100 Club (50 Years of Punk September 2026) - TV Smith And The Bored Teenagers and John McKay's Reactor

Inevitably this year will see many events marking punk rock's half century. Not an inconsequential place in this spittle flecked history is the 100 Club in London's Oxford Street (still one of the greatest rock 'n' roll venues anywhere!). Hosts to the famous/infamous Punk Rock Festival over what would have been two quiet weekday nights on 20th and 21st September 1976, the event brought together the main protagonists in what was to become the greatest youth culture to emerge in the UK (my opinion of course). Later, egos and controversies (real or manufactured) would drive wedges between many of the bands that appeared at the festival.

I was not there in 1976 as I was just 7 at the time! The best that I could do was to make an appearance at the 2nd 100 Club Punk Festival and Buzzcocks on the second night.

Over the years I have seen Sex Pistols, The Damned, Buzzcocks, Chris Spedding, The Vibrators and Siouxsie & The Banshees. I never got to see The Clash (Joe Strummer, Big Audio Dynamite and if memory serves Havana 3am was the closest I got). And I missed the opportunity to see Subway Sect who played on the 1st night of the 2nd festival (along with ATV).

To mark the the 50th anniversary of the original festival, the 100 Club are hosting a number of punk luminaries on 18th and 19th September. I opted for TV Smith and the Bored Teenagers and John McKay's Reactor over X Generation X and Stinky Toys. Whilst seeing Stinky Toys would be interesting given the fact that they played the original event, not having played in the UK since 1977 may be against them (maybe they have been more active in France). Actually I don't think that I have heard anything by them.

This seems to present a good excuse to post some TV Smith and John McKay material.

It was back in 2007 that TV Smith at long last reconciled with his Adverts past and backed by The Bored Teenagers started playing that band's material again for the first time since they dissolved in 1979. Since that time he has continued to thrill audiences with high energy Adverts sets such as this one from Rebellion in 2022 when he and the band played a set of exclusively Adverts songs.

The Adverts didn't play at the first 100 Club Festival, their live debut occurred some months later on 15th January 1977 when they supported Generation X at The Roxy, but Tim and Gaye were in attendance at the 100 Club for the fun.

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-GsJfVOcqXnNM7f5r

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-aAWxMTZF4Ev5k23d

The Banshees line up that played the 100 Club Festival was intentionally a one-off, Sioux doing vocal duties, Severin on bass, Marco Pirroni on guitar with Sid Vicious doing something with the drums. Later the line up settled with Sioux and Severin joined by Kenny Morris on drums and John McKay on guitar. Before John McGeogh, McKay's guitar work is widely recognised as defining the sound of the early Banshees. This line up went on to record the debut album 'The Scream' and the follow up 'Join Hands'. However, the relationships within the band were fractious and McKay and Morris famously departed from the band on the day of release of 'Join Hands', just hours before the band were due on stage at Aberdeen's Capitol Theatre.

In the last year or so John McKay has re-emerged with his Reactor band performing a mix of early Banshees songs with original material. Thanks to Malcolm for this one!

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-43MKhqOBqd3ZTLUT

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-GehOKqbkRgH5RxY0

Remembering Dave Greenfield 3rd May 2026 With 'Fire And Water'

 

Was it really six years ago that Mo charged through our back door to convey the news on that sunny lockdown afternoon that Dave had died?! Well yes it was.

I said it on here at the time that whilst it is said  that the whole is bigger than the part... the part that Dave's extraordinary musical virtuosity brought to the Stranglers' sound was immense. In that sense whilst it is undoubtedly the case, and most certainly in the early years, that that the four members of the band each contributed uniquely to that 'sound', it was Dave's keyboard handiwork that provided the wax seal to the whole and that confirmed that you were indeed listening to The Stranglers.

Working with JJ in 1983 he was responsible for the soundtrack of the French art film 'Ecoutez Vos Murs' entitled 'Fire & Water'. In terms of audio material, I have posted all that I have, but here is a link once again to the brilliant Rat Zone produced collection of outtakes (here) and please note that if you search the site for Dave there are another couple of posts that relate to this most quirky of albums.

What I have not posted before is some of the press reaction to the album and the accompanying single, 'Rain & Dole & Tea'... 'Non!' sums up the collective view of the music press. Then again by 1983 the band were yesterday's news in the eyes of most music journalists.

Smash Hits (8th December 1983)

New Musical Express (17th December 1983)

Dave as the 'missing link between Gary Numan and Vangelis' !!!???

Record Mirror (7th January 1984)

Sadly, the single 'Rain & Dole & Tea' faired no better in the hands of the critics (Marc Almond).

Record Mirror (25th February 1984)

Yet Another Stranglers Linoprint!

 

Jean Jacques Burnel (The Stranglers)

20cm x 40 cm lino print

Black ink on ivory card.

The sewing machine thunders downstairs into the wee hours of the morning, as Gunta enters her final university week in a billowing mass of black cotton and calico. For my part I am keeping a low profile, offering occasional words of encouragement, food and drink to the best of my ability and doing the odd bit of modelling! To this end linocutting/printing is pretty unobtrusive whilst keeping me on the spot in case emergency biscuits are required to be fetched.

So here is JJ Burnel up on one leg in what... 1983? Thanks to Mick A for the image.

It was a great image from which to do a linoprint. Despite the fact that the facial features are reduced down to part of his nose and his cheek, the rest being lost in shadow, there is no room for doubt as to who the subject is. I would go so far to say that even when featureless you know that expression on his face behind the shadow!

999 - Molly's Chambers in Birkenhead this Friday!

 

A quick plug for 999 who will be playing at Molly's Chambers in Birkenhead this Friday!

Panic Shack Zeche Carl Essen 16th April 2026

 

Friday morning and my phone pinged informing me that I had another addition to my email inbox. So much of what I get is junk of a promotional nature, daily notifications of gigs from a multitude of promotors and/or ticket agents. Approximately one in ten though is of interest and this one was. Sent by Peter,  Aural Sculptors' Rhineland correspondent, this was a gig, a very recent gig in fact.

I duly downloaded the file at the end of the working day and gave it a listen. Last Thursday Panic Shack played a gig in Essen as part of a short German tour and this was I was now listening to. Now, Panic Shack are an entirely new name to me. I decided to listen to the full show before looking then up to find out a bit more of what they are about.

My first impressions were very positive. Panic Shack make a good noise. It is good original material in a punk vein. Their songs address a number of feminist issues in an irreverent way, their lyrics are direct and delivered with attitude and humour in equal measure. The track 'Gok Wan'* challenges the physical 'ideal' that TV and and style/fashion magazines would have young women strive for.

 

'Gok Wan' Panic Shack

Later With Jools Holland

November 2025

'I squat for two hours a day

Not enough to keep the red ring of shame away

If my stomach is flat and my ass is perky

Maybe I can get everybody to like me

Fingers for dinner, starving yourself

Trinny and Susannah stacked on the shelf

Vertical stripes and skipping meals

Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.'

Another track pockets bemoans the absence of pockets in clothing designed for women. This presumably being intended not to ruin the line of the garment.. but it does mean that the wearer end up carrying a bag.

When the music slows, the band move into a post-punk territory. One reviewer mentioned a hint of the Young, Marble Giants, which I can kind of pick up with a song like 'We Need To Talk About Dennis'.

At this point I did look them up and discovered they are a five piece that formed in Cardiff back in 2018. Their debut album, also called 'Panic Shack' was released last year following on from a handful of singles. It doesn't take long to go through their entire output and having done so I was left with the impression of a modern Slits. No bad thing at all and that band's influence was confirmed in a short interview that I read online. When asked if their could play any gig with anyone they answered that they would go back to 1977 to play with The Clash and The Slits.

In an environment of increasing toxic masculinity and incels, the world can do with more bands like Panic Shack.

* Gok Wan is a British TV presenter and fashion consultant who hosted a popular TV series in the UK called 'How To Look Good Naked'.

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-QK1jQbfZZD2pEsPG

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-zvHa6nnR5YxtroUP

Thanks again to Peter for the share and to David Devant for photo of the band at the Zeche Carl in Esssen used for the front cover.

Vlad The Oligarch - The Saga Continues

 

Once again (and rather unexpectantly) a door has been opened to allow another peak into the world of Vladimir, a well known peripatetic Man of the Soviet, not to mention long standing comrade of The Stranglers. It is now 43 years since we were first introduced to Vlad in Odessa, then an upstanding product of the Communist state. Quite literally we have followed his mixed fortunes in real time. Now in his autumn years he is returning to the East as a wronged oligarch. In this, the seventh part of this chronicle, our man ties himself to the fortunes of the mighty Hamilton Academicals!

Good to have you back Vlad!

The appearance of this track got me thinking. Whilst the six preceding adventures of Vladimir have seen an official release on the Epic compilation, 'Here & There: The Epic B-Sides Collection 1983-1991', wouldn't it be something to see the 'Chronicles of Vladimir' released on vinyl.... a future Record Store Day release perhaps....10" coloured vinyl. What do you say? 

The Damned BBC 6 Music Session 26th January 2026

 

So, keeping on a theme of '60s cover versions here is a BBC 6 Music radio session that The Damned did for the Marc Reilly and Gideon Coe show in Salford last month enroute to their 'covers' gig at the Albert Hall in Manchester. I have said it on these pages before that I love a radio session. They are a snapshot of where a band is at at a given moment and the songs, as live performances, are the perfect partners to their studio counterparts. Moreover, it is often the case, for both bands and fans alike, for session versions be be superior to their studio versions... being more spontaneous, edgy, quirky, whatever.

The interviews, whilst interesting, do not offer anything of note that any  moderate fan of the band would not already know (apart perhaps for the influence of Mrs Mills over the band!). The four songs featured all appear on 'Not Like Everybody Else' and they sound good here. I always have a bit of an issue with 'Summer In The City' as I have yet to hear a version that comes anywhere close to the Lovin' Spoonful original. That said, The Damned's version  is streets ahead of The Stranglers version, but then again even Tik and Tok's version betters that one (go on look them up).

WAV: https://we.tl/t-1wAUVbp2oH

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-PxaUs6bYwo

Punk In The Park 2026 Cancelled!!

 

As I was writing the last post, this update popped up. Punk In The Park 2026 has been cancelled. 

Good to know that there are still some consequences for those who choose to sup with the Devil!

Another Request for Stranglers Gigs

OK, here's the situation. Aural Sculptors had been up and running since 2011 when it was set up as a site (mostly) given over to the music and articles about The Stranglers, members past and present and numerous side projects associated with the band. To date, I have mostly been able to stick to this plan. In the last 15 years to MIB post tally has been:

The Stranglers: 927

Hugh Cornwell: 105

JJ Burnel/Dave Greenfield: 42

Purple Helmets: 11

Most of those posts have included audio (or video) content. However, the bottom of the barrel is coming ever nearer... in terms of volume, not quality!

Up until the early Mark IV period I had enough material to be in a position to trade but that has not been the case for quite a while now. Take a look at the listings of what I have (here) (also accessible from the right hand sidebar)

and the gaps are evident. The years of 1991 to 2005 are poorly represented as a walked away from the band only to come back in 2006. 

Ultimately I would like to keep the emphasis of the site on The Stranglers but this is no longer possible without some help from visitors to the site. Therefore, if you have live material from the band that is not included in my list and you are able/willing to share for upload to the site do please let me know. The preference would be for any contributions to be in lossless format.

Thanks as always to all those who have contributed with comments to and material for the site. Mentions in dispatches are due to Chatts, Peter in Germany, DomP and Malcolm.

Have a good weekend all.

Adrian.

Au Pairs Grenswerk Venlo The Netherlands 7th February 2026

 

I'll be the first to admit, my knowledge of the Au Pairs is limited, no make that very limited. The only Au Pairs track that I own is 'Come Again' as it appeared on the 'Urgh A Music War' compilation. I do know that they were part of a UK scene that after punk gave music a political injection... along with the likes of Gang of Four. Well, now they are back (or at least a version of the Au Pairs, lead by Leslie Woods) and they sound pretty good, especially so in this excellent recording of the band's gig last week in Venlo (thanks Peter for the share!).

Whilst the rights row continues to rage between Woods and the other original members of the band, she has drawn a collection of musicians around her who do credit to the music.

The Au Pairs have recently completed dates with The Skids and are playing headline dates in the UK in the Spring.

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-vzqZj6pUGU

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-2Vpd6KUrAa

 

Newtown Neurotics 12" E.P. With Safety Pin Magazine Issue 29

 

It is a standing joke in our house. As soon as the postman is spotted in the street I am on high alert. Should they come anywhere close to our door I am like a terrier without the bark! I have always loved receiving post but don't seem to get a great through the door these days (not even bills in this paperless age!).

Occasionally, something arrives bearing my name. Today was one such day, when this gem was delivered. Issue 29 of 'Safety Pin' magazine, for which the draw was the Newtown Neurotics and specifically  a four track 12" E.P. of material recorded during the sessions that resulted in the 'Cognitive Dissidents' album. This is not a soon to be dented flexi, or even a 7", but a brilliantly packaged, heavy weight 12" vinyl record complete with lyric sheet!

Now to locate the turntable (last seen peeking through a pile of calico works-in-progress, the handiwork of a 3rd year fashion student.... sorry Gunta!)

Available here.

The Damned Albert Hall Manchester 28th January 2026

 

Here are The Damned playing their much talked about 'covers only' gig at Manchester's Albert Hall. Many thanks to rbose1 for the Dime upload. In the event it the set didn't honour the gig tag of 'Not A Single Damned Song' as three slipped the net on the night. Not my place of course to write the set list, but given the chance to bring the gig back in line with the claim I would have brought in 'Help' for '1 Of The 2' or 'Feel The Pain' and 'Citadel' in for 'Disco Man'.

I am not sure what to make of the album. I feel that several of the covers are so faithful to the original that they bring nothing new to the songs which for me has always been the benchmark for a worthy cover version.... to be sure with 'Eloise' they made the song their own (with Barry Ryan even stating that theirs was his preferred version!). A song like 'See Emily Play' whilst a great song and indeed a song with which The Damned have had a long association doesn't move on from Pink Floyd's original. In terms of homage to 1960's psychedelia, Naz's 'Give Daddy The Knife Cindy' is a superior offering in my opinion.

Fair play, the album and dates are a tribute to their founder and friend Brian, but I get the feeling that this album in comparison with most of the band's other studio albums will not get too much turntable time, interesting project though it may be.

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-8Ioj1e0Gbm

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-GcL9i4UUAY

Dave's Massive Swelling Organ Rises Again! (Repair Shop BBC1 4th February 2026)

 

It's a television phenomenon that has been known to make the nation weep as Joe Public's much loved, battered but cherished heirlooms and keepsakes are restored to their former glories. Last night's episode may have got a few bald ex-punks reaching out for the tissue box as our own Toby Hounsham squeezed some very familiar notes out of Dave's scarred Hohner Cembalet keyboard. This was made possible after some extraordinary repair and renovation by the 'Repair Shop' team. There is something quite wonderful about musical instruments that have clearly done the rounds (Gary Numan's Les Paul or Segs's Fender Precision come to mind) and Dave's Hohner certainly did that. The wooden surround is scratched and scarred from endless night's of being man-handled on and off stage and up and down countless flights of stairs! The damage is just part of its story.

As part of the laborious restoration process, David Burville scraped crud off of the organ reeds, the residues of smoke and sweat deposited over a 1000 nights (maybe a few less!) in the dingy basements and backrooms of London's many clubs and pubs.

The story of this instruments journey from neglected dilapidation in a Bristol rehearsal room to primetime TV salvation is touchingly related by Owen, who I am sure won't mind me reproducing his words here.

Over to him:

'Early in March 2020, I was involved in an exchange of emails with a guy that was emptying a rehearsal room/studio in the Bristol area. He had worked with ex Stranglers’ roadie Bruce Gooding and had found one of Dave Greenfield’s old keyboards, a Hohner Cembalet, which was sadly no longer working. 

He attached photos and I recognised it immediately, especially with the large white STRANGLERS stencil on the back. He wondered if Dave wanted it back and I sent an email to the Greenfields to pass on the message. 

I wasn’t aware then but Dave was poorly in hospital at that time. Dave’s wife Pam kindly sent me a reply saying ‘Dave wants you to have it’. So I drove to South Wales to pick up the piece of band history from the guy in late March. The Cembalet remained at our house until autumn 2022. 

During a chat with Toby Hounsham, the new keyboard player in the band, in Cologne, he revealed that he used to collect the models of keyboards that Dave owned & played. Only one type of keyboard had always eluded him, you’ve guessed it, the Cembalet. 

I had always felt guilty (& unworthy) of owning such a historical artefact and I immediately brought up pictures of the keyboard on my phone & showed Toby. He was amazed & asked who owned it, without a second’s hesitation, I replied ‘I do but you do now…’

On our return from the European tour, I delivered the Cembalet to Toby in Nov 2022. He was absolutely blown away & also very emotional that he now owned a keyboard that belonged to his hero. 

He set about trying to get the keyboard repaired but every enquiry, frustratingly, drew a blank. It was such an old keyboard that few craftsmen were even able to work on it & parts for it were impossible to source.

Fast forward a year or so, it was suggested that the BBC programme The Repair Shop may be an option, where the show’s experts restore family heirlooms & valued items. 

TRS was contacted and agreed to try to repair the Cembalet. Toby dropped it off to the TV studios last summer & then collected the newly repaired keyboard around the time of the Roundhouse shows last autumn. 

So, after a long wait, the programme finally screens on BBC1 tomorrow night (Wed 4th Feb) at 8pm. 

As a fan, it was a real privilege to be the short-term keeper of such a special item in band history and to be able to pass it on to its new rightful owner, the person who keeps Dave’s legacy alive. 

I’ll be glued to the TV tomorrow night and, even if the BBC edit my involvement in the story out (as the Mirror piece did), I’ll still be immensely proud of my part in it…'

DVD image: https://we.tl/t-Y5g8Y3LiDV

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-mrSuSuA3nI

Tom Robinson and Adam Phillips Victoria Hall Theatre Old Harlow Essex 24th January 2026

 

3rd gig of the year and the great thing was that this one was pretty much on the doorstep. Having raved about a TRB gig last year I looked forward to this one very keenly, Tom acoustic with his TRB sidekick Adam Phillips. Old Harlow doesn't feature prominently in gig listings so the Victoria Hall Theatre was completely new to me, despite my having worked in Harlow for 23 of the last 31 years.

Tom explained that the night's set had been hastily rearranged on account of him removing the top of a finger in the course of preparing vegetables. The required five stitches put paid to the possibility of him playing guitar on this 10 date tour, thus a keyboard was swiftly brought in and the set reconsidered around his temporary digital limitations.

From my perspective this was no bad thing. Never having seen one of his acoustic shows, much of the set would be new to me either way. This was also something of a TRB light show. In the spirit of Tom's 'Introducing' section of his radio show, his TRB rhythm guitarist, Lee Forsyth Griffiths, opened with a handful of his own material. Then, 5 minutes later Tom himself ushered all out of the bar area as he was due to come on.

Opening with '(What If We Live To Be) Fifty' from his 1994 album 'Love Over Rage' it was lyrically reworked by Tom, now 75, to '(What If We Live To Be) Eighty', it was followed by 'Cold Cold Ground', a powerful piece addressing homelessness. Whether electric or acoustic, Tom Robinson's stance on injustice and inequality is consistent and unwavering a quality that for me at least makes him and TRB so important in such intolerant times. That is not to say that his shows are in any way maudlin or sermonising. Tom has an easy, self-depreciating style that frames the songs in the set with both humour and meaning.

Of course the hits were present and correct from '2-4-6-8 Motorway' to 'War Baby'. When it came to the audience participation singalong of 'Glad To Be Gay' Tom let on that sometimes he told reluctant elements in the audience that 'to sing along to 'Glad To Be Gay' you don't actually have to be... glad! 'Up Against The Wall' (with ukulele accompaniment.... I know, but it worked!) and 'Days That Changed The World', a reflective song looking back on the tumultuous days of punk, brought a great evening to an end.

On RAR Carnival in Victoria Park ('Days That Changed The World') :

'When Ziggy* got his big idea

And Slowhand** showed his cards

We rallied to the carnival

And partied in the parks

Fat Martin*** and his bullyboys

From marching were deterred

When black and white united in

The days that changed the world'.

* David Bowie appeared to give a Nazi salute upon his arrival at Victoria Station after his self-imposed Berlin exile (May 1976).

** Eric Clapton delivered an expletive laden racist rant on the stage of the Birmingham Odeon (August 1976) that resulted in the formation of Rock Against Racism.

*** Martin Webster - a National Front leader at the time of the Victoria Park rally.

Tom Robinson... man of the people!

Subhumans Con Club Lewes East Sussex 11th January 2026

 

I still find it strange that one of the best venues (at least judging from the gigs hosted in the last few years - I have yet to get back down there for a gig) in Sussex is located two doors down from the school that I went to between 1980 and 1987. Gigs didn't happen in Lewes back then... of any genre (maybe a bit of folk in a couple of the pubs) and certainly not anarch0 punk! For a few months I had bass lessons from a music tutor who worked out of one of the rooms above the Con Club hall. Back in 1985 I had the Subhumans logo on one or two of my exercise books. This would have been about the time of 'Worlds Apart. Missed them at The Richmond then and didn't get to see them until they reformed (very briefly) in 1991 and played at the Venue in New Cross.

One of the great bands to come out of that scene. Everything that Dick Lucas has turned his hand to since the early '80s has been great... Subhumans, Culture Shock and Citizen Fish.

Ruts DC, Misty In Roots, Cimarons Electric Ballroom Camden 4th April 2026 RAR 50th!

 

I do not supposed that the reggae repulsed, gentleman in the Gents at The Garage last week (see previous Ruts DC post) will be shelling out on this gig to mark the 50th Anniversary of 'Rock Against Racism' taking place at the Electric Ballroom in Camden on 5th April 2026.