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.


Monday 30 April 2012

Recording Litings Updated


I have now updated my listings, to be found on the right side of this blog. I reckon I have detailed 99% of what I have, but stuff keeps cropping up all over the place!!

Saturday 28 April 2012

Caberet Metro Chicago 1987 Radio Broadcast


Here's a really nice anniversary show from the US leg of the Dreamtime tour exactly 25 years ago. This is an excellent quality radio broadcast from WXRT FM. I would highly recommend this one.

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-eeP3mJZ42m

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-UAroyO3AND

1. DJ Intro
2. No More Heroes
3. Was It You?
4. Down In The Sewer
5. Nice In Nice
6. Punch & Judy
7. Souls
8. Always The Sun
9. Big In America
10. Bring On The Nubiles
11. Shakin' Like A Leaf
12. Uptown
13. Tank
14. Toiler On The Sea
15. (Get A) Grip (On Yourself)
16. Duchess
17. DJ Outro

Additional tracks:

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-mv5Kd1tiNL


Sunday 22 April 2012

Hugh Cornwell Manchester 6th September 1995 Two Shows - Previously Uncirculated


I may have neglected Mr Cornwell on this site a bit I know, but he's something quite rare. Simon R sent me a couple of tapes that he recorded back in 1995 which saw Hugh doing what I assume was a promotional set in Manchester's HMV before playing a slightly fuller set in nearby Bolton. Up until now they have been uncirculated.

At this point in his solo career, it seems clear that Hugh is still finding his feet. The Stranglers material in the set is limited to a couple of songs, but still the audience shout for more.

NEW LINK: http://we.tl/oM1PsmOd0B

HMV Market Street, Manchester

1. Not Hungry Enough
2. Five Miles High
3. Everybody
4. He And She
5. Audacity
6. I Can't Handle It
7. Clubland
8. Peaches
9.Jesus Will Weep

NEW LINKhttp://we.tl/J6WmlI4RnT

Crown And Cushion, Bolton

1. Grip
2. Not Hungry Enough
3. Five Miles High
4. No Mercy
5. I Can't Handle It
6. Clubland
7. He And She
8. Audacity
9. Everybody
10. Wasted Tears
11. Jesus Will Weep
12. Peaches

Full artwork is here (pdfs are also included in the download folder):
Front
Back

Monday 16 April 2012

The Selecter Cambridge Junction 6th April 2012

The Selecter
The Junction, Cambridge 6th April 2012


A local gig for us this one and at one of my favourite venues in any city. Now with Gaps back in the fold (for the last 18 months or so), the vocal coupling really provides the band with renewed gusto. The fact that the band are also touring an album of new material, the excellent 'Made In Britain' made this the best occasion on which I have seen The Selecter.

Prior to the gig, Gunta had the opportunity to catch up with their guitarist, Anthony, an old school friend from Coventry. The circumstances of mutual acquaintances having been establish it was gig time. Notable in the set is the inclusion of their two tone take on Amy Winehouse's 'Back to Black', a fitting tribute to the bee-hived ska enthusiast. For me, the highlight of the new material was the title track itself.



Unfortunately, I have no footage of the gig, but here's a youtube taster of what the Selecter are about in 2012.

'Made In Britain'
The Venue London 17th March 2012

Promo for 'Back To Black'

Stiff Little Fingers The Assembly Leamington Spa 27th March 2012


Here's another one from Dime (hence uploaded on here in lossless format). Thanks to the original uploader and taper (PontiacB and omsaps).

This is a great sounding audience recording from their 35th anniversary tour. Some of the gravel may have gone from Jake's voice, but the fire is still in them and having not seen them for 12 years or so, I think having Ali McMordie back with them has really revitalised them.

NEW LINKhttp://we.tl/waPI99HYX5

01. Go For It (intro)
02. Wasted Life
03. Fade Away
04. At The Edge
05. Guitar And Drum
06. Nobody's Hero
07. Bits Of Kids
08. Since Yesterday Was Here
09. Barbed Wire Love
10. Silver Lining
11. Can't Get Away With That
12. Safe As Houses

01. Roots, Radicals, Rockers and Reggae
02. Strummerville
03. Fly The Flag
04. Straw Dogs
05. Band Intro's and Suspect Device
06. Tin Soldiers
07. Encore
08. Johnny Was
09. Encore 2
10. Alternative Ulster
11. Gotta Gettaway

Full artwork here:
Front
Back

Saturday 14 April 2012

Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto 14th April 1978


I was very keen to upload this excellent anniversary gig, but unfortunately my 15 track audience version died. However, thanks to Dom (along with a kind offer from Dan-electro) an earlier and far superior 10 track soundboard version is now available again.

This is one of the best recordings from the year!

NEW LINK FLAC: http://we.tl/oiosbPVB85


1. Bring on the Nubiles
2. Dead Ringer
3. Hanging Around
4. Nice 'n' Sleazy
5. No More Heroes
6. Tank
7. Threatened
8. Burning Up Time
9. Straighten Out
10. Down in the Sewer

Beefy Cornwell
Horseshoe Tavern Toronto
14th April 1978

Artwork will follow.

Justice Tonight The Academy Dublin 30th March 2012



I picked this up on Dime a few weeks ago and it's so good that I thought that I would also put it up here in the original lossless format for the benefit of those who do not have access to Dime. Thanks to the original taper and uploader (Kagee1).

The 1980's in many respects was a bad decade for English football, from the terrace violence of the early 80's to the tragic event of Bradford (1985) and Hillsborough (1989). Concerning the latter, since the death of 96 Liverpool fans, claims and counter claims as to the reasons and responsibility for the events that took place at the stadium on that fateful day in April 1989 have been voiced and published.

The Hillsborough Justice Campaign was established to represent the victims, survivors and families of those affected by the disaster.

More information can be found here.

https://rapidshare.com/files/3988664979/Justice_Tonight_Tour-_Academy_Dublin_30_March_2012.zip

01 Intros
02 Groovy Train
03 Stepping Stone
04 Love See No Colour
05 Altogether Now
06 Come Back
07 Better Scream
08 The Day Margaret Thatcher Dies
09 Story of the Blues
10 Heart as big as Liverpool
11 Arms around a memory - Its Sinful
12 Train in Vain

01 Stay Free
02 Bank Robber
03 Clampdown
04 Armagideon Time
05 White Man in Hammersmith Palais
06 Should I stay or should I go
07 Encore Break
08 Banter & Tuning
09 Brand New Cadillac
10 Television Screen
11 Janie Jones
12 Second encore break
13 Banter & Tuning
14 Rush

Host John Robb's review of this Dublin gig can be found on the Louder than War site.


Full artwork here:
Front
Back

Thursday 12 April 2012

Espace Tony Garnier Lyon 18th April 1985



A reasonable sounding recording from the European leg of the Aural Sculpture tour.

NEW LINK: http://we.tl/2GckTYBOqk


Full artwork here (pdfs also included in the downlaod file):
Front
Back

Thanks to Laurent for the ticket scan.

Sunday 8 April 2012

Site Hits Pass 50,000!!


I am pleased to see that the total number of site visits to 'Aural Sculptors' has just topped the 50,000 mark. Many thanks to all those who have commented and contributed to the site so far.

Cheers,

Adrian.

.... And Whilst On The Subject Of Bordeaux


Rather than a straight forward replacing of a broken link, I thought that this was worthy of its own post.

Sometime back, a recording emerged for which the background was unclear. The date and venue were originally unknown to most. That the recording came from The Raven tour and the band were playing in the city of Bordeaux was evident from the set and Hugh's comments. The date was eventually pinned down to 16th November 1979, but as far as I am aware the venue remained a mystery to collectors. What is important about this recording is that it is the best to have emerged from that period.

Last week I received an email from Laurent in France who sent the above ticket scan which confirms the venue as Grand Parc. This was one of Laurent's first gigs. Any recollections?

Link to remastered recording: https://auralsculptors.blogspot.com/2019/09/repost-salle-des-fetes-du-grand-parc.html

Rock School Barbey Bordeaux 6th April 2012


I obtained this from Dime last night. many thanks to the original uploader (Trekk). For those without Dime access, here it is in lossless FLAC format.

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-zVOwRrihXK

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-LChwA8L1pj

01. Intro
02. Burning Up Time
03. Sometimes
04. The Raven
05. Lowlands
06. Hey! Rise Of The Robots
07. Hanging Around
08. Unbroken
09. Time Was Once On My Side
10. Golden Brown
11. Strange Little Girl
12. Always The Sun
13. Walk On By
14. Giants

01. Peaches
02. Mercury Rising
03. 5 Minutes
04. Relentless
05. Lost Control
06. No More Heroes
07. Something Better Change
08. Encore Break
09. Goodbye Toulouse
10. Duchess
11. Encore Break
12. All Day And All Of The Night
13. Tank



Friday 6 April 2012

Punk The Culture in Pictures



A small article in this month's Mojo magazine caught my eye last week. A book of pictures has been published which draws it's material from the photographic archives of the Daily Mirror, a long running tabloid newspaper here in the UK. Given the source material, it is unlikely that 'Punk The Culture in Pictures' will shed any new light on the late '70's punk scene (expect photos of the Kings Road brigade fleecing tourists for photographs). However, it promises some rare and unseen pictures.... and it's cheap!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Punk-Ammonite-Press/dp/1907708294/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333706875&sr=1-6

'Save a thought for the man in white'

Classic 21 Studio Belgian Radio Broadcast 4th April 2012

JJ Classic 21 Studio Belgium
31st March 2012

Here's the full broadcast of JJ and Baz's promotional radio interview for Belgian radio station, Classic 21, in Mons. Thanks to the original Dime uploader Trebor. At his request to maintain this as a lossless recording, it is presented here in FLAC format. PLease do not upload elsewhere in a lossy format.


Recorded: 31st March 2012
Broadcast: 4th April 2012

01. DJ Comments / Intro
02. DJ Comments / The Story Of The Strangers
03. Interview J-J Burnel
04. DJ Comments
05. Interview J-J Burnel
06. Interview J-J Burnel
07. Strange Little Girl (Acoustic)
08. DJ Comments
09. Interview Baz Warne
10. DJ Comments
11. Dutch Moon (Acoustic)
12. DJ Comments / Outro
Baz Classic 21 Studio Belgium
31st March 2012



Monday 2 April 2012

Public Image Limited Heaven Under the Arches 1st April 2012

John Lydon at Heaven
1st April 2012

I have a patchy relationship with PiL. I first saw them back in '86 (gig posted on this site) when they were a force to be reckoned with. In 1987, on the 'Happy' promotional tour at the National in Kilburn, they were great once again, but come 1989 on the '9' tour, they were spent and they were very poor, putting in an extremely lacklustre performance at what I consider to be London's worst venue, the Hammersmith Odeon as was.

John Lydon then put PiL on ice for the next 20 years! PiL and I next crossed paths in December 2009 at The Electric Ballroom in old Camden Town. This was a revelation, I could not believe how good they were. This was no take the cash reunion for certain.

Skip forward 18 months and PiL announce 2 nights at Heaven Under the Arches at London's Embankment. A small venue (capacity 500?), with their first new material since 1992's rather weak 'That What Is Not', John and the boys have something to prove. This was gonna be a real treat!


Opening the set with the first of the evenings new material, the pace of the night was set. As yet, I'm not familiar with the new songs, other that next month's vinyl EP release 'One Drop'. What I would say is that the new songs cast an unapologetic over the shoulder look back to 'Metal Box', generally considered to be PiL's finest hour.

With John, Lu and Bruce, the PiL of 2012 have retained the core of their last successful line up from the 'Album' period. On stage, they are comfortable and confident in their work, including the new material.

Whilst the Pistols are public property, Public Image Limited are paradoxically private property and a project that JL will never again compromise. This attitude is certainly reflected in the new material.

'Lollipop Opera' at Heaven
1st April 2012

Of the old material, all the classics were present and correct, 'Death Disco', 'The Flowers of Romance', 'This is Not a Love Song', 'Rise' etc etc. The extreme bass line of 'Religion' was especially bone shaking on the night in such a small venue!

Lu Edmonds


This is Pil is released on 28th May.