A DAY OFF...

No posts today, though I'm busy uploading more material ready to be posted soon. Some great stuff lined up so watch this space.

Finally managed to get Rapidshare working the way I like it too, so that's a bonus. (If anyone is still having problems, upload via the home page, then transfer the completed file to your Premiun Account via the link, using your user ID & password. Still can't upload via the new uploader though ??)

Thanks to everyone for the ongoing support & please keep the comments, feedback & files / cd's coming !

See you in July (ie tomorrow !!), Skamanc.

THE STRANGLERS : Birmingham Odeon 23/2/85

Back to The Stranglers with the Birmingham leg of the Aural Sculpture tour, 23/2/85.

Thanks to Damon for sending this file.

SKA CRAZY (RETURN OF THE UGLY)

Thanks to Steve of Old Colwyn for this reasonable Ska compilation. Download, enjoy & don't forget to leave a comment or two.

THE STRANGLERS : Poole 30/1/83

Thanks again to Damon for this cracker - top quality sounding recording of a gig from Poole Arts Centre, 30/1/83, from the Feline tour.
More Stranglers on the way...

THE STRANGLERS : Rockpalast, 1983

I was lucky enough to receive a dvd of files this week, following recent appeals for new material for the blog. (Big thanks to Damon !!). Some were duplicates, though the disc included some great Stranglers gigs, of which this is the 2nd to be posted... Courtesy of Rockpalast (Germany), here's an excellent Stranglers "Feline" era show. Enjoy & please leave a comment...

Don't forget that new material is always most welcome : sharecodes, discs or even cassettes !! Feel free to e-mail me regarding this.

Download here...

THE R&B SCENE - Various Artists (60s UK R&B artists).

Thanks to my old mucker Steve of Colwyn Bay for this material. An interesting compilation of early-mid 60s British R&B from the Decca label offshoot Deram.. Some well known or later to be famous names & sidemen, with others completely forgotten or obscure.  Download & leave a comment or two for Steve...

THE STRANGLERS : France 15/6/80

Here's The Stranglers captured live, 15/6/80 in Parc Departemental, Le Corneuve, France. Thanks to Damon for sharing this material - I'd not been aware of this bootleg before. As always, thanks also to all the original bootleggers & bloggers !!

THE JAM : The Rainbow 1979

More live Jam, this time from The Rainbow, 4/12/79. Excellent sound quality, courtesy of the BBC (almost worth paying your licence fee !!). More from Weller & co to follow soon...


On the way... more Jam as promised plus some new Stranglers material (Aural Sculpture & Feline era gigs, plus France 1980).

FRANK SIDEBOTTOM - A Tribute...

Manchester comedian Chris Sievey (the alter ego of cult figure Frank Sidebottom) died yesterday at his home in Hale, Cheshire. The 54 year old had recently had an operation to remove a tumour from his chest and was undergong chemotherapy.

He posted "I'm still feeling very poorly" on his Twitter account on Sunday.

Mark Radcliffe paid tribute : "Chris was genuinely a genius who was packed with ideas and creativity. Everybody knows him as the bloke with the big head and whiny voice but he was genuinely gifted. He lived life as a kind of elaborate act. If you went on a gig with him the whole day would be like an adventure. He was a major Manchester comedian".

Peter Hook (New Order / Joy Division) said "Manchester has just lost a fantastic character. Chris Sievey was absolutely unique. His comedy was so surreal, and there aren't many people who could pull that off".

THE JAM : BBC Recordings

No real rarities here, though a useful, two disc collection of Jam tracks from the BBC archive, including Peel Sessions & In concert Shows. Essential....

Disc 1

Disc 2

Tracks : Disc (1) In The City, Art School, I've Changed My Address & The Modern World (John Peel 26/4/77). All Around The World, London Girl, Bricks and Mortar & Carnaby Street (John Peel 19/7/77). Billy Hunt, In The Street Today, The Combine, Sounds From The Street, Don't Tell Them You're Sane, The Modern World, A Bomb In Wardour Street, News Of The World, Here Comes The Weekend & All Around The World (In Concert, Paris Theatre, 1/6/78).

Disc (2) Thick As Thieves, The Eton Rifles, Saturday's Kids & When You're Young (John Peel, 29/10/79) Absolute Beginners, Tales From The Riverbank, Funeral Pyre & Sweet Soul Music (Studio B15 Live 25/10/81). The Gift, Down In The Tube Station At Midnight, Ghosts, Absolute Beginners, Tales From The Riverbank, precious, Town Called Malice, In The Crowd, Circus, Pretty Green, Start! & Boy About Town (In Concert, Golders Green Hippodrome, 19/12/81).

Rapidshare

Is it only me or are other bloggers and downloaders encountering problems with Rapidshare recently ?

I am currently unable to upload new material on there, so am running very short of new material to post on this blog.

I am currently trying to upload a file - it appears to be working, though as this is not via my premium membership, this will only be available to the 1st ten visitors who attempt to download it...

I already have over 520 files with them and have paid my premium Account up for a while in advance, so am very reluctant to go to a new provider / file host.

I'd be glad to hear from others regarding this & maybe have some recommendations for a reliable & free / cheap filehost as an alternative. Thanks.

If I can't sort this out then i'll have to pack in the blog, though I'd be really sad to have to do resort to this step.

UPDATE (noon) : their Support page is still out of comission & I've not had a reply to my "help" e-mail. However, I have a link to Rapidshare on my desktop whcih still allows me to use the old upload link & this seems to be working. Fingers crossed as the last thing I want to do is to close the blog.

Update #2 (20.07) : Making some limited progress, ie I'm now able to upload (haphazardly) onto my Premium Account, so sharecodes will be permanent & limitless in terms of download numbers. This process is taking much longer than it should but....

THE JAM : Guildford Civic Hall 9/12/82.

Another date from the Jam's farewell tour, this time from their (well, almost) home turf of Guildford, Surrey on December the 9th 1982. I am always in the market for similar stuff to this - feel free to leave a comment or e-mail me with details if you can help Thanks !

THE JAM : Bingley Hall : 8/12/82

Another Bingley hall gig, this time a more obscure recording, made on December the 8th 1982.

Loads more Jam stuff to follow...

THE JAM : Bingley Hall 31/3/82

Well known (and bootlegged) gig from Stafford's Bingley Hall, 31/3/82. Part of the gig was officially released as a Polygram VHS tape, though an unofficial DVD of the entire gig is widely available.


For Stacks, Dougal & Ally...

THE JAM : Manchester Apollo 7/12/82

On December the 7th 1982 The Jam's Farewell Tour reached Manchester, where they played a storming set at the Apollo. Download, enjoy & leave a comment or two please...More dates from this tour coming soon.

MADNESS : Manchester Apollo 15/12/09

This morning's post is a 2nd Madness gig from the Manchester Apollo, recorded on December the 15th 2009. I will repost a 1982 Jam gig shortly, in keeping with the recent Apollo theme. New files and material are always welcome - feel free to leave a comment or to e-mail me regarding this...

THE STRANGLERS : Tokyo 2/9/79 (Japanese TV audio)

Infamous Stranglers appearance on Japanese TV (2/9/79) that culminated in a riot ! Par for the course really, as our beloved Specials encountered similar audience over-excitement in the Land of the Rising Sun !!

MADNESS : Manchester Apollo (November 7th, 1985)

This is the first of two Madness @ Manchester Apollo posts, spanning almost a quarter of a century. This performance is from November 7th 1985 and will be followed by a 2009 gig from the same venue. Lost count of the gigs I've attended there over the years, though highlights include The Prisoners (supporting The Ramones in 1985 ish),Bob Dylan (circa 1995), and both nights of The Specials (May 2009).

BLACK SLATE : Six Plus One Dub

More great material courtesy of Martin - this time we have "Six Plus One Dub" by Black Slate. As always, thoughts / comments and all other feedback most welcome, either via the c-box or the comments section below the post...

THE STRANGLERS : Berkeley CA, 13/11/80 (FM)

LINK NOW FIXED - DOWNLOAD AVAILABLE... DO NOT MISS THIS ONE !!

Another excellent Stranglers show, this time from Berkeley, California, 13/11/80. FM quality, though reportedly never broadcast. This also has the keyboards unusually high in the mix & is well worth a listen. Thanks to Sparks & Dave Sez.

THE BUREAU : Live Album

Remastered 1981 live set from The Bureau. Essential stuff for Dexy's fans... Another big thanks to Deco of Dublin ...


New uploads (15/10/11) :


https://rapidshare.com/files/273277957/Bureau-Studio.rar

https://rapidshare.com/files/392697564/Bureau_Live.rar

THE STRANGLERS : Hammersmith Odeon 8/2/82 (BBC)

1982 show from Hammersmith Odeon - excellent sound quality, with the added bonus of the source being an unbroadcast BBC In Concert show.

BLACK SLATE : Amigo 12" / Mixed Up Man / Robber Man In Dub

Various Black Slate tracks, collected together, for convenience, on one post. As usual, a big thanks for the files to Martin of Skelmersdale.















Amigo

Mixed Up Man

Robber Man In Dub

THE STRANGLERS : The Ritz, NYC, 21/10/80

Soundboard Stranglers gig from a BBC Transcription disc. Recorded at The Ritz, New York City on October 21st 1980. Quality stuff....