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 14 April 2013

Ghost Town - The People's Songs BBC Radio 2 3rd April 2013



In this week when Margaret Thatcher is buried, there has been much debate about respect. Take a look at the piece here from the BBC website. Now, I don't intend to get into the debate here. It doesn't take an intellect of genius proportion to work out where I am in the political spectrum from what is posted on this site. Instead I will leave it with this recent broadcast on UK radio which in itself speaks volumes about the political era that now goes by the name of 'Thatcherism'.

Throughout 2013, BBC Radio 2 have been broadcasting this great series called 'The People's Songs' in which the 20th century history of Britain is being traced though songs. Each week a song is selected that encapsulated the social history of the period in question. All key socio-political issues are being covered from the sexual revolution of the '60s to gay liberation of the '80s to the demise of British heavy industry in the '70s.

A couple of weeks ago, the program homed in on what I consider to be one of the most important British songs ever written.... The Specials' 'Ghost Town'. Now this may border on heresy on these pages, but forget the classic couplings of Grip/London Lady, Something Better Change/Straighten Out and even, dare I say it, 5 Minutes/Rok It To The Moon, all of them must drop down onto one knee in the presence of the holy trinity (that is heresy I believe, or blasphemy at the least!) of 'Ghost Town, 'Why?' and 'Friday Night, Saturday Morning'. Three songs that on one piece of vinyl addressed three separate experiences in a country on the slide. Themes that feature prominently in this radio documentary. Please do give it a listening.... it's a good one for the ironing!



MP3: http://rapidshare.com/files/1016421447/The%20Peoples%20Songs%20BBC%20Radio%202%203rd%20April%202013%20Ghost%20Town.mp3

No comments:

Post a Comment