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.


Sunday 23 October 2011

The Stranglers at Brunel University in 1977

Now don't get exited, this is not a Eureka moment. I have not managed to unearth a 'lost' early recording here. All I can offer here is a 'review' (although I don't see any mention of what went on in the gig - quite obviously said Reid was perhaps not destined for a career in journalism upon graduation!) and an ad for a later show.

I went to Brunel in the late '80's, some 11 years too late to witness some of the classic gigs that were staged there in Uxbridge. In 1988, I packed my things and headed west on the Metropolitan Line to its very end. The joke at the time amongst some of my friends was that the sole reason for my choosing to study at Brunel was that it was an anagram of Burnel! The truth is far less interesting.... they would take me with the less than spectacular grades that I achieved.

The following two pieces appeared in the pages of 1977 issues of the student newspaper 'Le Nurb' - yet another anagram I fear!

The article below was a review of the bands appearance there on the Rattus tour on 20th May 1977. On this occasion playing in the Kingdom Room, the Student Union I suspect.


The set (thanks to flyingvs.com) was as follows:

(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)
Sometimes
Feel Like A Wog
Dagenham Dave
Something Better Change
Peaches
No More Heroes
Hanging Around
London Lady
Down In The Sewer
Peasant In The Big Shitty
Straighten Out

20th May 1977 The Kingdom Room
'Le Nurb' Brunel University

Between the band's first appearance and the next as part of autumn '77's 'No More Heroes' tour, punk and new wave had become mainstream with The Stranglers leading the charge (at least in terms of units sold). As a result, the September 29th gig took place in the larger Sports Hall (also venue for one of the last appearances by the Pistols before their Stateside implosion).

Ad for 29th September 1977 gig
'Le Nurb' Brunel University

It is clear that on the occasion of this second appearance, tickets were available to a wider (non-student) Uxbridge audience with a student allocation of 500. To the best of my knowledge, this gig passed off without incident (or at least with an unremarkable degree of incident for  a 1977 Stranglers gig!).

If you were there, don't be shy and drop us a note.

8 comments:

  1. This gig may well have passed off with an remarkable degree of incident for a 1997 Stranglers gig, but it easily contained the most fighting I ever witnessed at a Brunel gig round that time. I remember my bravado at the time but I was squeaky bum scared.

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  2. Tell us more about the night!

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  3. I was there. I recall the support band being called "London". Not sure if this was the sept or may gig. We were two 17 year olds, stood at the back and being shit scared because it kicked off during the Stranglers set. I serm to recal them being ipset at being spat upon constantly!

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  5. Am I alone in seeming to remember the posters advertised The Stranlers?

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  6. I was in the RAF at the time and stationed locally and attended the this gig at Brunel. I recall it was a great night with lots of pogoing going on.

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  7. We've written up the Stranglers May 1977 appearance on our Brunel Bands page if you're interested..

    https://brunelbands.wordpress.com/2016/02/02/20051977-the-stranglers/

    Many thanks, Brunel Bands

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  8. I worked behind the bar at Brunel that night. Actually served some of the Stranglers who were quite happy to sit in a corner of a quite deserted bar. The security that night was incredible with only students allowed in the bar and most of them decided not to risk the chance of trouble. Easiest shift I had all year!

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