The Stranglers And Friends – "Live In Concert, Rainbow,London 1980"

Oooh Look! A one-off collaboration for two 1980 live concerts by The Stranglers from the spring of 1980. Naughty Hugh Cornwell was in Pentonville Prison for drug possession. With two gigs scheduled at the London Rainbow for 3 & 4 April, the management decided to turn things around by approaching a number of well-known artistes to fill in for the absent Cornwell on vocals and guitar.

However,what is notable about the various guest appearances is the number of deceased individuals on one stage.....not deceased at the time one has to note, but recently deceased, as in the case of Jet Black,Nik Turner ,Nicky Tesco and ,my guitar and sartorial hero, Wilko Johnson. 

There are other less recently deceased artistes of course, like Ian Dury and Larry Wallis,but mainly we're concentrating on the new wave of dead pop-stars,wot I have wrote about in the last few posts,with the exception of Wilko Johnson,for whom I couldn't find any words to express this great loss!

He being the only musician I know of who has a spoonerism for his nom des plumes. I also could not find anything (good) he did that I haven't already posted before.....that is, until discovering his guest spot on these live recordings by a Hugh Cornwell-less Stranglers. Nestling uncomfortably alongside Robert Fripp and his terrifying wife, Toyah......later to haunt us all with their insufferable social media appearances....another dreadful consequence of the Co-Vid Lockdown.....among various Pub legends,skids,blockheads and ex-proggers. Sure enuff an impressive turn out,and a more interesting way to listen to the Stranglers back catalogue. One of the few Tribute albums that actually features the band who are the subject of the tribute.

Farewell Wilko.

Tracklist:

1 Introduction by Jet Black 1:53

2 Get A Grip
Guitar – John Ellis, Robert Smith
Vocals – Hazel O'Connor 3:42

3 Hanging Around
Guitar – John Ellis , Robert Smith
Vocals – Hazel O'Connor 4:09

4 Tank
Guitar – John Ellis , Robert Fripp
Vocals – Pete Hammil 3:03

5 Threatened
Guitar – John Ellis , Robert Fripp 3:21

6 Toiler
Guitar – John Ellis , Robert Fripp
Vocals – Phil Daniels 5:19

7 The Raven
Guitar – Basil Gabbidon, John Ellis
Vocals – Pete Hammil 4:30

8 Dead Loss Angeles
Guitar – John Ellis, Wilko Johnson
Vocals – Phil Daniels 2:18

9 Nice'N'Sleazy
Guitar – Basil Gabbidon , John Ellis
Saxophone – Nik Turner
Vocals – Nicky Tesco 6:44

10 Bring On The Nubiles
Guitar – John Ellis, Wilko Johnson
Vocals – Richard Jobson 4:00

11 Peaches
Guitar – John Ellis , John Turnball
Saxophone – Davey Payne
Vocals – Hazel O'Connor, Ian Dury, Toyah Wilcox 4:34

12 Bear Cage
Guitar – John Ellis , John Turnball
Keyboards – Matthew Hartley
Saxophone – Davey Payne
Vocals – Hazel O'Connor, Ian Dury, Toyah Wilcox 4:41

13 Duchess
Guitar – John Ellis
Vocals – Toyah Wilcox 2:44

14 No More Heroes
Guitar – John Ellis
Vocals – Richard Jobson 3:49

15 Five Minutes
Guitar – Larry Wallis
Vocals – Richard Jobson 4:13

16 Something Better Change
Guitar – John Ellis , Steve Hillage
Vocals – Toyah Wilcox 3:43

17 Sewer
Guitar – John Ellis , Steve Hillage
Vocals – Jake Burns 7:36

DOWNLOAD from over the rainbow 1980 HERE!

The Stranglers - "Demo's 1974-76" (a Die or DIY? Compilation)

This comes under the category of groups who were social suicide to admit you like back in the halcyon daze of the Punk Rock wars of 1977. Basically they were obviously a lot older than a Punk Rock group should be,they had a keyboard player,and half of them looked like the kind of Pub trash you'd find in 1975,mustaches,suits and beards,like background extra's on the Sweeney.......not stylish Sweeney extras like Dr Feelgood,or The Pirates,but the ones who'd get beaten up by Jack and George to get information.

This may not sound like it, but this is an obvious attempt a a tribute for erstwhile Stranglers drummer and Ice Cream saleman, Jet Black, who passed away yesterday-ish at the remarkable age of 84!? He was older than Paul McCartney,and was 40 in 1978! This guy lived through the entire history of Rock'n'Roll! That's him with the beard and portly stance...was this the only Beard in Punk Rock?

Yeah, I secretly dug the Stranglers, most especially JJ Burnel, whose Bass sound and playing launched a tidal wave of Lead Bassists on the country, and made Post-Punk a reality. Unbeknownst to me Jean Jacques was an accomplished classical guitarist before he fatally thumbed a lift from Jet Black in his ice cream van,and ended up in The Stranglers in 1974. Yes that 1974, which Ramones fans always quote as evidence that they were indeed the very First Punk group......they did "I wanna be your Boyfriend" and the Stranglers did "Go Buddy Go" that year,and displayed uncomfortably long hair,....but, the Stranglers had less long hair,and were noticeably more aggressive.

They were in fact part of a very Proto-Punky movement,which fit their image far more than the glammed up MC5 or The Stooges, Pub Rock....of which one could argue that the Damned,Clash and The Pistols were also part of.

Nowadays, as Jet's Guardian Obituary states, The Stranglers were (accidently) the very First Post-Punk band, as well as tenuously the First Punk Band, with their "Darker" album, "Black and White",from 1978, beating previous favorites , Magazine, and Siouxsie and the Banshees to the title....which is a recently tendered attempt at rewriting history,by burks like John Robb and his equivalents  ,while forgetting  in retrospect,all this was still referred to as 'Punk'music at the time,and only later were things reassigned,depending on your definition of what its supposed to be.

For me, it was always the music that came after the first wave which obviously wasn't three chord Punk,like XTC,Devo,Talking Heads etc...which also included the 'Darker Side' like Joy Division ,Bauhaus, Pere Ubu etc.

"Punk Rock said Fuck You, and Post-Punk said I'm Fucked" has become the catchphrase these days.

So allow me to pick my own first Post-Punk album, and it ain't the Stranglers,or Television.....it's obviously Ultravox innit? "Ha! Ha! Ha!" from 1977....ticks all the boxes for me.

So to celebrate Jet's very understated underplayed drumming as part of one of the most un-categorisable  group from the Punk Rock era, here's a load of slightly dodgy pre-punk demo's from the magical year of 1974 onwards!?

I once thought "Go Buddy Go" was cover version when one first heard it,and was sure it had to be a UK R'n'R classic by someone like Johnny Kidd,until i knew better.....a JJ Burnel composition no less!?

Also the first time I saw a 'Punk' group on the telly was Stranglers doing 'Go Buddy Go' on Top of the Pops....the A-side,Peaches, was banned of course....tee hee hee...they swapped instruments.....and there may have been a rather naughty expletive on Burnel's T-shirt. However,JJ's hair looked a bit too fluffy for my liking,obviously just had a shampoo in the BBC make-up dept before the performance.

Jet, as always stayed in the background,gently miming his drums,which always sounded mimed anyway,so why bother?

Tracklist:

1. Charlie Boy*

2. Chinatown*

3. Make You Mine*

4. My Young Dreams*

5. I Know It*

6. White Wedding*

7. Country Chaser*

8. Bouncing man*

9. Wasted*

10. Go Buddy Go*

11.Strange Little Girl*

12.Bitching#

13.Peaches#

14.Tomorrow Was the Here after#

15.Down In The Sewer#

16.Grip#

*1974

#1976

DOWNLOAD a demostration of jet's ability to not be black HERE!

Celia And The Mutations ‎– "Mony Mony " (United Artists - UP 36262) & "You Better Believe Me" (UP 36318) 1977

In 1977 Hugh Cornwell found some Posh Totty to put on the casting couch, and the resulting birth  was a single on which  said Posh bird was backed up by the Stranglers in a clandestine attempt to make a New Wave cash in 'Hit'. 
Of course it failed, but this didn't stop JJ resurrecting the idea with a second.....yes, i said second, single!?
This one was a lot better, mainly because it had the Pub Rock dream team of JJ Burnel and Wilko Johnson backing up the aforementioned Posh Totty. They even wrote a new tune for her, "you Better Believe Me"......its true!
All four tracks have the magnificent JJ Burnel Bass sound, but once we lose the plodding Jet Black Drumming, and Cornwells anemic guitar. Bring in Wilko's choppy Tele, ably backed up by one time Rockpile stickman Terry Williams ; we get something verging on the very good.
The identity of Celia Gollin herself has always been mysterious. She did some vocals on a Gavin Bryars Album on Eno's Obscure label in 1975, but after that nothing. Could she have been the 'Duchess' that Cornwell wrote about on the stranglers hit? Sometimes she even sounds a bit like Hazel O'Conner(also a Cornwell girlfriend) on these tracks.....maybe, the cover photo was just a model, and Hazel did the singing.....my mony mony's on that.

Boring gossip aside........Wilko and JJ would probably appear in my Fantasy Pub Rock sooper groop.
Maybe add Ian Dury on Vocals and Lyrics, Pete Thomas (of the Attractions) on proper Drums, and Lew Lewis on Harp. I did toy with having Philthy Phil 'The Animal' Taylor on drums, but went for the musicianly angle rather than looking good.........and that's my Pub Rock Sooper Groop.

Please feel free to volunteer your own Fantasy Sooper Groop of any genre in the comments section below for some nerdy amusement.

"Mony Mony" single:

Mony Mony 2:44
Mean To Me 1:59
"You Better Believe Me" single:

You Better Believe Me 2:48
Round And Round 1:38

DOWNLOAD believably HERE!

The Stranglers ‎– "Live At The Hope And Anchor Front Row Festival Nov 22nd 1977"

The Stranglers,hmmmmm, not too popular with the pinko's at Rough Trade, but seemed quite accepted by the punters of the Hope and Anchor. Undeterred by songs inquiring about the size of a certain females Tits ('Tits') and making love to a young lady until she bleeds ("Choozy Suzy"), among other embarrassingly sex-issst misogynous melodies.Joe public took a shine to these aging doors-esque pub rockers,and propelled them into the poptastic hit parade, where they no doubt crossed paths with Jimmy Savile,who could have donated some of these lyrics from his secret diaries.
Despite this unsavory misogyny and the amateur dramatic  hard man act, the Stranglers had a very definite talent for penning a satisfying melody or two ,backed up by a barely disguised musical ability.
Above all, J.J. Burnel had a lead bass style and sound that would launch a thousand imitators, not least Peter Hook of Joy Division. This urbane purveyor of a spot of the old ultraviolence, could probably even have a strong shout at being thee most influential bass twanger of all time. He was also the Hardest mofo in the Punk era, famously wiping the floor with Paul Simoneon at the Ramones UK debut gig at the Roundhouse, whom The Stranglers had supported that very same jolly evening (nice one).
In all, a very well rehearsed set, faultlessly delivered, complete with 70's time capsule sexism, and some classic tunes. 

DOWNLOAD until you bleed HERE!

Various Artists‎– "Hope & Anchor Front Row Festival" ( Warner Bros. Records ‎– K 66077) 1978

A natural place to start our exploration of UK Pub Rock would be in a Pub I suppose. One of the principle Pub Rock venues was the Hope and Anchor in Islington,where the Front Row Festival was held between November 22nd and December 15th 1977. A very accurate document of live music in the year 'Punk Rock Exploded'......as we see, as in the charts and record shops, Punk Rock was largely notable for its absence. Most of the acts on this compilation would have sat confusingly in the Punk and New Wave section of my local record store. A mixture of what we now call Proto-Punk, Power Pop, Pub Punk, and Pub Rock were all slotted into the New Wave shoebox by confused demin clad staff who listened to Little Feat and had beards; today we'd call them 'Hipsters'.
There's some bandwagon punk on here of course like the lamentable Suburban Studs, and the admittedly excellent 999;Aussie Pub Rock by the fantastic Saints,the proto-post punk pop of XTC, and trendy Kings Road 'Punkers' X-Ray Spex.
Quite a mixed bag, but anything with Wilko Johnson on it has to be worth the entry fee; counterbalanced by an appearance by maybe the biggest Pub Rock band ever(except maybe AC/DC?), the inexcusably toe curlingly bad, Dire Straits!!?
The stand out tracks are ,obviously, The Saints and ,somewhat less obviously, The Steve Gibbons Band's 'Speed Kills'.
Like the swinging '60s' ; in 1977 Punk Rock was largely confined to a few streets in London,the tabloids, and the Music Press. This is a more accurate document of the music scene in '77, where Flares still ruled, beards ,long hair, beer rather than speed as the drug of choice, and not a single garment from Seditionaries or Boy to be seen.Pub legends ,The Sex Pistols, were unavailable; but this lot were,in a small venue near you. And everyone was signed to a major label;well,at least until the end of 1978 that is.

Tracklist:

1–Wilko Johnson Band-Dr. Feelgood 2:43
2–The Stranglers-Straighten Out 2:58
3–Tyla Gang-Styrofoam 2:04
4–The Pirates-Don't München It 3:2
5–Steve Gibbons Band-Speed Kills 3:30
6–XTC-I'm Bugged 4:22
7–Suburban Studs-I Hate School 2:37
8–The Pleasers-Billy 1:59
9–XTC-Science Friction 2:45
10–Dire Straits-Eastbound Train 3:25
11–Burlesque -Bizz Fizz 5:00
12–X-Ray-Spex -Let's Submerge 3:02
13–999-Crazy 3:18
14–The Saints-Demolition Girl 3:45
15–999-Quite Disappointing 2:00
16–The Only Ones-Creatures Of Doom 3:18
17–The Pirates-Gibson Martin Fender 3:26
18–Steel Pulse-Sound Check 3:41
19–Roogalator-Zero Hero 3:43
20–Philip Rambow-Underground Romance 5:45
21–The Pleasers-Rock & Roll Radio 2:29
22–Tyla Gang-On The Street 3:00
23–Steve Gibbons Band-Johnny Cool 3:29
24–Wilko Johnson Band-Twenty Yards Behind 2:03
25–The Stranglers-Hanging Around 4:16

DOWNLOAD from the front row HERE!