JJ has been invited to appear with ‘Elitarian Undead’ rock band The Mugshots at their 10th anniversary concert in Italy on 25th June. The gig takes place at Vinile 45 in Brescia and JJ is expected to guest on a few tracks. The band’s website can be found here and the venue Myspace page here. Further details as we get them…
Update- JJ is now unable to appear with the Mugshots on Saturday but Baz has stepped in in his place.
New gig for Northern Ireland
The Stranglers are confirmed to appear at the Feile An Phobail festival in West Belfast on Saturday 6th August. It is the band’s first date in Northern Ireland since late 2008. More details and ticket info will be available on the festival website which is not yet updated.
Stranglers featured in new punk book
During 1976, an unsigned act in an ice cream van visited a small village called Jacksdale in Nottinghamshire. The town was home to the ‘Grey Topper’, a venue which played host to many up and coming bands during the 70s including The Stranglers.
The long defunct venue is the focus of a new book called The Palace and The Punks which features interviews with many of the bands that appeared there. Jet was very interested in the project and was interviewed for the book. Further details can be found here.
Martin Rushent (1948-2011)
We have just received the sad news that another early band collaborator, Martin Rushent, passed away yesterday aged 63. He started as a studio engineer in the early 70s and then moved on to production, mostly working at TW studios in Fulham, London. He worked closely with The Stranglers for a couple of years following their signing to UA in December ’76.
Martin produced the band’s first three albums Rattus Norvegicus, No More Heroes and Black and White as well as the string of singles. They parted ways during the recording of The Raven and he went on to set up his own studio Genetic. He worked with many other bands, notably the Buzzcocks, Generation X and the Human League. RIP