Not a live gig from the tour that promoted the release of the 'Heaven & The Sea' album, but the demos instead! Nice sounding tracks, some of them made the grade and formed part of the album. Thanks to Jim for sharing the files.
FLAC: https://we.tl/t-NonSjSUMR6
Artwork: https://we.tl/t-QVzP9YeupE
Tonight will be the first gig for me for 2025. 999 closing the annual 100 Club Resolution Festival. I would have done more nights were it not for the fact that Gunta and I were in Istanbul in the middle of it. Actually, it was my intention to see TV Smith on Thursday (the opening night), trouble was I remembered on Friday! Is that an age thing or a symptom of a cluttered mind?
Here's another DVD compilation pulled out from the obscurity of the box of unloved/unfiled discs. A mix of Mk I and II here. Highlights are reasonable quality (i.e. transfers from contemporary VHS recordings rather than pristine digital repeats) appearances on the Kids TV programme No.73 ('Let Me Down Easy'/'Uptown') and Cheggars Plays Pop with the band appearing with 'Nice In Nice'. Nice to see Supergran giving it some in the former clip!
DVD disc image: https://we.tl/t-rzemr1YEkP
Artwork: https://we.tl/t-yhTZYJbTIQ
More of the kind of stuff that was added to bootlegs to fill up unused space on expensive tapes back when the cassette was king. This is a very short collection (running in at 16 minutes) and worth a listen. The '77 Piccadilly Radio interview in Manchester with JJ runs fast, that is unless the station heads were in the habit of pumping helium into their studios!
FLAC: https://we.tl/t-Dbl8vJP8KR
Artwork: https://we.tl/t-B7s65uIzI1
I have been spending a considerable time in these last two weeks sorting through boxes of unlabelled discs. Among them were various versions of the five night stand that The Stranglers turned in at London's Dominion Theatre. One of these (actually on my hard drive) appeared to be a DomP remaster of the gig that they played on 27th February, night three of their residency. The trouble was that I only had this in an mp3 format, but the sound was good. So, I went back to the source and very quickly indeed Dom came back to me with a request to hold off on posting for a bit as the pitch of the recording could be further improved. Just hours later a new lossless version appeared which is now uploaded here for your listening pleasure.
Whilst an excellent quality version of one of these gigs (26th February from memory) exists as a BBC 'In Concert' broadcast, in my opinion, this version must be considered to be the definitive record of the UK leg of the Aural Sculpture tour.
Don't worry so much about the two extra tracks. These are from Birmingham, either 22nd or 23rd February 1985 (its hard to tell due to teh way my recordings of these two gigs have been edited).
Many thanks to DomP for accommodating my request so quickly and for refining what is a highly listenable recording of the mid-career period.
FLAC: https://we.tl/t-BN9tmQq8T8
Artwork: https://we.tl/t-sm5oaizhfS
Perhaps the most important punk bands to emerge from the United States, the Dead Kennedys. Of course, liveall eyes were focused on Jello Biafra, a whirling dervish of a front man! But it was the rhythm section of bassist, Klaus Fluoride, and drummer D.H. Peligro, that provided the phenominal power that drove the band and pushed their audiences (in the US at least) into overdrive... I was never much a fan of stage diving and am quite glad that it never took off (no pun intended) to any great degree here in the UK.
The band's sound evolved over the years that they were recording, from hardcore '(In God We Trust', 'Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables') to more melodic ('Plastic Surgery Distasters', 'Frankenchrist' and finally 'Bedtime For Democracy'). Whichever way the band went musically, a great surf sensibilitiy underpined the Dead Kennedy's musical output. Naturally, many West Coast punk bands drew influence from the local bands of the 1960s, but nobody nailed the surf sound in the way that guitarist East Bay Ray did.
D.H, died a couple of years ago now of head injuries sustained in a pool. I saw the Kennedys a few times (never with Jello though) and I always took inpiration when D.H. introducted and took the band into the classic 'Nazi Punks Fuck Off'.
Please note that this recording has 15 tracks where as the artwork reflects 16. This is because 'USA For South Africa' and 'Bleed For Me' form one track in the recording.
FLAC: https://we.tl/t-HAYvFZB6Qf
Artwork: https://we.tl/t-9dRwJ7umfn
This is a band that through a mate were on my radar in the mid-1980's. The March Violets in the '83-'85 period were pretty active as a live band and my mate regularly saw them in London and a couple of times in Brighton. I'm not sure which he was more into, the band or vocalist Cleo Murray... he was certainly smitten with her, that I do recall. Stupidly, I never took him up on the offer to go along with him and see them.
The March Violets formed in Leeds in 1981 and released their first two singles on Andrew Eldrich's, a fellow student at Leeds University, label Merciful Release. The original line up of the band consited of Tom Ashton (Guitar), Laurence Elliot (Bass) and Simon Denbigh (Vocals)and Rosie Garland (Vocals). The vocals were suplemented with the addition of Cleo Murray. In short time, Rosie Garland stepped back leaving Cleo as the sole female vocalist for the remainder of the band's first incarnation. The band initially split in 1987.
Over the last 17 years, the band have reformed with various line ups. In 2024 they have been particularly active with a line up with original members Rosie Garland and Tom Ashton. A recent London apperance would have been my first chance to see them, but just days before I landed myself in Harlow Hospital. Next time!
Thanks to the original uploader for this one.
FLAC: https://we.tl/t-jLEhvz8kbA
Artwork: https://we.tl/t-dZSa2cRGnC
Here's a review of the band's gig at the Escape Club in Brighton that appeared in the 22nd March 1986 issue of Record Mirror. This would have been one of the gigs I declined!
I have repeatedly sung the praises of the brilliant 'Rat Zone' remasters of all of the vinyl bootleg material that has been in circulation through the late '70's and '80's. They were undoubtedly a labour of love. It would be wonderful someday to see some more Rat Zone treatments of some other high quality recordings.
Here is one from the late 1980's that featured a mish mash of 'Aural Sculpture' and 'Dreamtime' demos. More importantly it threw up 'The Beast' and 'You'. It is uploded on the site elsewhere. That version is my own copy (picked up new at a Record Fair for £5 if memory serves me well).
WAV: https://we.tl/t-0xxhHkN08W
Across their new 50 year career The Damned have been associated with some acts more closely than others, especially so when it comes to playing live. Seemingly something clicked every couple of years that drew such a clutch of outsiders to other like minded bands. First there was the Adverts in 1977, then came The Ruts in '79. A couple of years later and the Anti-Nowhere League entered the scene with a flurry of expletives and biker gang attitude. The mid-80's saw an unexpected flush of success for The Damned as the band raided Beau Brummel's wardrobe and delivered some big chart friendly ballads (brilliant they are too!). With this new direction came another kind of support in the form of Dr & The Medics. They were a perfect fit, an outlandish six piece pulled from the imagination of Lewis Carroll.
I first became aware of them through a mate who started seeing their gigs in Brighton and London. They then appeared on the telly, playing live on the Whistle Test in late 1985 playing 'The Miracle Of The Age' and 'No One Love's You When You've Got No Shoes'.
Sadly, I only got to see them once in the '80's when they played with The Damned at their 10th Anniversary Tea Party in Finsbury.
This year, The Damned are renewing this partnership with the Medics (not to forget The Fuzztones too) on their December tour.
So, here from 1985, here is a set from the Doctor and Co. from when they played an anti-heroin benefit at the Crystal Palace Bowl.
FLAC: https://we.tl/t-qF76thPBiH
Artwork: https://we.tl/t-AvfSEGZ3vv
Talk about missing the boat. Here's a band that I have been getting into recently, albeit 40 odd years after the boat has sailed. I did see them once, supporting The Stranglers, but to my regret I didn't pay them a great deal of attention. It was singer Anja Huwe's recent solo album, 'Codes' that gave me reason to go band and start listening to Xmal Deutschland.
Keeping up a bit of momentum over the Easter weekend, here is an anniversary gig from the German leg of the Aural Sculpture tour. Thanks to the original Dime uploader (Stacheleber) for this version, a nice sounding audience recording and an upgrade to what I had previously. The accompanying info file also clears up a date anomaly for this gig that appears on many lists as having occurred in Mannheim, but as the taper asserts from being there, on the night of 1st April, the band were in Ludwigshafen.
The artwork reflects a split between 'European Female' and 'Golden Brown'.
Another anniversary gig from the Aural Sculpture marathon some 39 years ago. Hugh on great form on this good sounding recording. Elements of the crowd get the traditional (for the time) barracking for persisting with the spitting, whilst Hugh pulls of fthe worst Scottish accent ever for 'Nubiles'... 'Let me cover your tits with porridge'!
FLAC: https://we.tl/t-GN54tgETr2
Artwork: https://we.tl/t-DS0pgeIJw6
This could not be more apt. The Pogues touring 'Rum, Sodomy & The Lash' on this very day 38 years ago. Today also happens to be Shane's funneral. The band's second album was in my opinion their masterpiece, albeit one of a trio of peerless albums, the first three from the band. I used to have this on tape, but mislaid it some years ago. Thanks to musicfan1 for the Dime uploaded replacement!
Some weeks ago I put a list of bands that I intended to post as part of a 'Too Fast To Live Too Young To Die' themed thread. The Pogues were on that list as Phil Chevron was lost to cancer some years ago. Now Shane is gone too. Bad days.
FLAC: https://we.tl/t-6qGw1i6Ii0
Artwork: https://we.tl/t-WUjyoLgoHZ
01. Intro
On it's birthday from 38 years ago no less here is a great sounding recording of Aural Sculpture in Paris. The recording suffers from tape flip breaks, but such was life in that pre-digital age! The set is also short of encore material but that not withstanding this sounds wonderful! Sound corrected too.
FLAC: https://we.tl/t-ZaWxocQXAD
Artwork: https://we.tl/t-hknrnpt6W2
Ok, away from 2 Tone for a moment. Here is an anniversary gig from, would you believe it, 38 years ago! Aural Sculpture in Italy, where they do know a little bit about sculpture.
FLAC: https://we.tl/t-9EFqGRT8cA
Artwork: https://we.tl/t-vdSYYZkeSe
And another one to fill in some of the 'Aural Sculpture' tour gaps.
FLAC: https://we.tl/t-VTETIfJt2v
Artwork: https://we.tl/t-QX2SeZE8ep
01. Something Better Change
Here's a pretty famed Banshee's gig performed on the hallowed ground of St James's Church in London's Picadilly. The gig was a benefit for Pete Townsend's anti-heroin, set up at a time when heroin was a huge problem in UK cities.
This period of the Banshees never really did it for me, give me the early material or the later stuff... but each to their own.
FLAC: https://we.tl/t-lGv0tubflb
Artwork: https://we.tl/t-ud0JjJLvO9
