The folks at the official merchandise site have now set up a merchandise mailing list. The intent is to notify subscribers of special offers, etc., on a regular basis. Subscription is free and can be obtained by providing your email address on the merchandise site at: www.stranglers.co.uk.

The official Baz Warne site (www.bazwarne.com) has a new webmaster (Maaike Uijthoven). The site itself has been given an extensive facelift, with a new look and many new features, including e-cards and a chat room. Please go check it out and let Maaike know what you think.

Merchandise from the Pontins Convention is now available on the official merchandise site (www.stranglers.co.uk), including the convention poster, t-shirts and "Live in Poland 2000" and "JJ Burnel Live in London 2000" videos. Also of note is the double CD of "Rock and Roll According to the Meninblack" from Dave Mason. This in-depth documentary significantly updates his earlier (tape) version, with new interviews, detailed contributions from Baz and Paul and three exclusive acoustic tracks.

On the 10th October, Paul and Baz performed a seven song acoustic set for "Now"'s MP3tv. Recordings of this performance can be found at: http://www.now.com/feature.now?fid=2463580&back=n. The setlist is: Chasing Rainbows; Dreams; Can't Seem; Postcard; Fried; Grateful; My Father's Bride.

In December, JJ will be embarking on a tour with Jake Burns (Stiff Little Fingers), Steve Diggle (Buzzcocks) and Pauline Black (Selector), under the title "Three Men and Black". These acoustic shows promise to be a "celebration of the songs and stories they have experienced throughout their influential careers".

The dates for this tour will be as follows (please note that there have been several changes and a couple of additions). As always, these dates are subject to changes beyond the control of the artists or their agents -- please check with the venue before travelling.

Date 1st Dec 2nd Dec 3rd Dec 4th Dec 5th Dec 6th Dec 7th Dec 8th Dec 9th Dec 10th Dec 11th Dec

City Bridgend Milton Keynes Middlesbrough Salford Macclesfield Wrexham Swindon Derby London Winchester Bristol

Venue Recreation Centre Stables Corner House Lowry Theatre Bar Cuba The Central Arts Centre The Victoria Astoria Royal Theatre Fleece 'n' Firkin

Since the convention, we have had a large number of enquiries regarding both the "Live in Poland 2000" video and the official convention video. The Poland video should be available from the official merchandise site (www.stranglers.co.uk) shortly. It looks like the convention video may be pressed-to-order for Christmas: we will notify you of an email address to which to send letters of interest shortly (please do not email us at this time).

Please note that the URL for the SIS Canada/North Winds page has changed to: www.members.home.net/the-maninblack/nwinds.html

By all accounts, the Stranglers Convention was a great success. We would like to thank those of you who attended this event. To those of you we met, it was great putting faces to names and getting a chance to get to know you: we look forward to meeting more of you in the future.

Our post-convention review page is now up and running. It can be found here, via our "Reference Articles" section.

Please note that the phone number for SIS Holland has now changed to: (0031)252521849.

Today marks the release of "The Stranglers 'The Epic Years'" by Sony. This limited edition box set contains all five Epic albums, remastered and with bonus tracks (including the much asked-about b-sides) and new sleeve notes/previously unseen photos. Five limited edition photo prints will also be included. The albums will also be available individually. The track-listings are as follows (with the bonus tracks in green:

FELINE: Midnight Summer Dream; It's a Small World; Ships That Pass in the Night; European Female; Let's Tango in Paris; Paradise; All Roads Lead to Rome; Blue Sister; Never Say Goodbye; Savage Breast; Pawsher; Permission; Midnight Summer Dream/European Female (Live); Vladimir and Olga; Aural Sculpture Manifesto.

AURAL SCULPTURE: Ice Queen; Skin Deep; Let Me Down Easy; No Mercy; North Winds; Uptown; Punch and Judy; Spain; Laughing; Souls; Mad Hatter; Here and There; In One Door; Head on the Line; Achilles Heel; Hot Club (Riot Mix); Place de Victoires; Vladimir and the Beast (part 3); Vladimir Goes to Havana.

DREAMTIME: Always the Sun; Dreamtime; Was it You?; You'll Always Reap What You Sow; Ghost Train; Nice in Nice; Big in America; Shakin' Like a Leaf; Mayan Skies; Too Precious; Since You Went Away; Norman Normal; Dry Day; Hitman; Was it You?; Burnham Beeches.

10: Sweet Smell of Success; Someone Like You; 96 Tears; In This Place; Let's Celebrate; Man of the Earth; Too Many Teardrops; Where I Live; Out of My Mind; Never to Look Back; Instead of This; Poisonality; Motorbike; Something; You; !Viva Vlad!; All Day and All of the Night (Studio Version); Always the Sun (Sunny-Side Up Mix).

ALL LIVE AND ALL OF THE NIGHT: No More Heroes; Was it You?; Down in the Sewer; Always the Sun; Golden Brown; North Winds; European Female; Strange Little Girl; Nice 'n' Sleazy; Toiler on the Sea; Spain; London Lady; Souls; Uptown; Shakin' Like a Leaf; Who Wants the World; Peaches; Straighten Out; Nuclear Device; All Day and All of the Night; Punch and Judy.

Baz has passed on the following solo dates for October 2001. As always, please check with the venue before travelling, as there may be changes beyond the control of Baz or his agents.

Date 5th 6th 12th 13th 14th 19th 20th 21st 27th 28th 31st

City Blyth Hexham Belford, Northumberland Butterknowle, Co Durham Amble, Northumberland Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland Perth, Perthshire, Scotland Berwick upon Tweed Hetton Le Hole South Shields Hebburn

Venue The Royal Tavern The Railway Inn The Salmon The Stags Head The Wellwood Arms The Path Tavern The Twa Tams The Meadow House The Caroline The Breeze Bar Cafe The Tavern

Due to a huge demand, the August 11th broadcast of the Stranglers documentary has now been posted by the BBC at: www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/inside/feat_stranglers.shtml

The winners of the competition which the BBC ran in conjunction with the documentary will be posted on the BBC site shortly.

The planned "Heatwave Festival", that was to happen on 28th August in Tel Aviv, Israel, has been cancelled by the promoter. The Stranglers regret that this is unfortunately out of their control and apologise for any inconvenience this has caused.

Armoury Records (a division of Eagle Rock) recently released a compilation of more contemporary material, titled "The Stranglers" (catalogue number: ARMCD053).

The track listing for this CD is:

Money; Golden Brown (Live); Still Life; Paradise Row; No More Heroes (Live); Lies and Deception; God is Good; And the Boat Sails by; The Light; Joy De Viva; In a While; Miss You; In the End; Blue Sky; Valley of the Birds.

On Friday 10th August, JJ did a live chat on the web between 7 - 7.30PM (GMT). The transcript of this event is now posted on the BBC site, at: www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/inside/livechat/index.shtml.

We now have a web address for the festival appearance of the Stranglers in Wervik, Belgium (with thanks to Etienne Delcour). Apparently, this festival is free. The following day, the band will be at Boerenrock 2001. As always, these appearances are subject to changes beyond the control of the band, management or their agents: so please check before travelling.

17 Aug - Rock op Het Plein, Wervik, Belgium http://rockophetplein.freeservers.com/frameone.html
18 Aug - Boerenrock 2001, nr Hasselt, Belgium: http://www.boerenrock.com

Hot on the heels of the EMI CD singles release (see below), it looks like the UA/EMI albums are to be re-released (on CD) in the UK on 20th August. Apparently, these CDs are to feature fresh artwork, extensive sleeve notes and photos. Each one will also feature a number of bonus tracks. The bonus track information we have is as follows (note: we are currently awaiting confirmation from EMI, so this info may change):

Rattus Norvegicus: Choosey Susie; Go Buddy Go; Peasant in the Big Shitty.
No More Heroes: Straighten Out; Five Minutes; Rok It to the Moon.
Black and White: Mean to Me; Walk on By; Shut Up; Sveridge; Old Codger; Tits.
Live (X-Cert): Peasant in the Big Shitty; In the Shadows; Sometimes; Mean to Me; London Lady; Goodbye Toolouse; Hanging Around (different version)(all previously un-released).
La Folie: Cruel Garden; Cocktail Nubiles; Vietnamerica; Love 30; You Hold the Key to My Love in Your Hands; Strange Little Girl.
The Gospel According to the Meninblack: Top Secret; Maninwhite; Tomorrow Was the Hereafter.
The Raven: Bear Cage; Fools Rush Out; N'emmenes Pas Harry; Yellowcake UF6.

More information, as we get it.

EMI recently released "The UA Singles 77-79" (catalogue no. 8891722), a collection of 2-track CD singles. Each comes in a reproduction of its original sleeve artwork (including the Peaches "Blackmail" sleeve), with original catalogue numbers. The upper suface of each CD is printed with a copy of the original single-label. The ten discs come packaged together in a flip-top card box.

The contents of this package are as follows:

CD1: (Get A) Grip (On Yourself)/London Lady
CD2: Peasant in the Big Shitty (Live)/Choosey Susie (Originally free with "Rattus Norvegicus")
CD3: Peaches/Go Buddy Go
CD4: Something Better Change/Straighten Out
CD5: No More Heroes/In the Shadows
CD6: 5 Minutes/Rok It to the Moon CD7: Nice 'n' Sleazy/Shut Up
CD8: Mean to Me/Tits/Walk on By (Edited version) (Orginally free with "Black and White")
CD9: Walk on By/Old Codger/Tank
CD10: Duchess/Fools Rush Out

BBC Radio 2 are to broadcast a documentary on the band next month. The time and date we currently have from management is Saturday 11th August at 8pm (UK time). In the UK, this show will be broadcast on 88-91 FM. Outside the UK, try the webcast on www.bbc.co.uk/radio2.

We received the following from the BBC this morning:

Men In Black - The Stranglers' Story - TX BBC Radio 2, August 11th 2001 Presented by Glen Matlock

Finally, the truth...

For the first time since the night in 1990 when he phoned the band and told them he wasn't coming back, former front man Hugh Cornwell has agreed to take part in a programme with his ex-partners in pop and give his side of the story. In interviews recorded exclusively for Radio 2, the complete original line up give the low down on the good times and the bad times, the violence and the melodies that have filled the last quarter of a century.

Along with founder members JJ Burnel, Jet Black and Dave Greenfield, we also hear from newcomers Baz Warne and Paul Roberts on filling Hugh's shoes, and about life on the road and in the studio with one of the most notorious bands on the circuit.

These days the current line up are hard at work on new material - living and working together and still following the unique musical vision of the Stranglers. Meanwhile Hugh Cornwell is out and about with his solo material, but still playing his own version of classics from No More Heroes to Always The Sun.

The band reveal how they started as a pub rock act, touring in a converted ice cream van and how they stumbled into Punk by accident and were literally kicked out after a bad night in the car part outside Dingwalls. In their own words, the reason they managed to survive beyond Punk was simple - they sold records! Since then they've been through everything from prison to UFOs and still found time to play everywhere from the Falklands to the Albert Hall.

The complete story in their own words of one of the UK's most enduring rock 'n' roll bands and a chance to find out just what did happen the night the Stranglers played the Purley branch of the Young Conservatives Club back in 1976.

"Maybe word's getting through that there's a band with integrity who are a bunch of old b******s but they'll give the young f*****s a run for their money intellectually and musically!" Jean Jacques Burnel, 2001

"I'd spent 17 years with the same people, literally in each others pockets. I wanna spend time with some other people thank you very much!" Hugh Cornwell, 2001.

The latest Paul Roberts CD, the "Festival Man" E.P., was released on Monday, 16th July 2001. The track listing is: "Swim" (recorded in the studio); "Here" (recorded in the studio); "In Heaven She Walks" (Live); "Festival Man" (Live) and "Sinister" (Live). This is Paul's first acoustic recording.

More details can be found at: www.paul-roberts.co.uk.

We have just received confirmation that the Stranglers will appear at "Das Fest" in Karlshrue, Germany on July 21st. They are currently slated to be on stage at 10.00 pm. The festival web site can be found at: www.dasfest-karlsruhe.de

As always, the band's appearance is subject to changes beyond the control of the band or their agents. Please check with the venue prior to travelling.

Also out now is "The Video Collection 1977-1982" on region 2 DVD (catalogue no. 4812379). Apparently, this release features the track-listing of the 1982 VHS release:

(Get a) Grip (On Yourself), Something Better Change, Peaches, Hanging Around, Straighten Out, 5 Minutes, No More Heroes, Sweden, Nice 'n' Sleazy, Duchess, Nuclear Device, Bearcage, Who Wants The World, Golden Brown, La Folie, Strange Little Girl.

We have no word as to whether any extras are on this disc.

"Strange Little Girls", an album on Atlantic Records by Tori Amos is due in US shops on September 18th (and probably around the same time for the UK). This is an album of covers of songs originally written and performed by men and, as the title would suggest, features the Stranglers' 1982 single "Strange Little Girl". The first single from the album (purportedly to be released sometime in August) will be "Strange Little Girl" itself.

For more information, check out Really Deep Thoughts or A Dent in the Tori Amos Net Universe.