Maker Chart as a new entry, straight in at number eight (as of 6th February)), rapidly reaching number one, thereby denying The Stranglers the greatest measure of chart success.

However, look closely at the singles chart below, the number one is no less than 'Golden Brown'! The music paper Melody Maker was always rather apart from its UK music weekly rivals, long being a champion of 'real musicianship' which roughly translated to folk and jazz. In this spirit of stubborn independence they continued to produce their own UK single and album chart that was not infrequently at odds with the Official UK Chart returns. So in a nutshell, 'Golden Brown' did reach No. 1.... you just have to look in the right places.

So, next time that particular question surfaces in a pub quiz, maybe I should point out the factual error.... but then again I might just get docked points for being an annoying smart arse!

As an aside, the Official UK Chart has also published a Top 40 of favourite No. 2s (record wise!). Take a look at the esteemed company that 'Golden Brown' is keeping. Sandwiched between James's 'Sit Down' (a song I loath!) and 'Waterloo Sunset' (one of the greatest British pop songs of all time). Seeing the Ray Davies composition there, a parallel comes to mind.... 'A Town Called Malice' is surely a 'Dead End Street' for the 1980's.

And even if 'Golden Brown was pipped at the post by 'Malice', it's no disgrace and I can think of a host of worse songs to lose out to.

'It's-a not so bad, it's-a nice-a place

Ah shaddap-a you face!'

Festival Hall Corby 23rd July 1980

 

I had a request last week from the Black Country which no sooner was it passed on than DomP was able to fulfil it. It was for The Stranglers in Corby in July 1980. It is a recording that has appeared on these pages in the past 2011. Here are those files again in FLAC format, with artwork and just a bit of Dom’s audio jiggery-pokery. Phil Coxon wrote some words about this gig for a tour diary piece that he did for the official website a few years back.

The band played Corby as a benefit for local steelworkers. This was quite unusual in that The Stranglers have never seemed to plat so many benefit gigs, but also Corby then as now has never been prominent on the live circuit. Nevertheless, The Stranglers were in the hall and playing songs for a song (the tickets were cheaply priced!). The circumstances of the gig should have been such that the evening could have been a fantastic event. Instead the band were treated to a punk rock style circa 1976 i.e. they faced a torrent of gob. The salivary flow persisted throughout the gig, much to the annoyance of the band who departed from the stage after a set of just 13 songs. Look at that set and imagine paying more attention to producing oral ammunition than listening to that! The mentality of some folk!?

And many thanks DomP!

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-iJdgEJNhRRdRyP31

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-Bh1VOmetKCxs3zS9

Tous Sur Le Pont Festival Blois 11th July 2007

 

 A second anniversary gig in one day! Here are the band at the Tous Sur Le Pont Festival in Blois in this day in 2007. Quite a nice sounding recording from what seems to have been quite a short lived festival (2003 to 2008) as sadly many of them seem to be.

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-dz1OSqB6Xf2kwQ6F

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-HncBcNXdbyKKBx6r

For some reason the folder I have on my PC relating to this gig also includes a photo of Sid heartily  enjoying himself - I assume that it was taken at this festival.

Colston Hall Bristol 11th July 1980

 

And a Happy Birthday to this one from the 'Who wants The World?' tour. It has been posted on here previously (2012) but is posted here again with new artwork. Whilst it is not going to win any awards for sound quality, it is not so bad and great if you were lucky enough to have been in Bristol on this night a mere 46 years ago.

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-OCS636zrEHAVcfmv

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-TdrTEUymNYdL1n2O

'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

Atlantis Alkmaar Netherlands 24th February 1997

DomP has gifted the site another great recording to which he has applied some audio noodling to achieve a version of this Mk. II gig that is streets ahead of the previous version that I uploaded to the site both in terms of format (FLAC versus MP3) and quality. I have also now added artwork.

For enthusiasts of this era of the band this will be a gem. With Paul and John performing the majority of the song writing on 'Written In Red', this dynamic was logically translated into the live set. Never before or since has a Stranglers set deviated so much from the 'classic Stranglers' and for that reason this is a good recording to bag as some of the songs in the set are unlikely to make a reappearance. Did 'In A While' ever get played anywhere else?

As mentioned in the first posting of this gig, Alkmaar served as the forerunner of the Wonky Bus excursions. It is evident from Paul's comments during the gig that the UK travelling contingent took over the front of the gig.

Thanks for answering the call Dom, some more Roberts era material was what I was looking for to balance up the audio record somewhat.

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-tNaXOOJPe8Dy560L

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-46XudTkFrzjQNuOx

Manchester Academy 9th November 1994

 

So, here we have a recording from 1994's 'Body Search' mini tour with the 'About Time' album on the horizon, but just out of sight for now. Many thanks to Yesican for sharing this one with the site!

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-HkBBm6D9Gtztx7N2

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-fuPrEGZ1LX83FwHG

The Stranglers - A Review by Chas de Whalley (Sounds 8th January 1977)

I chanced upon another early review of the band at The Nashville Rooms in Kensington. Appearing in the 8th January issue of Sounds, Chas de Whalley, a champion of the band right from the beginning, once again waxes lyrically about the appeal of their dark and dirty psychedelia.

Now, the Nashville was almost a second home to The Stranglers throughout 1976. Most notably they played the Kensington venue on 19th December 1976, a gig that was recorded with a view to release as the band's debut LP. In the event, as we all know, the album, 'Dead On Arrival', was effectively 'Dead Prior to Departure', its release being vetoed by the band on the grounds that they did not consider it to be sufficiently representative of the band live at that time. The gig was advertised without reference to the support on the night.

The Burning Up Time Forum indicates that support on the night of the live recording was TRB. 

In de Whalley's review the support is very evidently Chelsea. So when precisely did this gig take place? Appearing on 8th January, one can assume the gig occurred some time between 10th December 1976 and the first week of January 1977.

Another Nashville review published in Music Weekly on 18th December (here), assumed to be related to the gig on 10th (although the article refers to a Saturday, assumed to be an error as the gig occurred on a Friday) makes no reference to the support band.

The close of 1976 into 1977 saw the following Stranglers gigs (according to NME listings):

Saturday 11th December support to Deaf School (Friars Aylesbury)
Monday 13th December with Nobodaddy (Tiffany's Edinburgh)
Thursday 16th December headline Mags Head High Wycombe
Friday 17th December headline Peterborough Technical College
Sunday 2nd January 1977 Pink Faries/The Stranglers/Little Bob Story (Roundhouse)

The Burning Up Time Forum states  that the band appeared once more at the Nashville in a pre-Christmas gig (23rd December) supported by Racing Cars.

The ad as it appears in NME makes reference to Racing Cars only.

So my question is who supported The Stranglers at The Nashville on 10th December 1976? If it was TRB then when did this gig with support from Chelsea happen? 

There was another gig at the Nashville on 21st November 1976 (again with no reference to the support in the gig listing), but it seems unlikely that this would only get written up in a January 1977 issue.

Any ideas?

One thing seems certain... when Chas refers to JJ in eyeliner and ripped shirt... this would be his view of the stage!

Preston Guild Hall 14th February 1985

 

I mentioned in my last post that on occasion Aural Sculptors is host to an exclusive and here is one courtesy of the master of the remaster, DomP. Many thanks my friend. This is a lively gig, probably on account of it being just the fourth gig of a sizable UK tour. By the time I got to see them in Brighton on the last night, they would have been knackered!

Here's Dom with his own words on the recording:

'An extraordinary Valentine’s Day audience tape of The Stranglers on day four of the Sculpture tour in the north of England.

A bad night for Dave’s synths, Hugh chunters away between songs and there is a kerfuffle in one of the tracks where JJ puts down his bass and sorts something, or someone, out. Some of the most violent versions of the "older" tracks you'll hear from this era. An angry wonky classic.

This took a while to master as I couldn't quite tune in, then it clicked that it was recorded from distance, so once I figured out the hall acoustics all was good. Imagine you're listening from up on high, looking down....'

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-pObJi7sJTFhahz3C

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-FWB1JPXfdBOebAU6

The Hexagon Reading 18th March 1990 - Major Upgrade

 

DomP has come up trumps again. This '10 Tour' gig from Reading's Hexagon Theatre is already posted on the site, but the difference in sound quality between that version and this one is like the difference between day and night. As such it is really the definitive full set record from the tour. I should have gone to this gig... it was two days before my 21st birthday. Instead I had tickets for the London dates, Poole, Crawley (awful!) and Leicester (the less said about that one the better!)... that is a far as my finances would stretch at that time. The gigs on this tour were great (although I still question why Hugh felt the need for a second guitarist to be on stage) and world's apart from the disappointment of Ally Pally a few months later.

Thanks Dom. Great work!

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-YhGDt7Jw9OagF6Eh

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-21dt03OVEUn9p6D0

Brixton Academy London 12th June 1989

 

The culmination of a great Strangling weekend with consecutive gigs in Livingston, Newport and London (didn't get across the Irish Sea for gigs in Belfast, Dublin and Cork). Set included a couple of '10' teasers in the form of 'Someone Like You' and 'Where I Live'.

Back in London Town (Finchley Road?)

12th June 1989

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-DGfFHBhsZ77mvWAo

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-cv3zsMxVGSheJVzy

Dominion Theatre London 25th February 1985

 

Very pleased to see this one pop up on Dime over the weekend. The version that I had was inferior and as usual DomP has made it sound great by means I do not begin understand. The opening night of a five night residency at the Dominion Theatre in London towards the end of the UK leg of the Aural Sculpture tour. Cheers Dom!

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-Tea6OPkARt1hEtyO

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-wL2Qa4SbcsSuU6hr

Birmingham Academy 25th October 2008

 

A FortyTwo Forty set from Birmingham Academy here. A purely singles set with the exception of the inclusion of 'Hanging Around' (which itself can sneak in if you include the pink US E.P. release).

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-Udv0rgwaEeBSDwOY

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-g3vBRN7zED84c9Yp

Top Secret No 29 (May 1991)

 

Here's another issue of late '80s/early '90s Sussex based fanzine 'Top Secret'. This issue focuses on the response to the first post-Hugh club dates and full tour. Reviews are included from fans, local newspapers as well as the established music weeklies. All in all a valuable collection of opinion as such a tumultuous time in the band's history.

Issue 29 is here.

Danforth Music Hall Toronto 31st May 2013

 

I cannot make any claims about this recording. It is posted today solely because the gig was played on this day back in 2013. For one it is MP3, more importantly it is incomplete (online sources indicate that the gig ran to 22 songs). The arrangement of the songs, not to mention the fact that 'No More Heroes' features twice, suggests that this may be a composite recording from mobile phone footage. As I say I have no idea... but here it is regardless.

MP3: https://we.tl/t-edKGjXCBWbZr2GYd

01. INTRO/TOILER ON THE SEA
02. (GET A) GRIP (ON YOURSELF)
03. NUCLEAR DEVICE
04. FREEDOM IS INSANE
05. NO MORE HEROES
06. PEACHES
07. GOLDEN BROWN
08. SKIN DEEP
09. NICE 'N' SLEAZY
10. ALWAYS THE SUN
11. WALK ON BY
12. NO MORE HEROES
13. HANGING AROUND
14. TANK

Warwick Arts Centre 19th November 1997

 

Thanks to yesican for the share of this gig. Much appreciated! It's 1997 and 'Written in Red' is ten months old (just three tracks from the album feature in the live set at this point). I am truly glad that the band got through this period to attain further critical acclaim some years further down the road. The fire was burning low in the grate at this point, the live performances retained some semblance of the band but if I were subjected to a cold hearing of 'Written In Red' I would struggle to identify the band. Nevertheless, the late '90s Stranglers, love them or loathe them are all part of that convoluted 52 year career path that we all to a varying extent followed assiduously.

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-OOkX5NDjE8wBEmGY

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-crRfpjt0giiaPjHU

52 Years Of The Stranglers (Vive Le Rock Issue #132)

 

The Stranglers are once again gracing the front cover of the current issue of Vive Le Rock. Inside, JJ gives a potted history of the band's career over the past 52 years. Although there is little new revelation in these pages (it starts with the well established creation story, into boom time, slump and resurrection) it makes a good read. It does confirm that a new (and final) album is in the offing and reaffirms JJ's interest in staging 'The Gospel According To The Meninblack' as a ballet... if it can work for Tony Iommi and Black Sabbath... it's gotta be worth a go! It is something that he has clearly been mulling over for many years now. I remember him mentioning it in some Dutch field once (a festival where we were 'treated' to a 35 minute rendition of Golden Earring's 'Radar Love', a great song but not over 35 minutes for God's sake!). On that occasion, I did mention to JJ that surely there was a Principal Dancer already in the frame.... Jimmy Pursey, a man with an eye (and legs) for Stranglers related interpretive dance!  Stand by for the call Jimmy!

Having been a staple in the Vive Le Rock publication for 16 years now, maybe one of Vive's occasional annual specials on the band could be a possibility. I'd like to think so.